Zinedine Zidane spoke of his “immense emotion” as he prepared to take charge of France for the first time in their Nations League opener away to Türkiye on Friday.
The 54-year-old, who succeeded Didier Deschamps following his predecessor’s 14-year reign, begins his tenure with an away fixture in Kocaeli, less than two months after his appointment.
“Maybe even more, actually,” Zidane said when asked whether his emotions matched those he experienced winning his first France cap 32 years ago.
“It was a long time ago, and today I feel an immense emotion at being here in charge of this France team,” he told a press conference.
Zidane’s appointment has generated considerable excitement in France, where his first week in charge dominated media coverage, and in Turkey, where one journalist even asked him for an autograph during the press conference.
The former Real Madrid manager, however, sought to keep the attention on his squad.
“It’s the next step after Didier’s 14 years, it’s something new so it’s completely normal. But the main protagonists are the players,” he said.
“I think you just have to accept the way things are done; I’m not looking for that and I’m not here for that. I’m going to try to do the job with my players, to make sure we can win matches – that’s what interests me.”
Midfielder Adrien Rabiot said Zidane tried to “step back as much as possible to let the players express themselves”.
“He is with us the way he is on the outside,” Rabiot added.
“We’re fully aware of how important he’s been for French football. His aura means he takes up a lot of space and people expect a lot from him.”
Rabiot, named as one of the team’s captains along with Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Jules Kounde, noted that “quite a few things have changed” since Zidane replaced Deschamps.
“Some players already, different ways of doing things and also different training sessions,” the 2022 World Cup runner-up said.
“What the coach wants is obviously a fairly attacking style of play.
“We’ll be very closely watched for how we play because the coach is new and a lot is expected from him,” Rabiot added.
France face another away match against Belgium on Monday before Zidane’s first home game, against Italy next Friday.
