French football great Zinedine Zidane has expressed his desire to coach the national football team in an interview this week. Zidane is currently coach of the Real Madrid reserve side.

Daily newspaper La Provence quoted him as saying that he loved the France team and wore the jersey, but that would not mean he could be the coach. However, from the moment he started his coaching career, it was obviously a possibility.

Fondly called 'Zizou', this former World Cup and European Championship winner tasted his first win as a coach last Sunday when his young team Real Madrid Castilla beat Trival Valderas 3-1. He had also assisted Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti last season as Real won the Champions League and Copa Del Rey.

Zidane made his professional debut at Club Cannes at the age of 16. He then played for Girondins de Bordeaux helping the club reach the finals of the 1995-'96 UEFA Cup. In the year 1996, he moved to Juventus and played with them for five seasons scoring a total of 31 goals. Real Madrid was his last club where he played for 5 seasons and helped the club win the 2002 UEFA Champions League and 2002-'03 La Liga.

A three-time FIFA World Player of the Year, Zidane helped his team win the 1998 World Cup by scoring 2 goals in the finals against tournament favourites Brazil. Two years later, France won the Euro 2000 where Zidane again scored two memorable goals. That same year, he was also named Player of the Tournament by UEFA.

After Euro 2004, Zidane announced his retirement from international football. But at the behest of Coach Raymond Domenech, Zidane came out of retirement for his country for the 2006 World Cup. He helped France reach the finals of the tournament, but he was sent off in the finals following a shocking incident as he head-butted the Italian player Marco Materazzi. That was the last professional match of his career.