The years go by, but the talent remains. Zinédine Zidane is 54 now and coaches France, yet he still leaves those around him marvelling at the quality he shows on a football pitch. This is not some rose-tinted fascination with a player from the past, but genuine admiration for the exquisite class of the former No. 10, still plain to see from one exercise to the next, even though the rhythms and demands of elite football have changed beyond recognition over the past two decades. Zidane’s aura, somehow, has outlived all of it. And it continues to captivate a new generation.
The latest Zizou converts during the Blues’ camp for this Nations League window? Start with Manu Koné, a mainstay in midfield for Roma and an increasingly important figure for France too. “It’s a pleasure to be coached by a legend of the game like him,” the 25-year-old said in recent days. “He manages us in a very empathetic and sincere way. He’s close to us as players, and he encouraged me to play freely. But what struck me most about Zidane is his technique: he still has so much of it. It’s crazy. We see it every day in training. I really think he must have been an incredible player in his day.”
Dayot Upamecano feels much the same, equally taken by Zizou’s ageless magic. “In these first sessions he’s had us work a little on technique, while also showing us what he can do,” the defender said with a smile in an interview with L’Équipe. “I can say this quite plainly: it will be difficult to reproduce even a small part of what he can do with the ball. It’s exciting to train with a player like that. We can’t wait for the next session. We still have so much to improve, myself included.”
That is the feeling, especially among those who grew up outside the stories and the world that made Zidane what he was: a genuine sense of disbelief. Because, of course, being a master of the game does not automatically make you a great coach. Zidane, though, has always tried to bring the two sides of the game together. And now many of the France players are reacting with the same amazement once felt by Bale and his Real Madrid teammates, back when Zizou was winning everything from the bench and leaving everyone speechless in training. There was Bale, one of the biggest names in the game at the time, living through some of the finest moments of his career, perhaps even scoring some of its finest goals. There was Pepe, one of Zidane’s most trusted lieutenants, and then the Castilla youngsters brought into the first team. You can imagine the faces of those kids, mouths open, watching a coach who “had everything it took to step onto the pitch and play alongside us, just playing football”. And if it was a revelation for them, the France players of today are no different. Nor, for that matter, is anyone who has ever crossed paths with him. Zidane is Zidane. There’s still only one.