It's time to get off the couch, put away the slippers and put on the tracksuit.
Since May 22, 2021 and a victory for Real Madrid against Villarreal in the league, Zinédine Zidane is no longer a football coach.
An eternity for a coach with his pedigree, who began his second career with three consecutive Champions League crowns (2016, 2017, 2018), and a second, less successful stint at Real.
To discover
Calendar and results Bundesliga
Bundesliga standings
Since then, Zidane has been waiting.
It's an open secret that the former No.10 of the Blues aspires to lead the France team.
In January 2023, in the wake of the World Cup in Qatar, Didier Deschamps was extended until 2026. Barring a disaster at the Euro this summer, Zidane (51) must make up his mind: the Blues, this It's not for now.
No need to stay in the waiting room.
Especially when Bayern Munich leaves a message on his answering machine.
A challenge without enormous pressure
On Wednesday, the German club, in sporting crisis, announced that Thomas Tuchel will leave Bavaria at the end of the season.
Two days earlier,
Sky Sport Germany
revealed that
“
Zizou
”
was on Bayern’s shelves.
A golden opportunity.
The Bavarian ogre is heading towards a first season without trophies since 2011-12.
It would be a challenge for Zidane, in a big club, but without enormous pressure, because it would be difficult to do worse.
SEE ALSO –
Zinédine Zidane’s 11 titles at the head of Real Madrid
This time, Zidane must not say no.
He did it too often.
He passed up Manchester United, allegedly because he is not comfortable with English.
He did not let himself be tempted by Olympique de Marseille, his favorite club, whose standing is not at the level of what he can aspire to.
He also ignored PSG, because the connection would not be strong enough, and the task very complex.
More recently, he did not want Brazil, and according to
RMC Sport
“politely”
refused
Algeria, the country of his roots.
The language barrier, an excuse that does not hold up
So many refusals that are more or less understood.
The problem is that going backwards to jump better, some have experienced it in this profession.
They regretted it.
Laurent Blanc, after three years at PSG (2013-16), waited until 2020 to bounce back at Al-Rayyan, in Qatar.
Manchester United had nevertheless reached out to him.
With Bayern, Zidane, who has lived in Spain and Italy, could still overcome the pretext of the language barrier.
It is certain that German is less transparent and harder to learn than English.
But it's time to do violence.
Pep Guardiola (2013-16) did very well, Carlo Ancelotti (2016-17) too.
There is always a way to make arrangements with an assistant, such as Willy Sagnol, now coach of Georgia, who was the interim coach in 2017.
Willy Sagnol (middle) was Carlo Ancelotti's (right) assistant at Bayern Munich in 2017, to take over for one match.
Bernd Feil/MiS / Imago / Panoramic
Ultimately, what does Zidane have to lose by signing for Bayern?
A bad experience would not close the doors of the French team to him.
That won't necessarily stop Real Madrid from calling him back, again, when Ancelotti leaves.
His aura is too great to fade with the slightest hitch.
There is an element of risk, a little bit of the unknown, but that's also what creates the excitement.
At Bayern, where many French people have left great marks, from Papin to Ribery via Lizarazu.
For Zidane, there are reasons to get started.
You just have to see them.