ZINEDINE ZIDANE has taken a shock pit-stop from football – switching to another sport despite being linked to PSG.
French F1 team Alpine announced the former Real Madrid manager as their ambassador at the same time they unveiled their new car for 2023.
Zidane insists he still wants to return to football management but was attracted by Alpine’s “vision” for fulfilling childhood dreams.
The World Cup winner’s appointment comes just as it’s claimed PSG are monitoring him in case Christophe Galtier is sacked.
Tuesday’s 1-0 Champions League home loss to Bayern Munich was the Ligue 1 leaders’ third defeat in a row.
And Galtier reportedly only has until the last-16 return leg on March 8 to convince club chiefs he remains the right man.
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Fellow Frenchman Zidane, 50, confirmed his “desire” to manage again when he was quizzed at Alpine’s presentation for the 2023 race campaign.
The two-time Real chief helped the Spanish giants win the Champions League three times in a row from 2016 to 2018.
But Zidane explained why he’s happy to change track for now – at least until the summer.
He said: “I liked the vision and the concrete approach of the Alpine teams, especially in the implementation of their equal opportunities programmes, especially since I have a particular affection for Alpine as a Frenchman and Formula 1 fan.
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“I think it’s important to tell children that, wherever they come from, they can one day become the champions of tomorrow in whatever walk of life they choose and that they should always believe in their dreams.
“This Alpine project is here to help make that possible.
“Change takes time, so if I can contribute and help speed things up, it’s with great satisfaction for me.”
But he admitted his managerial ambitions as he added: “Now I have time… but I don’t know for how long. I know I want to coach again.
“Maybe I will have time until June, but things can go very fast — for sure, to resume coaching remains my desire.”
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
