Mueez Ajao
– France forward Kylian Mbappe has come out in support of Zinedine Zidane after the country’s football federation (FFF) president Noel Le Graet said he would not pick up the phone if the former midfielder called him to discuss coaching the national team.
– The FFF had announced head coach Didier Deschamps’s contract extension on Saturday after he led France to a second consecutive World Cup final, where they lost to Argentina on penalties in Qatar last month. Zidane had previously been a favourite to succeed Deschamps.
– When asked if Zidane, a World Cup winner with France in 1998 and a national icon, would now manage Brazil instead, Le Graet told RMC: “I don’t give a damn, he can go wherever he wants.
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– “I know very well that Zidane was always on the radar. He had a lot of supporters, some were waiting for Deschamps’s departure … But who can make serious reproaches to Deschamps? Nobody.
– “He [Zidane] does what he wants, it’s none of my business. I’ve never met him, we’ve never considered parting with Didier. He can go where he wants, to a club … If Zidane tried to contact me? Certainly not, I wouldn’t even pick up the phone.”
🎙Komentar Noël Le Graët, Presiden FFF: "Zidane melatih Brasil? Saya tidak peduli. Dia bisa pergi ke mana pun dia mau, ke klub atau ke tim nasional. Apakah dia mencoba menelepon saya? Jelas tidak. Saya bahkan tidak akan mengangkat telepon untuknya." 🇫🇷 [📰 @RMCsport] pic.twitter.com/6s2PmgWM73
— Seputar Real Madrid (@SeputarMadrid) January 9, 2023
– Zidane was the first coach to win the Champions League three times in a row when he was in charge of Real Madrid.
– The 50-year-old, who also won Euro 2000 with France in a glittering career, is without a job after he left his role with the Spanish club in 2021.
– “Zidane is France, we don’t disrespect the legend like that,” Mbappe said on Twitter after Le Graet’s interview was aired.
Zidane c’est la France, on manque pas de respect à la légende comme ça… 🤦🏽♂️
— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) January 8, 2023
– Le Graet’s dismissal of Zidane as a potential successor to Deschamps comes two years after he had backed the former midfielder to take up the reins if he was available.
– France’s Minister for Sports Amelie Oudea-Castera was one of many politicians who reacted to Le Graet’s comments, saying the president of the country’s “biggest sporting federation” had crossed a line.
– “Yet more out-of-touch comments and on top of that a shameful lack of respect, which hurts us all, towards a legend of football and sport,” she wrote on Twitter.
Déclarations à nouveau hors sol avec en prime cette fois un manque de respect honteux, qui nous heurte tous, à une légende du foot et du sport : un "président" de la première fédération sportive de France ne devrait pas dire ça.
Des excuses pour ce mot de trop sur Z.Zidane svp. https://t.co/FUdE76nBz0
— Amélie Oudéa-Castéra (@AOC1978) January 8, 2023
– French politician Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade also demanded an apology from Le Graet, saying on Twitter: “Zidane is a monument of French football and sport. A personality loved by all French people … Our football deserves better than that.”
Des propos d’un mépris confondant. #Zidane est un monument du football et du sport français. Une personnalité aimée par tous les Français. Des excuses s’imposent Monsieur #LeGraet. Notre football mérite mieux que cela. https://t.co/d3tMZJVypl
— Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade (@PA_Anglade) January 8, 2023
