Zidane dreams of coaching France, says FFF president

3 Jul 2012 13:50:00

The French official believes that the Real Madrid sporting director wants to take charge of Les Bleus in the future, but is not a candidate to replace Laurent Blanc

France Football Federation (FFF) president Noel Le Graet has claimed that retired midfielder Zinedine Zidane "dreams" of coaching the country's national team.

Zidane registered for a two-year university diploma at the Centre of Law and Sports Finances in Limoges in October and recently admitted he would like to move into coaching after a successful playing career.

Le Graet is currently trying to find a replacement for Laurent Blanc, who left Les Bleus after Euro 2012, but the FFF official stated that Zidane is not an option in the near future.

"I find it very charming that he has expressed a desire to be close to France's team," he told reporters at a press conference.

"He dreams of coaching France within a decade. It is very gratifying."

La Graet confirmed that he is interested in former Olympique Marseille coach Didier Deschamps, and also ruled out the possibility of appointing a foreigner as Blanc's successor.

Whoever is appointed would be charged with guiding the team to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and possibly the Euro 2016 campaign, held in France.

"Our coach will be French, this is not up for debate," he explained.

"The contract? The duration could be two years with an option for two more.

"Qualifying for the World Cup with Spain in the same group will not be easy and after that there will be Euro 2016."

France crashed out of this summer's tournament following a 2-0 defeat to eventual champions Spain in the quarter-finals, but the team's campaign was overshadowed by disciplinary problems.

Samir Nasri, Hatem Ben Arfa, Jeremy Menez and Yann M'Vila are all facing disciplinary action following their behaviour in Poland and Ukraine.

Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets

Inside Goal.Com

Inside Celtic: End of season review
With just the Scottish Cup final left before the summer break, Inside Celtic looks back on a memorable season for Neil Lennon's men
BVB's rise from the abyss to European contenders
BVB have recovered from teetering on the edge of bankruptcy to take their place on Europe's grandest stage, humbling their opponents on Saturday, Bayern Munich, along the way
Transfer Talk: Mourinho wants six new signings
Get your daily dose of all the speculation from around the globe as clubs cast their eye towards summer reinforcements
Soulless EPL must face up to grim reality
After a season marred by controversy and a failure of its top teams to put up a credible Champions League challenge, the world's supposed best league is falling behind
Bayern's jinx - CL final referee Nicola Rizzoli
Goal takes a look at the career of the Italian arbiter to date following Uefa's decision to appoint the 41-year-old for Saturday's showpiece at Wembley