Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has picked Zinedine Zidane over Mauricio Pochettino as the best managerial candidate for the club.
Manchester United would be better served by appointing Zinedine Zidane as their manager over Mauricio Pochettino ahead of the next season, reckons former Red Devils superstar Louis Saha.
Having sacked Jose Mourinho this past week, Manchester United decided to bring in former player and club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as caretaker manager to steady the ship until the end of the season.
The 20-time English champions will be appointing a new manager ahead of the next term and Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has emerged as a prime candidate for the job.
The Argentine manager has done some exemplary work during his time with the North Londoners and with Southampton prior to that. The brand of attractive, free-flowing football coupled with the fact that he is someone who promotes youth players from within the club have made him the hot favourite to land the Manchester United managerial job next summer.
Along with the former Southampton boss, Zinedine Zidane is also believed to be in the running. The Frenchman is without a job currently, having left Real Madrid at the end of the last season, after completing a hat-trick of UEFA Champions League triumphs.
Zidane might not have the same amount of experience as Pochettino does, given that the Real Madrid job was his first and only assignment till date. However, fellow countryman Saha has endorsed his candidacy for the full-time managerial role at Manchester United.
Saha, who spent four years at Old Trafford, between 2004 and 2008, told Omnisport (h/t The Sun): “For me, I am a supporter of Zidane in relation to the man. He was an exceptional player, the coach, there is no equivalent. In communication he has made a lot of progress. When I hear him talking, it’s incredible.
“He breathes football, he is a passionate person, who has all the qualities to be respected. He knows how to balance attack and defence. For me it’s the best choice for United. I think he will have the support of the supporters, the staff, the president because he deserves it. And we’re going to give him time.”
While Saha may feel that the former Real Madrid boss is the ideal candidate for the job, a number of his former Manchester United teammates such as Gary Neville and Paul Scholes have backed Pochettino as the right man to take over the reins at the club.
It remains to be seen which way Manchester United decide to go, but for the time being, the club will be hoping that Solskjaer’s appointment sparks a swift turnaround of fortunes, as they look to close the gap to the top four.
