{
  "id": 9116042,
  "title": "Zidane gets down to work as France start new era",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/zidane-gets-down-to-work-as-france-start-new-era",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-22T09:05:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/sport/soccer/world-soccer/zidane-gets-down-work-france-start-new-era/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Zinedine Zidane, widely regarded as one of France's greatest footballers alongside Michel Platini, has taken charge of the French national team for the first time. At 54 years old, the all-time great French player and coach will lead Les Bleus in a UEFA Nations League match in Turkey. Zidane, who retired as a player 20 years ago after the infamous headbutt incident during the 2006 World Cup final, expressed his excitement and emotion upon being appointed. His announcement revealed a squad with several new faces, reflecting his desire to adopt a more attacking style of play compared to the previous era under Didier Deschamps. The first match for the new coach will be against Turkey, followed by an away game against Belgium before a home game against Italy on October 2nd.",
  "summary": "'Playing good football is what gets me going,' said the France legend.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}