Football
9y

Zidane will coach France one day, says ex-Real Madrid teammate Ronaldo

Ronaldo believes his former Real Madrid teammate Zinedine Zidane will be a success as France coach in the future, the Brazilian legend has told L'Equipe.

Ronaldo, 38, played alongside the 41-year-old Zidane as the pair were reunited in the same team for the "Match Against Poverty" in Saint-Etienne on Monday.

While Ronaldo's focus since he last played competitive football in February 2011 has largely been away from the pitch, Zidane has maintained close ties, becoming Madrid's reserve team coach last summer after a season as assistant to first-team boss Carlo Ancelotti.

His move sparked speculation the ex-France captain could soon succeed former international teammate Didier Deschamps at the head of his country's senior side.

Deschamps recently extended his contract through to the 2018 World Cup, but Ronaldo is convinced Zidane will eventually become boss of Les Bleus.

"Yes. I am certain that he will coach France one day and be successful. He understands football, and has that ability to be able to teach it. That's fundamental for a coach," he said.

The former Brazil international added that he has no intention of following his friend into the dug-out.

"No, no, that's not something I have in mind," he said. "That would be to take a step back, because a coach lives the same routine as a player.

"The difference with me is that it is something he likes. Zizou has a lot of patience with the youngsters. And that is very important. I don't feel I'm prepared to do that."

Along with Deschamps and Paris Saint-Germain boss Laurent Blanc, Zidane is the most high-profile member of the generation that did the double of 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 to move into management.

Rolland Courbis was coach at Bordeaux when the then-unheralded but promising midfielder made his debut following his move from Cannes in 1992.

Courbis, 61, who has also coached Toulouse and Marseille, and is currently in his second spell as Montpellier boss, told France Football he can scarcely believe his former protege has followed him into the dug-out.

"I never imagined such a trajectory. I find him transformed. I didn't think that the nice guy, the perfect teammate, the joker, the great bloke, was going to become a coach," he said.

"Perhaps assistant, but not No. 1, a position where you have to make decisions and shoulder all the responsibility. But more than anything, I never thought for a second he would like it so much. I think I have a nose for things, but I never would have imagined Zizou in that position."

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