The Zidane phone call that could have changed everything at Real Madrid
Zinedine Zidane had the opportunity to take charge of Real Madrid for a third time, but refused to renege on a promise.
A single phone call could have completely altered Real Madrid’s recent past - and its immediate future - but a promise already made proved decisive in ensuring that never happened. We’re talking about the contact made by club executives with Zinedine Zidane last December.
Xabi Alonso had effectively been marked for dismissal, and his departure from the Madrid bench was a matter of days away. At that moment, however, no ideal replacement had been lined up. As a result, the club extended the runway just long enough for the former Bayer Leverkusen coach to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Super Cup - albeit with little, if not zero, expectation that the situation could be turned around. As events soon confirmed, it couldn’t. In the end, the decision tilted toward Álvaro Arbeloa.
But instead of installing Arbeloa as head coach, Madrid could have brought Zidane back for a third stint in charge, had he not already committed to succeeding Didier Deschamps as boss of the France national team. Zidane’s loyalty to Madrid has never been in doubt, but the approach came too late - or rather, at a moment when the club needed a jolt on the bench, a kind of crisis historically solved only by Zidane himself or Carlo Ancelotti in recent years.
Away for five years
Zidane stepped away from his role as Real Madrid head coach in 2021. It wasn’t an ideal exit, but time has a way of smoothing rough edges. In late 2022, Karim Benzema’s Ballon d’Or ceremony became a symbolic reunion, helping to close the chapter on the differences that marked Zidane’s final season in charge.
With relations normalized, the Frenchman’s presence at the Bernabéu became a familiar sight on big nights. Even then, he was always spotted in private boxes, alongside his family. From there, Zidane supported the club that is - and always will be - closest to his heart. He had the chance to return and write a third chapter as head coach, but a man’s word carries real weight in Zidane’s personal code.
Only Madrid
So far, Zidane has only ever coached at Real Madrid. He began with Castilla, the club’s ‘B team, before rising to become head coach of the seniors. Since his departure from the club in 2021, offers have poured in, but the 53-year-old has always been clear that there were only two destinations that could lure him back to the sidelines: the French national team or Real Madrid.
Zidane’s résumé speaks for itself. He closed out his Madrid chapter with 11 trophies, highlighted by three consecutive Champions League titles and two LaLiga crowns. Now, the former Madrid boss faces the challenge of following Deschamps - a national team manager who has already delivered both a World Cup title and a World Cup silver medal for France, with one final opportunity awaiting in North America this summer.
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