Zinedine Zidane has established an aura of mystery in his managerial career, which saw the Frenchman bring the Midas Touch to Real Madrid.
One of the most gifted midfielders of all-time following a glittering playing career, Zidane's position as an icon for both club and country was already well-established. Yet his appointment as Real Madrid boss in January 2016, inheriting a fractured dressing room following Rafael Benitez's unhappy stint in charge, saw him elevated to another status.
Within four months, Zidane had guided the team to the Champions League title and in a feat unprecedented in the modern era, retained the trophy the following season while adding domestic glory in La Liga.
Just as was the case in his playing days, Zidane left on his own terms and in dramatic circumstances having lifted Europe's most coveted competition once again the following season. Three Champions League successes in a managerial career spanning two-and-a-half seasons: not bad.
Zidane walked away from the limelight and took a break from football. He is a man of few words, often infuriatingly so for journalists assembled at his press conferences. Every match was a 'final' apart from actual finals, which he insists his side approach 'like any normal match'. No game would be easy. There were no mind games. There were a lot of cliches.
There is an idea that the fewer words spoken by high-profile figures, the more interesting they become. No quality is quite as intriguing as those who achieve success without ever offering opinions or ideas, including tactically.
In many ways, Zidane embodies Real Madrid: a club who are built on winning without grander ideas of deep-lying philosophies, which can sharply contrast with rivals Barcelona's 'Mes Que Un Club' mantra and deeply-wedded principles of how to play based on the Cruyffian model.
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Zidane was either a genius, extremely lucky or both. There is a phrase in Spanish "tener un flor en el culo", which was often applied to him by the local press and pundits. It literally translates as 'to have a flower in your bottom', but it meant 'to live a charmed life'.
The expression was deployed in the months after Zidane's departure when Real Madrid sleepwalked into chaos - hiring and firing Julen Lopetegui and then Santiago Solari. 10 months after his shock exit, Zidane was back. It was out of the blue, and the mystique grew.
The following year, Real Madrid were champions of Spain again. In 2021, they roared through to the Champions League semi-finals – including an impressive elimination of Liverpool – before falling short against Chelsea, while also being pipped to the league title on the final day by Atletico Madrid.
Any trophyless season at Los Blancos is a failing, but Zidane dealt impressively with a crippling injury crisis that reduced his ranks to just 10 fit senior outfield players for long periods of the second half of the season. The flower may not have been in his bottom anymore, but the respect and admiration for his enduring man-management skills endured.
Zidane's persona at Real Madrid was built on being the rock that absorbed the waves of scrutiny and the never-ending spotlight of the club. He knew how to absorb the pressure away from his players and how to defuse any narrative that may have derailed their season.
He left Real Madrid that summer. As ever, it was on his own terms. Zidane has not returned to football in the 18 months since, and so the mystique grew.
Zidane was linked to the Manchester United hot seat last season after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was dismissed from the position in November last season. His agent Alain Migliaccio rejected several approaches from United last season in bids to gauge his interest in a move to Old Trafford.
The former midfielder has ruled out managing in the Premier League, reducing the pool of potential destinations – with a return to Real Madrid off the cards and no other viable option in La Liga.
French president Emmanuel Macron has recently spoken of his ambition to help persuade Zidane to return to football in Ligue 1, amid links with the Paris Saint-Germain post. Despite being from the city of Marseille – who are domestic rivals of the French capital club – Zidane had been strongly linked to replacing Mauricio Pochettino in the PSG hot seat earlier this year, but Christophe Galtier was appointed in the role.
Speaking last year, Zidane explained in a typically coy interview about his future: "Am I still able to contribute things as a coach? Yes, many things or I think at least some! I want to continue with that career because I still have the desire – it is my passion. I am 50 years old, fulfilled, I'm happy, that's the most important thing."
It was vintage Zidane – not ruling anything out, not offering a firm opinion, shying away from any comment that could vaguely be construed as controversial or contentious. It would not be long before he was back in demand.
Zidane had been linked with replacing Didier Deschamps as France boss but those rumours ended after Deschamps extended his contract with Les Bleus through to 2026. Deschamps led his injury-hit side to the World Cup final where they were just a penalty shootout away from retaining their trophy in a remarkable final defeat against Argentina.
Yet the end of the World Cup presented other opportunities. Brazil and Portugal were said to be considering an approach for Zidane, while he is believed to have 'politely declined' the opportunity to manage the US national team.
France FA president Noel Le Graet then stated he "did not care" that Zidane was the subject of an approach from the Brazilian FA, who were interested in appointing the former midfielder. That led France superstar striker Kylian Mbappe to accuse Le Graet of "disrespecting" the former Madrid boss.
Le Graet said he "did not care" about Zidane's future and claimed he "wouldn't even have picked up the phone" had the former midfield star – an icon in France having spearheaded their 1998 World Cup success – tried to contact him. The unnecessarily harsh comments saw Real Madrid wade in to criticise Le Graet.
Zidane is never far away from the news cycle due to his status and standing within the game, not that he will ever shout about it. It is impossible to determine where is next for the Frenchman but one thing is for certain – it will be done on his terms.
