If history tells us anything, it’s that a manager’s playing career gives us little indication over what they would be like in the dugout.
Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho all had mediocre playing careers at best, yet they will all go down in history as managers who had a major impact on the game.
The problem with great players taking charge used to be that they didn’t have the patience to deal with players who were much worse than them, but that’s improved over the years.
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Zinedine Zidane has shown that it’s possible to be one of the best players in the world and also become a world class manager at Real Madrid, and it sounds like Karim Benzema would like to follow in his footsteps:
??¿Seguirá @Benzema los pasos de Zidane?
“¿Entrenar al Real Madrid? Claro. Si algún día puedo me gustaría”.
¿Lo ves como futuro técnico? ?? pic.twitter.com/6rJWdrCUbd
— El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) August 2, 2020
There’s no way of telling how good a manager he would be, although his recent comments about Olivier Giroud and an impending criminal trial might not be the best signs.
Four months ago, Karim Benzema called himself "F1" compared to "kart racing" Olivier Giroud ? pic.twitter.com/QSsTqcdts7
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 28, 2020
Despite that, Zidane wasn’t exactly an angel on the pitch so you can’t rule it out completely, but you have to think Benzema would need to go and build up some experience before getting a chance at the Bernabeu.