He was one of the all-time greats as a player, and Zinedine Zidane now merits consideration as one of the game's great managers after making history with Real Madrid in Saturday's Champions League final.
His team's 3-1 win over Liverpool on a dramatic evening in Kiev allowed Zidane to become the first coach ever to win the Champions League in three consecutive seasons, with Real becoming the first team to achieve that feat in more than 40 years.
Less than two and a half years after being promoted from his position as coach of Real's second team to his first managerial role at the highest level, the Frenchman has become only the third coach in the history of the game to lift the European Cup three times.
Leaving behind contemporaries Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola, Zidane has equalled former Liverpool manager Bob Paisley and Carlo Ancelotti, the man he used to serve as an assistant.
"I need to congratulate the players as it is not at all easy what they are doing," Zidane said after the game in the Ukrainian capital.
"This is the business. There are no words for it. That is what this squad is all about. They have no limit to what they can do." Zidane was reluctant to take too much of the credit after seeing his side secure their fourth Champions League title in five seasons, and the 13th in the club's long love affair with the European Cup.
The 45-year-old also won the trophy as a player for Real, his volley in the 2002 win over Bayer Leverkusen in Glasgow being considered one of the best ever to grace a final -- although it was possibly surpassed by Gareth Bale's overhead kick on Saturday.
It is 20 years since the Marseille-born son of Algerian immigrants scored twice as France beat Brazil 3-0 in the 1998 World Cup final.
Two years later his midfield artistry inspired France to victory at the European Championship, and on the eve of Saturday's game Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp called him "one of the best five players of all time." - 'No secret' -
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