Zinedine Zidane Returns to France National Team: A New Era Begins

Zinedine Zidane is heading back to the France national team, this time not as the conductor on the pitch but as the man with the clipboard. L’Équipe reports that the 1998 World Cup icon has agreed to take over Les Bleus on September 1, with his deal expected to run through to mid-2030. A seismic move for French football.

While the country celebrates the return of “Zizou”, another Zidane has quietly taken a very different path.

Luca Zidane, the son who chose another flag

Luca Zidane, 28, walked away from the France setup last September and committed his international future to Algeria. The decision carried weight: a Zidane in green rather than blue.

He did not go just to make up the numbers. At this World Cup, Luca started in goal for the North African side, trusted as Algeria’s No 1 even as he managed a recent chin and jaw injury. Bandaged, bruised, but in goal all the same.

From Madrid’s academy to Spain’s second tier

Luca’s story began in the most pressurised of football classrooms. He joined Real Madrid’s youth academy and climbed through the ranks under the shadow of a surname that fills stadiums on its own.

In 2018, he made his professional debut for Real Madrid, with his father in the dugout. It was a rare and surreal sight: Zinedine Zidane sending on his own son in the famous white shirt. Luca would make two La Liga appearances before his time at the Bernabéu came to an end in 2020.

Real Madrid loaned him to Racing de Santander in his final season with the club, a necessary step into regular senior football away from the glare of Madrid. After that, he cut the cord completely.

He signed a two-year contract with Rayo Vallecano in 2020, staying in Spain but lowering the volume around his name. Minutes, not headlines, became the priority.

Eibar, Granada and a career on his own terms

Luca then moved to SD Eibar in 2022, embedding himself in the grind of the Spanish second tier. Two seasons there from 2022 to 2024 shaped him into more than just “Zidane’s son”: a reliable goalkeeper learning his trade week after week.

His performances earned him another step. He joined Granada CF, also in La Liga 2, where he currently plays. No glamour, no galáctico treatment. Just a professional goalkeeper building a career in a fiercely competitive league.

As Zinedine Zidane prepares to take charge of France and write another chapter in his own glittering story, Luca stands in a different jersey, in a different country, and in a different kind of spotlight.

One Zidane returns to lead Les Bleus. Another guards Algeria’s goal, determined that his name will be remembered for more than just the bloodline.