Zinedine Zidane declines Algeria national team job

26/01/2024 17:00

French football legend Zinedine Zidane has declined the opportunity to take over the Algeria national team job, according to a report from L’Equipe. The Algerian FA is looking for a replacement considering Djamel Belmadi has resigned on the back of Les Fennecs’ disappointing elimination from the AFCON’s group stage. The Marseille-born 1998 World Cup winner is of Algerian descent.

The outlet understands that Zidane was flattered by the interest shown towards him. However, he has declined the opportunity to return to a coaching role. Zidane is a free agent since 2021, when he resigned from Real Madrid. It has been known for long that Zidane would eye taking over France’s national team. However, Didier Deschamps has since signed a contract extension keeping him in the driving seat until 2026 whilst Thierry Henry is now a natural candidate after being handed the France U21 hotseat.

L’Equipe mentions that Zidane has recently declined the opportunity to coach the national teams of USA and Brazil. As for Algeria, the outlet adds that current France Women manager Hervé Renard, veteran coach Vahid Halilhodzic, former Switzerland boss Vladimir Petkovic and former Argentina and Chile manager Jorge Sampaoli are being considered by the Algerian FA.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval