FOOTBALL – Zinedine Zidane’s first week in charge of France ended with a 1-0 Nations League win away to Türkiye yesterday thanks to a second-half goal from Kylian Mbappe, but the clearest signs of change came before the match rather than during it.
On the training ground and around the squad, Zidane quickly began putting his stamp on a team that had spent 14 years under Didier Deschamps, introducing his own routines, staff structure and tactical ideas while bringing a more hands-on approach.
Twenty minutes before his first training session as France coach, Zidane walked onto the pitch at the Clairefontaine national football centre carrying his boots, smiling at the bank of journalists who were waiting for a glimpse of the new era.
By the end of the session, the former France playmaker had provided a reminder of the technique that made him one of the finest players of his generation, effortlessly demonstrating drills before feeding passes to players for shooting practice.
Zidane also chose the Michel Platini pitch, named after his fellow France great, for that opening session rather than the Pierre Pibarot field more commonly used in the Deschamps era.
Initially standing back while goalkeeping coach Fabien Barthez joked with Jean Butez and Guillaume Restes and fired shots at them from close range, Zidane later joined assistant David Bettoni to demonstrate the technical exercises himself.
Zidane then supplied passes for the shooting exercises, encouraging and congratulating his players as the hour-long session drew to a close.
“We were all fans of his when we were young, so it’s a pleasure and I’m very happy to be able to learn from him,” defender Dayot Upamecano said.
“We saw that he’s still got it, so it’s going to be difficult to reproduce what he can do.”
Defender Maxence Lacroix described training under 54-year-old Zidane as ‘a great source of pride,’ while goalkeeper Butez, earning his first call-up, said: “I imagine there couldn’t be a better first selection than with a staff like this.”
Zidane also began reshaping the team away from the pitch, surrounding himself with a sizeable staff headed by long-time assistant Bettoni and former France team mate Barthez, while placing an emphasis on the history of the national side and links with younger age groups.
On the field, France’s first match under Zidane, the first France men’s coach to win his first game in charge since Aime Jacquet in 1994, was more measured than revolutionary.
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