It's safe to say that Zinedine Zidane is aging remarkably well. The 45-year-old quickly transitioned from a Champions League winning player to a Champions League winning coach, and he looks as if he hasn’t aged a day in-between. He's got the kind of sideline presence that'll make your mom stop and stare at the television before saying something about how Americans are sure as s**t a lot fatter than Europeans.
The strain of managing one of the world’s biggest clubs doesn’t appear to affect Zidane in the slightest. He’s a noodle you can’t boil. That cool, calm and languid style was the hallmark of his playing style, and it hasn’t left him.
Two minutes and six seconds of pure football quality courtesy of Zinedine Zidane. pic.twitter.com/ZRQPVkeIgM
— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) July 18, 2017
According to Real Madrid defensive midfielder Casemiro, Zidane remains one of the top footballers at the club. “Sometimes, when we are missing a guy, he participates in the training matches and ends up being the best player,” Casemiro told ESPN.
Zidane, of course, retired from playing after the 2006 World Cup, just after turning 34. Awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player, it’s obvious that the Frenchman’s ability was never going to diminish, it was just a matter of him deciding when to call it quits.
Zinedine Zidane scored some screamers during his career... pic.twitter.com/vYmjFFpIRj
— 90s Football (@90sfootball) July 19, 2017
That big bald head of his, apart from being a lethal weapon, is simply too cerebral. He’ll always be one step ahead of the competition.