Which of the new generation of managers has the best chance of success?

Speaking about his former assistant at Real Madrid, the Italian identified the four key ingredients of the coaching recipe.

"The best thing you can say about Zidane is that he doesn't have experience, just like when I started coaching or my professional playing career," the 56-year-old said.

"Zidane has everything you need to be a great coach. He has the ability, charisma, personality and knows football inside-out. He has the profile of a Real Madrid coach.

"A coach succeeds by working hard to ensure his players give their all. Zidane has that charisma and personality, meaning his players will respond well to him."

So if we put the three-time Champions League winner’s recipe to the test, let's look at Zidane's qualities and then see how his contemporaries compare...

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Ability - 7/10

Charisma - 9/10

Personality - 8/10

Know football inside-out - 10/10

In five games in charge after Rafa Benitez's departure, Zidane has overseen four wins and 19 goals. It's been anything but a quiet start for the Frenchman, but that is perhaps to be expected given the attacking artillery at his disposal. All it took for Benitez to be deposed were three defeats, the odd draw and a failure to keep Cristiano Ronaldo happy, so the former club legend will have his work cut out in his first top job after a less than stellar time with the B side. But if anyone has the gravitas from a playing career to make that quantum leap into management, it's Zidane.

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Ability - 5/10

Charisma - 2/10

Personality - 3/10

Know football inside-out - 10/10

Louis van Gaal's assistant has had a box-office seat for one of the most miserable seasons in memory for Manchester United fans. As the Dutchman has taken ever increasing flak from the Old Trafford faithful, Giggs' brow has furrowed ever deeper into his forehead. Whether the club legend is a silent victim or a key player behind the scenes, we will only truly know when he finally steps up to the top job that has been pre-ordained for him. One thing you can say for certain, though, is that he lacks the effortless charm and media-savvy presence that now appears to be a pre-requisite in the industry.

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Ability - 5/10

Charisma - 6/10

Personality - 5/10

Know football inside-out - 10/10

Gary Neville's coaching career is already at the end of merciless mocking given his dreadful record since taking charge at Valencia. Despite the less than favourable conditions the former England and Manchester United defender inherited at the Mestella, the failure to muster a single league win in 10 attempts is a painful truth. While his tactical acumen is without question, his ability to steer the tiller is under huge scrutiny. The former Sky Sports pundit showed he possessed more charisma and personality than many imagined during his time on TV, but it will take more than his skills with an iPad to turn around his Spanish sejour.

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Ability - 6/10

Charisma - 8/10

Personality - 8/10

Know football inside-out - 10/10

Though yet to move into management, Guus Hiddink wanted to bring Didier Drogba on to his coaching staff at Chelsea before the striker returned to Montreal in January. The Ivorian was the scourge of many central defenders during his time in England, but whether he has the ability to move effortlessly into coaching is unknown. If management was all about past success as a player then Drogba would be in for a long and prosperous career, but as we know it isn't. The way the 37-year-old inspired Chelsea to Champions League success in 2012 offers some indication to his leadership skills, and he was a popular member of the Stamford Bridge dressing room throughout his time there.

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Ability - 5/10

Charisma - 9/10

Personality - 8/10

Know football inside-out - 10/10

If Vieira's stellar Arsenal career is anything to go by, then the Frenchman is destined for success in management. The 39-year-old's fledgling coaching career has been carefully moulded behind the scenes by Manchester City and he was handed the New York City FC job in January. The three-time Premier League winner has certainly taken the long way round to management, and was close to taking over at Newcastle last summer. Such careful manoeuvrings behind the scenes suggests that the 39-year-old is well aware of the pitfalls ahead. Should his spell in the US prove a success you can be sure to see him on European shores in the near future.

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Ability - 4/10

Charisma - 4/10

Personality - 4/10

Know football inside-out - 6/10

The lesser of the celebrated Neville brothers, Phil has been Gary's right--hand man in their disastrous time at Valencia this season. After retiring from professional football in 2013, the former Everton captain has endured a torrid time in the coaching world. He followed David Moyes to Manchester United and served as a first-team coach at Old Trafford before being quickly jettisoned as the Scot lost his job after only nine months in charge. The move to Spain was initially to serve under then manager Nuno, before his brother took over in December. While you can't fault Phil's ambition in pursuing a coaching career, how many more knocks to his credibility can he take?

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Ability - 8/10

Charisma - 6/10

Personality - 7/10

Know football inside-out - 10/10

In the never-ending search for the next Pep Guardiola, no-one seems a more obvious solution than his midfield successor at the Nou Camp, Xavi. The Spaniard won everything there was worth winning during his playing career at Barcelona and is a prominent graduate of the La Masia academy. Having served as Guardiola's captain in his four years in charge of the Catalan giants, Xavi was at the centre of one of the greatest club sides in history. Tactically sound and inspiration in cultivating Spain's unity at national level, a successful managerial career feels inevitable for the 36-year-old.

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Ability - 8/10

Charisma - 6/10

Personality - 7/10

Know football inside-out - 10/10

Lahm announced his intention to retire from football before the World Cup in 2018 and it feels certain that a coaching career awaits for a defender with such a full and glittering CV. After excelling as a full-back at club and international level for many years it was the arrival of Guardiola at Bayern Munich which took the German on to the next level. Often deployed in central midfield by the Spaniard, Lahm has displayed the tactical awareness and adaptability to underpin so much of Bayern's dominance at home and on the continent. Guardiola saw more than just a capable foot solider in Lahm, he saw someone capable of being his on-field messenger and chief lieutenant.

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Of all the leading candidates it's Zidane who has the clear advantage. He's in a job where success is expected, with an elite squad to call upon. The biggest hindrance for the Frenchman may perhaps lie in the whims of club president Floretino Perez. Elsewhere you'd back Xavi and Philipp Lahm to take their on-field success and tutelage from Pep Guardiola into the dugout.

Patrick Vieira, carefully and quietly moulded behind the scenes at Manchester City, finally has a chance to show his mettle at New York. The former Arsenal captain possesses all the characteristics of a top-class manager.

From a British point of view things are less optimistic.

The Neville experiment at Valencia has been something of a disaster, and while Gary may live to fight another day, Phil has looked out of his depth at both Manchester United and in Spain. There is blind hope that Ryan Giggs can emulate Guardiola at Old Trafford, but nothing concrete to back it up.

While this may not be an exact science - blame Mr Ancelotti - there may be some method in the madness.

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