Former Juve and France midfielder Zinedine Zidane, regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, is the latest to be associated with the Juventus hot seat.
Under-fire head coach Thiago Motta is under severe scrutiny following two Serie A defeats going into the international break. The former Bologna boss expected to get the chop should the Bianconeri fail to beat Genoa in Turin on 29 March.
Contingency plans must surely have been mentioned when club owner John Elkann discussed the short- and long-term futures, which includes a potential new home for Juventus, with CEO Maurizio Scanavino and sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli today.
Giuntoli, who hand-picked Motta for the role and is an avid supporter of the former Italy international, went about quizzing Juve players that were not on international duty. His findings, which he would have presented to Elkann, would have partly explained why the club sit outside the Serie A top four.
The Bianconeri need to finish in the top four at the end of the season in order to secure Champions League soccer next term. There are six teams chasing this prized berth while the top three of Atalanta, Inter Milan and Napoli battle it out for the Scudetto.
Motta under the cosh
Motta’s objective at the start of the season was to earn a Champions League berth, and failure to do so is expected to result in the 42-year-old being shown the door.
There are a plethora of reasons for Motta to stay on beyond this season, and tackle the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup finals in June and July.
However, there are also some serious concerns among fans, pundits and the club board about his suitability. Motta is likely to be axed if he continues to underwhelm, having failed to impress in the three cup competitions of the Champions League, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana.
Success is what Juventus are all about. Although there are rumours swirling about bringing in an interim manager or appointing a new coach at the end of June, Zidane’s name has joined the list.
Reason for Zidane rumours
Juventus fan Paolo Ardoino, CEO of cryptocurrency firm Tether which has recently acquired a minority stake in the club, is responsible for Zidane being associated with an unlikely return to Turin.
Adroino has frequently used the term ‘MJGA’ on social media, which means ‘Make Juventus Great Again’. This appears to be a play on the words of the 2016 US election slogan introduced by Donald Trump.
This ‘MJGA’ caption has been posted with AI mocked-up images of Zidane and his former Juve team-mate Alessandro Del Piero together in a boardroom.
Superstar at Juventus
Zidane, who made over 150 appearances for the Bianconeri, and in his first season won the accolade of 1996/97 Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year, played just behind legendary striker Del Piero at Juventus.
The French star shone at Juve, where he won trophies as well as the coveted Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 1998. Zidane left the Turin titans to join Real Madrid for what was then a world record fee of €77.5 million (US$84m) in 2001.
Zidane hung his boots up after the 2006 World Cup final, sent off for headbutting Inter Milan’s Marco Materazzi, and ended up with a runner-up medal as Italy beat France in the penalty shootout.
Zidane's coaching career
His coaching career kicked off in 2010 at Real Madrid. Jose Mourinho, their manager at the time, coaxed Zidane to become a special advisor to the first team squad.
The following year he was appointed sporting director. He became assistant coach to Carlo Ancelotti in 2013, was in charge of the B team for 2014 and was appointed head coach in 2016 after Rafael Benitez was fired.
Zidane enjoyed two stints as Real Madrid boss, netting 11 major trophies that included winning the Champions League three times.
Yet his last season with the Spanish giants ended without a trophy, so he left the club in May 2021 and is widely expected to eventually become the head coach of France.
Zidane has turned down overtures for various coaching roles, including the United States, and it remains to be seen if his former club Juventus can lure his coaching comeback.