Zinedine Zidane aspires to hands on coaching role

Zinedine Zidane has admitted he wants to coach a team in the future, but says being Carlo Ancelotti’s assistant at Real Madrid is “perfect” for now.

Zidane, 41, joined Ancelotti’s technical staff when the Italian took over at the Bernabeu this summer, and he hopes the experience is a stepping stone to a top coaching role.

“That’s the aim,” he said. “I’m just going along my way, I’m learning. I’m in contact with people who are important in football. It’s a good experience.

“With what I’m looking at doing in the future, being assistant to Carlo Ancelotti is perfect. It’s good preparation for the rest of my career. I’m happy. It’s a job full of passion, difficult but interesting.

“There are two assistants, one of which is Paul Clement, who prepares and takes training sessions. It’s very interesting to talk to him because he’s been doing that for 22 years. He explains things well to me. With Ancelotti, we talk more about tactics and the players.”

More of a figurehead under Ancelotti’s predecessor, Jose Mourinho, Zidane is relishing a hands-on role.

“With Mourinho, I wasn’t on the pitch, and wasn’t even involved in what happened on the pitch. I didn’t have any meetings with him about the team, about tactics, about what he wanted to put in place. Now, on the other hand, I have a real role. I have to tell Carlo Ancelotti how I see things,” he explained to L’Equipe, adding the former Paris Saint-Germain coach remains in overall charge.

“There’s a boss, that’s Carlo Ancelotti. He decides, he has the final word. But what’s really great with him is that there is a real exchange on tactics, on players, on the make-up of the team. I’m learning, I see how he works and how I can give him something.”