‘Difficult’—Zinedine Zidane Inspires Kylian Mbappe Question After Taking Over France

A confident Zidane took his dream job with a confident six-word declaration.

Zinedine Zidane (left) and Kylian Mbappé are two of France’s greatest ever players. | Pablo Rodriguez/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images (Zidane), CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP/Getty Images (Mbappé)

Zinedine Zidane, inadvertently or otherwise, inspired scrutiny after admitting that some people may have found his replacement of Didier Deschamps as France manager “difficult” while discussing Kylian Mbappé, who is yet to receive a call from his new national team boss.

Zidane, one of the few players with a greater track record for Les Bleus than Mbappé, was appointed as Deschamps’s successor on Tuesday, signing a four-year contract which will take him through the 2028 European Championship and until the end of the 2030 World Cup.

There was little doubt how much pleasure Zidane took on the realization of a childhood dream, yet he recognized that his joy may not be replicated elsewhere. “I’m thrilled and happy about this appointment,” he beamed, “even though, at the same time, things are difficult for some people.

“We haven’t spoken with Kylian [Mbappé]. The most important thing for him is to rest after this long season. We’ll have the chance to talk to him and the other players in September.”

Mbappé was openly close with Deschamps and visibly disappointed not to have given his former manager the sendoff of a second World Cup over the summer. The Real Madrid striker has spoken highly of Zidane in the past, but it was a little unexpected for the incoming coach to bracket Mbappé in the same category as the rest of the roster. Not only is he the nation’s best player, but he also served as Deschamps’s captain.

Didier Deschamps (left) and Kylian Mbappé were close. | FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images

Nevertheless, Zidane was full of praise for the team as a whole. “I have great material to work with—an extraordinary team,” he gushed. “I’m going to explain my playing philosophy to them.”

That philosophy was vaguely described as attacking. “I was a No. 10,” Zidane noted, “what drives me is scoring goals—the game itself. I lived in Spain for 25 years; you know what that means.” Presumably that is a hint at a focus on possession, although that was not the way that the Real Madrid teams he played for or managed ever really conducted themselves.

Whatever Zidane has planned, it will be a change. “Honestly, I’m going to do things differently,” he warned. “DD is DD [Didier Deschamps]. Laurent Blanc was Laurent Blanc. Zizou is Zizou [Zidane]. I’m going to try to do what I know how to do.”

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Confident Zidane Takes Dream France Job With Six-Word Declaration

Zinedine Zidane is the only manager in history to win three Champions League titles in a row. | Stuart Franklin/UEFA/Getty Images

If the president of the French soccer federation Philippe Diallo needed any convincing to hire Zidane, the legendary coach provided his own succinct and compelling pitch.

“President, I know how to win.”

Zidane has never before managed a national team and last held a club job half a decade ago, but an illustrious playing career spent dazzling Europe with the likes of Juventus and Real Madrid affords the former France captain a unique status.

During that self-imposed exile, Zidane wasn’t short of interest. “I received offers to take over a club during the four or five years I was away from the game,” the former Real Madrid manager who collected three Champions League titles on the spin (2016–18) told assembled media at Tuesday’s unveiling. “I turned them all down for the sake of the French national team, because that was the only thing I wanted to do after my time at Real Madrid.”

“I’ve said it many times: there’s nothing greater than the French national team,” Zidane added. “It’s an immense joy. I am happy about what is happening to me today. I am composed, yet I have a lot of emotions inside me. I am ready for the challenge; that is what drives me.”

Deschamps inherited a France side beset by internal division after a disastrous, mutinous 2010 World Cup and turned Les Bleus into one of the most reliable performers on the global stage. The 2018 world champion also reached the 2016 European Championship final and the showpiece fixture of the 2022 World Cup. Despite playing some of the most potent attacking soccer of the summer, France could not find a way past eventual champion Spain in the 2026 semifinal.

Zidane congratulated Deschamps, his captain when France won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, before turning to the future: “A new chapter is beginning with a new staff. I will pour all my energy into this team. I can’t wait to get started.”

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