WZinedine Zidane has shared much of his life, both as a player and a coach, with notable figures such as Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham and Ronaldo Nazrio.
As a player, he excelled at AS Cannes, Girondins de Bordeaux, Juventus and Real Madrid, but he only knows one club as a coach: Real Madrid. And it was in this last team that there were at least four players who made his career memorable.
Zidane remembers those who gave him “shine”
Florentino Prez is the man who made Zidane one of the club’s ‘galacticos’ alongside Beckham, Nazrio and Luis Figo. But for the French star, the Brazilian was a man worthy of admiration, not only for his fans but also for his own team-mates.
“He is still unique. I was lucky to play next to him at Real Madrid for a long time. He was just ‘the’ phenomenon. Everything about him was so sweet and funny. I would have done anything to be his friend,” Zidane began praising Nazrio in L’Equipe. “But you should have seen him in practice. It was shocking. Some players would have stopped playing and looked at him. It was just as beautiful as it was in the game,” he said.
But while on the other side of the pitch as the club’s coach, Zinedine said he experienced something similar when he saw other stars who rose to prominence at Real Madrid but never had the chance to share a dressing room.
“When you watch really great players, it’s also in training. I had the same feeling when I was manager at Real Madrid. I didn’t say anything. I watched Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema train. There was nothing to say other than watching. They were all very talented and professional. They never lost the ball,” he explained.
“That was the motivation for me as a coach as well to have talent at a very high level. In the beautiful games we played, I felt that spark again, just like I did when I was a player. I played with extraordinary players and coached extraordinary players. That’s what makes you a better player, too.”
Zinedan, on the other hand, officially retired after the 2006 World Cup, but is the only manager in history to win three consecutive UEFA Champions Leagues (2016, 2017, 2018). In addition to winning the Champions League three times, he has also won the Spanish League twice, the European Super Cup twice, the Club World Cup twice and the Spanish Super Cup twice.
He has not currently coached any team since leaving Real Madrid in 2021 (2019-2021), but has reportedly reached a verbal agreement to become the next manager of the French national team after the 2026 World Cup, which will be Didier Deschamps’ last managerial stint.
