Zinedine Zidane is one of the best managers in Real Madrid history. Amongst the greatest footballers ever, not a lot was expected when he had replaced Rafa Benitez in the Santiago Bernabeu hot seat in the middle of a difficult campaign. At that point, he was only viewed as a short-term fix. And yet, the Frenchman brought unimaginable success with him.
Zidane’s first stint as Real Madrid manager produced three straight Champions League triumphs, a La Liga title and several other pieces of silverware in two-and-a-half seasons. It was a historic run.
The Frenchman’s second stint was not as successful, producing only a La Liga win and a Supercopa de Espana triumph to go with it. The circumstances were very different though and Zidane arguably did as good a job as anybody else could have.
Carlo Ancelotti guided Los Blancos to a Champions League and La Liga triumph last season, but they have looked much shakier this time around. The expectation at Real Madrid is to win every game though, and as a result, it is no surprise that there are now question marks over the Italian’s future. At the same time, it has also led to rumours of Zidane returning for a third stint.
Zidane to Real Madrid return claim emerges
The initial feeling was that Zidane was waiting for the France national team job, which was expected to be available after the World Cup. Instead, Didier Deschamps has extended his contract.
As reported by The Athletic, one source proposed that beyond the France job, the roles that would appeal most to Zidane would be a third spell in charge of Real Madrid under the right circumstances, Juventus and Marseille.
Thus, it looks like Zidane is only looking at clubs that he wants to manage and not for the biggest job possible. In the past, there have been suggestions that he is not interested in a move to the Premier League. Could a third spell in the Santiago Bernabeu dugout be on the cards?