Zinedine Zidane has a lot of suitors to become the next Manchester United manager if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer leaves his position in the near future.
The Frenchman has established himself as one of the most sought-after coaches in Europe, winning three Champions League titles with his former club, Real Madrid.
At 49, Zidane is in his prime, has a lot of good things going for him and would be able to get United winning games.
Our Manchester United Fan Brand Editor, Mike Parrott, alongside writers, Omar Garrick and Casey Evans, have listed three things we'd see if Zinedine Zidane became the next Manchester United manager.
Omar Garrick says... He’d bring a winning mentality to United
Let me put it this way. I think Zinedine Zidane is a risk, but one that’s worth taking for the current situation at Manchester United.
Why do I think this? Well, it’s all to do with the squad.
Zidane has already coached Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane during his time at Real Madrid, where they won three Champions League titles together. He knows how to get the best out of them.
Then you have Paul Pogba, who I know splits opinions, but there’s no doubt Zidane would get the best out of him. He wanted to sign him at Real Madrid and has praised the midfielder on countless occasions during press conferences. It’s also clear that Pogba would love to play under Zidane, who was his idol growing up.
Think about what the Frenchman could do with the likes of Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood. Under his guidance, he could take them to the next level.
I know there are some doubts over Zidane as we saw what happened during his final years at Madrid. I also realise that some may say that anyone could have won the Champions League with the squad he had at the time. But look at his team in the 2019/20 season. It wasn’t as strong, had nowhere near the amount of depth he had two years beforehand, but he still managed to win the Spanish Super Cup and La Liga.
I think with the current crop, he could be exactly what United need - someone who can come in midway through the season and stamp his authority.
He’s also the cheapest option available. I have my doubts over Zidane like loads of people, but I would definitely take him over someone like Brendan Rodgers. He’d add a winning mentality to the team.
Casey Evans says... He’d show passion on the touchline
In 2006, Zidane headbutted Marco Materazzi in a World Cup final and the footballing world stood still as the player got sent off and never played football again.
Fast forward to him becoming Real Madrid manager and since no one had seen or really heard much about Zidane since (besides that he had been coaching Real Madrid Castilla), there was no one who really knew how he would channel this anger that obviously resided inside of him.
But it seems he has channelled it in an overwhelmingly positive way, he is a truly passionate manager and you can see this on the touchline.
Much has been made of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reluctance to stand on the touchline, make indiscernible hand signal and bark orders at his players and berate them when they don’t do what he asks; but Zidane does this in spades.
There’s always the risk that one day it might boil over again and cross the line back into fury rather than passion, but it seems for now Zidane has a lid on his emotions and is using the fear of him really getting angry with someone to command the respect of his players.
Mike Parrott says… PogBack (again)
If there's one thing every Manchester United fan knows about Zinedine Zidane’s managerial career it’s this; the man loves Paul Pogba.
With him asking for Pogba at Madrid every summer he was in charge of Real Madrid, as well as him being in constant arguments with President Florentino Perez over the Spaniard’s dislike of Mino Raiola, Zidane was ready to risk everything to get his hands on Pogba.
Zidane’s love for Pogba isn’t one-way though. Pogba said back in 2019:
“There is also [Zinedine] Zidane as a coach and it's a dream for anybody who likes football.” Pogba loves him back it seems.
But what would this mean for Manchester United?
Well firstly, Pogba would sign that extension because Zidane would build the team around the Frenchman. Pogba would become the first name on the team sheet, in his preferred role as effectively a free midfielder, the same way Zidane used to play.
This positional change could be a detriment to Bruno Fernandes who would have to be moved if not even dropped for Pogba. The Frenchman would require a lot of legwork around him such as Fred, Scott McTominay, or new recruits, but it would severely hinder Bruno’s attacking output if he was asked to play passenger to Pogba.
I also would not be surprised in the slightest if Zidane gave Pogba the captaincy. Maguire has been under fire for his lacklustre performances this season with fans asking for him to be stripped of the captaincy. It would make sense for Zidane’s golden boy to be given it if Zidane becomes United manager.
Is this a good thing to give Pogba all this power and star power? In my opinion, no. But if Zinedine Zidane did become Manchester United manager I could definitely see all of this happening.
Should United move for Zidane? Follow our United On My Mind writer Omar Garrick on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts on the matter in the comments section below.
