With former head coach Jose Mourinho departing the club this summer, Real Madrid will be very active in searching for their next head coach. Hoping to land a candidate capable of restoring Real to a state of consistency while winning championships, the franchise may not have to look too far out of house to find their next leader.
As he continues to work closely with the club serving multiple roles, former soccer star Zinedine Zidane is certainly a candidate for the vacant coaching position. Appointed Madrid sporting director in July 2011, the former Madrid phenom has been involved in overall club relations but was not a big part of the first team while Jose Mourinho was patrolling the sidelines. With Mourinho now the head man at Chelsea, Zidane could be the ideal replacement since he has experience with the club and has been working on his coaching talent over the past year in France.
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Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, who recently solidified a brand new four-year term as club head, said that Zidane is certainly beloved in Madrid but may need to garner more sideline experience before jumping into a high-level job with Los Blancos.
"Zidane could do it," Perez said to Spanish television Telecinco. "He has the qualifications and fulfils all the requirements but we have not thought about it yet. It is something we have to consider, but as a first step it is a bit, I don't want to say risky but he needs to become hardened. He could also lead the project from an office or the bench but doing both at the same time is more complicated."
Considered the front-runner by many for the vacant Madrid coaching position, current Paris Saint-Germain manager Carlo Ancelotti remains a hot commodity around Real Madrid circles but may not get the chance to lead Madrid next season if PSG elects not to release him from his current contract. Touching on his current situation, the 53-year-old noted that no breaking developments regarding his current situation have taken place in recent days and that only he and PSG will know full details.
"Everyone knows my situation, there's nothing new," Ancelotti said to ESPN. "No news is good news. It's between myself and the club, no one else, and there is no meeting scheduled with the club. We have to speak to find a solution. I don't have a deadline."
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With the coaching availability at Real Madrid turning into a tricky situation amid growing speculation as to who the next manager will be, Florentino Perez noted that a decision will be made but the proper amount of time will be dedicated to finding the next person to guide the club. "Not this week," Perez told ESPN when asked if a hiring would come soon. "We must look at things and examine them."
While Zinedine Zidane would love to take over the first team squad at Madrid, he does not appear to be the front-runner despite recently passing his coaching exams and possessing tremendous knowledge of the game from his playing days. Beginning his senior career in 1989 with Cannes, Zidane broke onto the soccer scene in a big way in 1992 when he joined the French club Bordeaux. Remaining with the team for 4 seasons, Zidane posted 28 goals in 139 appearances from the attacking midfield position. Moving to Juventus before the 1996 season, Zidane recorded 24 goals in 151 contests before heading to Real Madrid in 2001.
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Garnering increased fame with Madrid, the superstar appeared in over 150 matches and scored 37 goals, solidifying himself as one of the top players in the world. In addition to his constant success with Real Madrid, Zidane was a member of the French national team from 1994 through 2006 where he notched an additional 31 goals in 108 International competitions.
Although it appears the Real Madrid club enjoys having him as a member of the organization, it may not be realistic to think Zidane will be the club's next coach, especially if the situation with Ancelotti progresses. For now, all Madrid fans can do is wait and stay up to date with breaking news.
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