New Era: What can France expect from Zinedine Zidane as head coach?

An unceremonious end for a glorious career, but Zidane left with a promise — he will return. He will lead France, in whatever capacity that might be, and strive to make Les Bleus the best in the world. Again.

That opportunity has arrived.

After 14 years, Didier Deschamps’ era had its curtain call in Miami on Saturday, as France lost 6-4 to England in the third-place playoff. Per French news outlet L’Equipe, Zidane is all but certain to be announced as Deschamps’ successor, with his tenure commencing on September 1. The first assignment will be the UEFA Nations League, where France are pitted in the same group as…Italy!

Here’s what France can expect from Zidane:

Flexibility over fixation

While completing his coaching badges, Zidane sought inspiration from Pep Guardiola and Marcelo Bielsa. He spent weeks at Bayern Munich observing Guardiola and days at Marseille studying Bielsa, two coaches united by an obsession with possession.

Naturally, Zidane attempted to replicate those principles during his first managerial job with Real Madrid Castilla. It backfired.

Castilla lost five of their first six league games, and Zidane abandoned the philosophy almost as quickly as he had embraced it. He acknowledged that what worked for Guardiola would not necessarily work for him, and switched to a vertical 4-2-3-1. Fortunes improved drastically.

That willingness to adapt has become the defining feature of Zidane’s coaching career. As opposed to being fixated on a particular style, he has been fluid with his formations.

Great at managing egos

While Castilla were shining in the Segunda Division, the seniors were going through a rut in La Liga. Real Madrid had suffered a 4-0 El Clasico defeat — their worst result in five years. Rafael Benitez’s relationship with the dressing room, and most notably, with Cristiano Ronaldo, was fractured.

It is in this situation that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez decided to throw Zidane — with no experience of managing a senior team — into the deep end. Not many approved. The assumption was that the enormous egos would consume Zidane.

They didn’t.

In 114 matches under him, Ronaldo had 142 goal contributions. Karim Benzema’s corresponding figure was 156 in 217.

Zidane was asked how he manages big names, who, per assumption, should be difficult to manage. He had said: “The bigger the player is, the easier it is to manage them. Because they know what they are doing. They are focused. You just need to ensure you are not trying to be bigger than them. I know this from my own personal experience, where coaches wanted to be bigger than the players, and it didn’t work.”

Everyone defends

Among the first messages Zidane conveyed in the Real Madrid dressing room in 2016 was: “Everyone has to defend. A Zinedine Zidane team will not have players who don’t defend.”

In his first El Clásico, Real Madrid ended Barcelona’s 39-match unbeaten streak with a 2-1 victory, Ronaldo scoring the winner. Yet, what pleased Zidane most was not the goal, but how he tracked back relentlessly to help Marcelo on the left flank.

France’s attacking quality is undeniable. But their work without the ball has room for improvement. At this World Cup, they ranked 33rd of 48 teams for distance covered per 90 minutes; Spain, who eliminated them, ranked 13th.

Zidane is neither the most tactically astute manager nor does he have a brand so distinctive that it has its own imprints, like Guardiola’s. Yet, France has counted on two of his qualities.

Firstly, he is a great man-manager. “Zidane has a connection with players. Don’t ask me why, but the players feel more empathy for Zidane (than the previous manager),” Ronaldo had said.

“Zizou has an exquisite human touch. Despite being a legend, he shows humility,” opined Marcelo.

Secondly, he is a serial winner. “I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I am a winner. Whatever I do, I do to win,” he once said.

Five happens to be his lucky number. France would be counting on Zidane to win their fifth major title.