Former Real coach Zidane happy to have his feet up

PARIS: Zinedine Zidane said he was happy to have some time off after stepping down as Real Madrid coach just days after steering the Spanish giants to a third successive Champions League trophy.

“I’ve got my feet up and am feeling good,” Zidane said at the inauguration of a playground in Saint Denis, the north Parisian suburb that is home to the Stade de France where he starred for the French team that won the 1998 World Cup.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” the 45-year-old added.

“The most important thing is the decision I’ve taken, the rest we’ll see.”

Zidane, who scored twice in the 3-0 final victory over Brazil in 1998, was talking on the eve of a gala match pitching the World Cup-winning French team, minus then-captain Didier Deschamps who is now in Russia with the France team, against an interna- tional XI to mark the 20th anniversary of France’s win.

Zidane quit Real on May 31, saying he had decided to leave at the top and that it was time for a change for himself and the club, as well as admitting he was unsure of his ability to maintain his winning record at Real.

But he said no other club was involved in his decision to part ways with Real and although experts have linked him to the French national team coaching job, Zidane insisted he is eyeing no other position at this time.

— AFP Good cause: Former French player and European Leukodystrophy Association (ELA) patron Zinedine Zidane posing with a child after the presentation of the “Zidane’s Crystal Foot” in Paris yesterday. French crystal glass maker Baccarat has created 100 units of Zidane’s Crystal Foot for the benefit of ELA.