The Frenchman specialises in dramatic departures — in the 2006 World Cup final in Berlin, his final appearance as a player, was cut short when he was sent off for headbutting the Italian defender Marco Materazzi. Madrid sports daily AS said after the final that Zidane was "the architect of this glorious and possibly unrepeatable era". He has never made a secret of his ambition to do so and speculation will now grow that he will succeed Deschamps after this year's World Cup finals. Zidane has now won nine trophies since replacing Rafael Benitez in the Santiago Bernabeu dugout in January 2016. It is a remarkable record, all the more so for a man who before the Kiev final admitted to not being the best tactician.

Source: Daily Nation May 31, 2018 13:30 UTC