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One of the world’s worst-kept secrets has been exposed, as former Real Madrid player and manager Zinedine Zidane was confirmed as manager of the France national team.

Zizou replaces former team-mate and France 1998 World Cup-winning captain Didier Deschamps, who leaves Les Bleus after 14, on the whole successful years. In the time in charge of his country, Deschamps guided his team to World Cup glory in 2018, as well as a Nations League title three years later.

With teams that other nations could only dream of, the feeling of missed opportunities resonates a lot around French football in the last near decade and a half.

They were beaten in the semi-final of the recently concluded World Cup and also were beaten finalists in Euro 2016; as hosts, they lost 1-0 to Portugal. So Didier Deschamps passes the baton to Zidane, someone he knows very well.

Having seen his Real Madrid sides over two spells in charge of Los Blancos, observers might be able to form an opinion of how France will play and what the personnel will be, but Zizou himself remained tight-lipped on the issue.

Even on the issue of captaincy and whether Kylian Mbappe will remain in the job, is something the France legend didn’t want to be drawn on.

From outside looking in, it appears that Les Bleus have got a manager in a similar mould to Deschamps, but arguably with Zidane, they have someone who is an ultimate legend of the world game. He will command respect on a different level to his predecessor.

That’s nothing against Deschamps, but it’s just the aura that the Zidane has.