Zinedine Zidane Admits He Could Be Tempted by Chance to Manage Juventus in the Future

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has admitted that he might someday like to manage Juventus, the club where he spent five years as a player, won his only Ballon d'Or and the first two of his three FIFA World Player of the Year awards.

Having faced his old team in last season's Champions League final, Zidane will meet Juve again on Tuesday night when Real arrive at the Allianz Stadium in Turin for the first leg of their eagerly anticipated quarter final clash.

When asked ahead of the game if he has an ambition to lead Juve in the future, Zidane diplomatically pledged his allegiance to Real but refused to rule anything out.

"Manager of Juventus one day? Never say never, but I'm happy where I am now," he said.

"I learned so much in those five years, I'd never left France before and they welcomed me like a family," the 45-year-old is quoted as saying by Football Italia.

"I have very good memories, but I'm Real Madrid coach now so I'm only thinking about the match. I experienced both teams and I think they're two teams with similar DNA, they want to fight and win."

Bernd Lauter/GettyImages

Having joined Juve from Bordeaux shortly after helping the French club to the 1996 UEFA Cup final, Zidane won two Serie A titles during his time in Italy and played in the 1998 Champions League final against his future team, losing to a single Predrag Mijatovic goal in Amsterdam.

He joined Los Blancos in 2001 for a world record fee of 150 billion Italian lire (€77m), winning the Champions League in his very first season by scoring a now iconic volley to win the final.