Zinedine Zidane's stance on Man Utd job makes perfect sense after Unai Emery comments
Former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has been linked with the Manchester United job several times in his career but Unai Emery understands his reason for not taking the job
by Jake Bayliss · The MirrorAston Villa manager Unai Emery understands Zinedine Zidane's reluctance to take the Manchester United job due to his understanding of English.
United boss Erik ten Hag has been under intense scrutiny following the team’s disappointing start to the season. The club sit 14th in the league table and have earned two draws in their Europa League group.
Ten Hag’s position was thought to be under threat after a comprehensive defeat by Tottenham earlier this season, despite being given a one-year contract extension this summer. Despite managing to save his job, that has not stopped other managers, such as Thomas Tuchel and Gareth Southgate, from being linked with replacing Ten Hag in the Old Trafford dugout.
Former Real Madrid boss Zidane is another coach currently unemployed. However, the French football icon has already explained that his lack of fluency in English would prevent him from taking the United job.
“If I go to a club, it's to win. I say this in all modesty. That's why I can't go anywhere. For other reasons, too, I might not be able to go everywhere,” Zidane told L’Equipe in 2022. “Which ones? The language, for example. Certain conditions make things more difficult.
"Would I want to go to Manchester (United)? I understand English, but I'm not completely fluent in it. I know that there are coaches who go to clubs without speaking the language, but I work in a different way."
One manager who certainly understands Zidane’s reasoning is Villa boss Emery. The Spaniard's poor English was mocked during his 18-month spell as Arsene Wenger's successor at Arsenal.
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“I had a decent level, although I needed to improve. When results are bad it’s not the same,” Emery told The Guardian in 2020, reflecting on his spell with the Gunners. “You lack the linguistic depth to explain. And take ‘good ebening’: OK, it’s ‘good evening’, but when I said ‘good ebening’ and won it was fun; when we were losing it was a disgrace.”
Emery has since rebuilt his reputation through successful spells with Villarreal and Villa, but Zidane’s managerial record is close to pristine. The 52-year-old initially won three consecutive Champions Leagues with Real Madrid before bowing out in May 2018. He later returned during the following season and won La Liga in 2020 before stepping aside again.
While Zidane’s understanding of English may have increased over the last two years, Emery would understand the Real Madrid legend going against his word due to the lure of the Premier League. Two years before Villa appointed him, Emery explained the appeal of English football culture.
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“In England that identification with your team brings the game alive,” he added. “It’s deeper there, like a church. I was born in San Sebastián and my team is Real Sociedad. That feeling is in my heart and that’s what you find in England. It’s marvellous, the loveliest thing there is.”
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