Zidane breaks with Deschamps: watching matches from stands and direct contact with players

Zinedine Zidane is putting his stamp on the France team by clearly breaking with Didier Deschamps’ managerial habits. According to L’Équipe, the new manager wants to personally attend a large portion of his international players’ matches and establish direct, regular phone contact with his squad between international breaks.

This approach contrasts with his predecessor’s, who delegated the bulk of scouting duties from the stands to his assistants — notably Guy Stéphan and goalkeeper coach Franck Raviot — and rarely contacted his players outside of international windows, except in cases of injury or special circumstances.

Zidane will not be alone in the stadiums: his long-time assistant David Bettoni, former goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, as well as Stéphane Plancque and Farid Tabet will also make frequent trips to observe the internationals in club action.

This revolution in player monitoring is part of a broader transformation of the sporting project. On the tactical front, the new staff intends to move away from the defensive and athletic pragmatism that characterized the Deschamps era, in favor of possession-based football, creativity, and high pressing. A new framework focused on team cohesion and group protection has also been put in place.

Zidane’s first opportunities to be seen in action from European stands will come before the next international break in November, when France travel to Italy on November 12 before hosting Turkey on November 15 in the UEFA Nations League.