Zinedine Zidane
The coach of Real Madrid arrives in Turin to face Juventus. His two clubs far from France face to face. A duel that he has already experienced from both sides. A story that could have been different if the Marseille-born coach had accepted one of the proposals from Inter or Milan in 1996, in his last year at Girondins de Bordeaux.
Lineups and how to watch Juventus - Real Madrid
Zidane's fame at Girondins continued to grow in the old continent, echoing in Italy, the best European market at that time. Inter got to work through Galician Luis Suarez and Milan also jumped in, especially when they were eliminated in the UEFA Cup by the Bordeaux team with a stellar Zidane at the helm of the Gallic ship. They were not the only ones, Cruyff's Barcelona almost had 'Zizou' tied up, but the departure of the tulip from the Camp Nou dressing room erased that possibility.
Conversations between Zidane and Inter never materialized, just like with Milan, quite the opposite of the 'Vecchia Signora', determined to take him to Turin and turn him into a new Michel Platini. Especially Gianni Agnelli, then head of Juventus, who even had to convince coach Lippi that Zidane was the key piece of a future project.
Lippi's mastery and Zidane's talent did the rest, turning that promising player into a football star from whom the French national team also benefited, signing their most glorious stage, and also Real Madrid, both on the field and on the bench, where he continues to lead the Blancos towards the coveted 'orejona'.