Zinedine Zidane turns 50 and confesses: from admiration for Diego Maradona to the possibility of directing Lionel Messi at PSG

It’s already been 50 years for Zinedine Zidane. Or rather, it’s only been 50 years for Zinedine Zidane, who has already earned enough credit to establish himself as one of the greatest figures in football history. Fifteen titles as a player, including a Champions League and a World Cup with the French national team.Perhaps he is the greatest footballer of all time in his country. And that’s not all: he also triumphs as a coach and already has 11 Olympic laps on the other side of the lime line.

Zidane celebrated his birthday with an intimate interview with French newspaper L’Equipe, in which he reviewed his career and was even encouraged to talk about the possibility of being the next PSG manager. But he also told where the 1998 Ballon d’Or is, his weakness for Diego Maradona and he also broadcast a nice anecdote with Enzo Francescoli in the 1996 Intercontinental Cup, when he faced River with Juventus. .

“Never say never. Especially when you are a coach today. When I was a player I could choose and go to almost any club. As a manager, there aren’t fifty clubs I can go to. There are two or three possibilities. If I go back to a club it’s to win. I say this with all modesty. That’s why I can’t go anywhere, “said the Frenchman when asked about the possibility of managing Olympique de Marseille or Paris Saint Germain.

And it is that Zidane is very identified with Marseille, a club of which he is a fan and to which he has been linked on more than one occasion. And just as he has come to be associated with the cast that heads the Argentine Jorge Sampaoli in recent days, there has also been much talk of the possibility that he will replace Didier Deschamps in the French national team, once the Qatar World Cup for which he has less it’s less.

In relation to the possibility of being the next DT of the selected blue, Zidane was much more energetic and remarked: “Of course I want it. I hope to be one day. When? It is not up to me. I want to close the circle, I’m not done with the French team. It’s the best thing there is and it would be everything to me. “

Zidane remembered his idols

“At 14, Maradona fascinated me. Even today I enjoy the matches in 1986. Not just photos. The matches. Everyone remembers England and their two extraordinary goals, but there is also Argentina-Belgium. Wonderful. It’s incredible that one. Maradona did on the pitch, “launched Zidane, who has shown his devotion to Diego on several occasions.

But just as he surrendered once again at the feet of Maradona, the Marseillaise couldn’t help but talk about Francescoli, his greatest idol. If there is something that Zidane has never hidden it is his fanaticism for the Uruguayan, whom he admires to the point that one of his sons, the one who plays in Ligue 2, is called Enzo. This is why it is not surprising to recall an anecdote of that Intercontinental Cup won with Juventus with the River coach on the other side of the field.

“The technique with his external-internal, internal-external contacts was lace. I think I came to resemble him in some way. Technically, however, Enzo was majestic. In the 1996 intercontinental final he brought me his jersey at the end. despite the defeat. That match, which would have been the only one in which they would have faced each other, ended with the 1-0 victory of the Old Lady thanks to the solitary goal of Alessandro Del Piero.

The chapter of the header for Materazzi and his time with the French

With the French national team, Zizou has played 108 games, scoring 31 goals and providing 29 assists. Furthermore, he entered the great history of France by shouting champion at the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championships. The latter, associated by Zidane himself with the best football moment of his career. Unfortunately, his career in the national team did not end in the best way.

The story is well known. Final of the 2006 World Cup. France tried to beat Italy to win the second World Cup in its history, once again at the hands of Zinedine Zidane, but the illusion was extinguished in a second. Marco Materazzi provoked the midfielder who was defending the colors of Real Madrid at the time. The Frenchman reacted in the worst way, with a header to the chest of the Italian defender.

Zidane was sent off by Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo and everything was decided on penalties, where Italy was crowned once again. Much has been said about that episode which, according to many, cost France the World Cup. Years later, the French made it clear: “That day my mother was very tired. I had my sister on the phone several times a day. I knew she was unwell, but it wasn’t very serious either. Tell me about my mother, but she insulted mine. sister, who was with my mother at that time. “

And just as he explains that he worried about his mother’s health hours before playing a final of that caliber, the importance of family to Zidane is clear when it comes to trophies. The Frenchman indicated that he has no replicas of the titles he won at both club and national level, and explained that the few memories he has – the Golden Ball and some of his shirts, among other things – are in his mother’s house. .

His return to Real Madrid

To close the interview, Zidane was concise and talked about his successful first phase as Real Madrid manager, which could not be overshadowed by a not so positive second pass. “Winning the Champions League is never luck. It’s hard work, and even more so if you win it three times in a row. I worked like crazy. My players believed in me and I believed in them. When I win I don’t. I am surprised because I gave my all “, he assured.

The closing of the interview, on the other hand, had to do with Zidane’s 50th birthday, who still seems to have a lot to give in football. “Life goes on. I’m still a big guy in my head. I want to enjoy everything and I love my life. I’m an outlier and I do what I feel when I feel like it. If you listen too much, if they tell you too much about you, you are thinking and there is a possibility that you are wrong. I do everything with my heart and that’s fine “, he closed.