Zinedine Zidane coach of Brazil? “He has this mentality that we lack”

At the start of 2023, Zidane and Brazil find themselves in a similar situation. The former Real Madrid coach longs for a France team that never stops escaping him. Since 2018, the year of his first stop with Real, at the start of 2023, which seemed favorable to him to take over from Didier Deschamps, ZZ is patient in the waiting room. The auriverde selection, it has picked up and will land at the next World Cup with an empty stomach: twenty-four years without a planetary crown. She had only known that between 1970 and 1994 and her stomach had then quite rumbled.

To return to the conquest of Everest, Brazil is looking for a new boss after the failure of Tite in Qatar. The CBF should decide in January and Zinédine Zidane is part of the short list drawn up by the federation. On paper, if we put aside the France team factor and all the emotional force it drains in its wake, the alliance between the two entities carries within it a fairly incomparable mystique. But also, a form of realism. Because Brazil love Zidane. Despite 1998. Despite 2006. But, above all, Brazil believes in the man who won three Champions Leagues in a row with Real Madrid.

Zidane is the winner

“Zinedine Zidane knows how to manage big egos, which is a necessity for Brazil, judge Mauricio Savarese, journalist at Associated Press. Zidane isn’t a great tactician from what we’ve seen, but he has that winning mentality that Brazil lacks, although I’m not sure he’s able to deliver on his promises in a team. national.” Ronaldo, friend and former teammate, some Brazilians from Real too, like Vinicius, have less doubt about the profile of the Marseillais who, if he still sees the Blues slipping through his fingers, will have to resume service , when he stopped a second time with Real in the spring of 2021.

One thing is certain, Zidane or not, the CBF is now ready to welcome a technician from elsewhere while only one foreigner, and for a single meeting, has already led the Seleção, the Argentinian Filpo Nuñez in 1965. Beyond Zidane, we also whisper the names of Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, Marcelo Gallardo or Carlo Ancelotti.

Since 1965, water has flowed under the bridges. And, today, the country must come to terms with the facts. The talents of the bench are born outside the Brazilian borders. “The Brazilians are more open to this possibility, since the best local coaches failed with the selection, recalls Savarese. In addition, Brazilian clubs are enjoying success with foreign coaches, such as Palmeiras and Flamengo.”

Mentalities have evolved, the population with it. “Without a doubt, Savarese hammer. Although I think Carlo Ancelotti would have been a better choice, Zidane is a good option while the lack of top coaches in Brazil also weighs in the balance. The CBF knows that there is no natural successor to Tite.” In its unfulfilled planetary quests, especially the last one, Brazil has also failed to be too Brazilian in its approach. The only paradox carried by Zinédine Zidane would be to ask him, the Brazilian from France, to erase this character trait. But the game would be damn worth the candle.