Zidane not in frame for France job at the moment, French soccer chief says

[June 08, 2018]    PARIS (Reuters) - Zinedine Zidane will not be taking over as coach of the French national team any time soon as Didier Deschamps will remain in that job for the rest of his contract, which runs to 2020, the head of the French Football Federation (FFF) said on Friday.

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane during a news conference in Madrid announcing his resignation REUTERS/Juan Medina

Speculation about Zidane's possible return to France has intensified since his shock resignation last month as coach of Real Madrid less than a week after leading them to a third successive Champions League crown.

"Didier Deschamps has a contract until 2020... he will stay until 2020," FFF president Noel Le Graet told French BFM TV channel in an interview.

Deschamps and Zidane were team mates when France last won the World Cup in 1998 as hosts of the tournament.

Le Graet said he had held no discussions with Zidane about a possible role with Les Bleus, who head to Russia in the coming days with the hope of repeating their success of 20 years ago.

(Reporting By Brian Love; Editing by Christian Radnedge)

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