Zinedine Zidane, who spent five years from 1996 playing for the Turin titans under manager Marcello Lippi, has not been in the dugout since he left Real Madrid in 2021.
He was among the names touted to take over the reins after Igor Tudor was installed as interim manager last March, following the sacking of Thiago Motta.
However, the cash-strapped club veered away from expensive acquisitions such as ex-Italy head coaches Antonio Conte and Roberto Mancini, former Barcelona boss Xavi as well as Zidane.
Second choice Tudor was the cheaper option on a two-year deal, and will pocket €3m a season unless he gets fired. Like Motta, he possesses a mediocre managerial record and prefers not to lose rather than be ruthless and win games.
The Croatian became Juve’s first overseas head coach since former player Didier Deschamps was appointed for the 2006/07 campaign, but he is currently under intense pressure following five draws on the spin.
Tudor under intense pressure at Juve
One-time Juventus defender Tudor is fully aware of the winning mentality at the Italian club, especially having briefly been assistant manager to Andrea Pirlo before the pair were given the boot.
Zidane, like his France and Juventus team-mate Deschamps, opted to become a manager and has become one of the best in the business.
He only departed Juventus to join Real Madrid in a then world-record fee, so kicking off his coaching career with the Spanish giants seems a natural transition and soon became a reality.
Zidane’s first spell with Real Madrid, between 2016 and 2018, resulted in a hat-trick of Champions League triumphs. His second stint, between 2019 and 2021, was not so memorable despite playing the same tactics with eye-catching and entertaining attacking soccer.
Zidane on Juventus future
The 53-year-old has since been the subject of speculation about eventually taking over the France role from Deschamps, who has been Les Bleus boss for over a decade.
Zidane revealed at the recent Trento Sports Festival: “I feel that what I really want to do is to coach France one day, but let’s not talk about that now.
“My years at Juventus were wonderful. In Turin I felt that all you had to do was win, both at home and away.
“I don’t know, it just didn’t happen [coaching Juventus]. I made other choices too.
“I always carried Juve in my heart, they gave me so much when I arrived. As for the future [of managing Juve], I don’t know.”