Zidane steals show at France training camp
Reuters - Wednesday 01 September 2010, 15:14
CLAIREFONTAINE - Zinedine Zidane
stole the show at a France's training camp on Wednesday in a
sign that Les Bleus had a long way to go to erase the memory of
their South Africa World Cup disgrace.
The maestro of France's 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 winning
teams had been invited to the Clairefontaine training camp by
new coach Laurent Blanc ahead of a Euro 2012 qualifier against
Belarus on Friday.
After watching a public training session, where he won more
applause from some 300 fans than the current internationals, and
playing football-tennis with a team made of members of the staff,
Zidane had lunch with the players and chaired a meeting.
"I was invited to share my experience with the players. As
you know, I don't like to make long speeches. I just wished them
good luck for the Euro," he told journalists.
"I also told them that I hoped they would be able to live
great moments with the France team as I did and that would come
through victories because it's what will be remembered."
Blanc, who took over from Raymond Domenech after France
exited the World Cup without a win and the players boycotted a
training session in South Africa, said Zidane's visit was part
of his plan to rebuild the national team.
"To be able to exchange with players of another generation
can only help," said Blanc.
"They can explain that despite having had an extraordinary
career at club level, the thing that changed their lives was to
play for France. That's a spirit the young players need to
recapture," he added.
"The France team is not as essential to the players as it
used to be and that has to change, otherwise there will always
be problems."
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