Zinedine Zidane Returns to France National Team as Luca Zidane Chooses Algeria
Zinedine Zidane is heading back to the France national team – this time with a suit on, not the No 10 shirt – and the country is bracing for a new era under one of its greatest icons. Reports in France say the 1998 World Cup winner has agreed to take over Les Bleus, with L’Équipe claiming he will officially step into the job on September 1. Other outlets suggest his deal could run through to the middle of 2030, a long-term bet on a man who has already conquered Europe from the dugout.
As the father prepares to lead France, the son has taken a very different path.
Luca Zidane, the son who chose Algeria
While Zizou moves closer to the French bench, Luca Zidane has already walked away from the tricolour. The 28-year-old goalkeeper switched his international allegiance to Algeria last September, a decision that pulled him out of the French system and into the heart of North African football.
That choice was no token gesture. Luca went straight into the thick of it, representing Algeria at this World Cup and starting in goal despite carrying a recent chin and jaw injury. Strapped up, under pressure, he still took the gloves. It was a clear statement: this was not just a paper switch; it was his team now.
The contrast could hardly be sharper. The father, the face of France’s golden summer in 1998, returns to guide Les Bleus. The son, born into that legend, stands in goal for Algeria, carving out his own identity far from the French spotlight.
From Real Madrid’s academy to Spain’s second tier
Luca’s journey has never been a simple case of riding a famous surname. He grew up inside one of the most demanding environments in world football: Real Madrid’s academy. Every mistake is magnified there, every young player compared to a star, and in his case, to a father who defined an era.
He made his professional debut for Real Madrid in 2018, at a time when his father was in charge of the first team. It was an unusual dynamic: the head coach and the goalkeeper sharing a surname and a household. Luca managed two La Liga appearances for the Spanish giants before the club and player went their separate ways in 2020.
Before that departure, Real Madrid had already sought regular minutes for him. He spent time on loan at Racing de Santander during his final season in Madrid, gaining experience away from the Bernabéu glare, learning the grind of week-to-week football in a less forgiving, more physical setting.
The next step was a permanent move. In 2020, he signed a two-year contract with Rayo Vallecano. It was a clear shift: from global superclub to a side built on intensity, work rate, and survival instincts. Rayo offered him a platform, but also a reality check about what it takes to build a career on his own terms.
After Rayo, Luca dropped into another demanding environment: SD Eibar. He spent two years there, between 2022 and 2024, battling in Spain’s Segunda División. Eibar may not have the glamour of Madrid, but it has something else – a reputation for resilience and a fanbase that expects fight in every match. For a goalkeeper trying to establish himself, it was a crucial education.
From Eibar, he moved again within Spain’s second tier, joining Granada CF, his current club, who also compete in La Liga 2. It is there, away from the Champions League lights, that he has continued to build the form and consistency that convinced Algeria to hand him the No 1 shirt on the biggest stage.
Two careers, one famous name
So as Zinedine Zidane prepares to walk into the France job, with the weight of a nation and the history of 1998 and 2000 on his shoulders, Luca Zidane stands in a very different place: in goal for Algeria, forged in Spain’s second division, carrying his own ambitions.
One Zidane returns to the Stade de France as the architect. The other stands under a different flag, in different colours, determined that when people talk about the name, they are not only talking about the past.
