CLAIREFONTAINE, France (AP) — Zinedine Zidane made an appearance at France's training camp on Wednesday to help coach Laurent Blanc restore the beleaguered national team's confidence following its disastrous World Cup.
Zidane lunched with the players at the Clairefontaine camp and watched videos with them of his France team winning the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship. He also signed autographs and briefly showed off his ball skills.
France hosts Belarus on Friday before an away trip to Bosnia on Tuesday in qualifying for Euro 2012.
Zinedine Zidane, center, controls the ball as France soccer team coach Laurent Blanc, left, and assistant coach Fabien Barthez look on during a training session in Clairefontaine, southwest of Paris, Wednesday, Sept 1, 2010 ahead of their opening Euro 2012 qualifiers.
"I wished them good luck for what’s fast approaching," said Zidane, who last visited Clairefontaine when preparing for his final tournament, the 2006 World Cup. "They’re a new generation and they have important things ahead of them. The France team is the ultimate level you can reach.
"It can’t do them any harm," Zidane said of his visit. "I spoke to them about my experiences with the France team."
Blanc wanted the presence of Zidane and former France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez to help boost the team’s low morale and instill some core values that were lost in South Africa.
Zinedine Zidane signs autographs for fans during his visit to the France soccer team training session in Clairefontaine, southwest of Paris Wednesday, Sept 1, 2010 ahead of their opening Euro 2012 qualifiers.
France’s whole squad went on strike at the World Cup in protest at Nicolas Anelka being sent home for swearing at then coach Raymond Domenech, shocking the nation and requiring Blanc to try and repair the team’s image.
A gifted playmaker, Zidane played 108 times for France and was the undisputed star of a teams that also included Barthez and Blanc, a stylish defender who played for Inter Milan and Manchester United.
Things have gone badly wrong for France in the decade since Zidane, Barthez and Blanc won the Euro 2000 trophy.
"I explained to them that the most important thing is to start winning again," Zidane said. "Because a team is judged solely on its results."
Poor performances on the field under former coach Raymond Domenech paled into comparison compared to the scenes during the training ground boycott that are now an embarrassing part of French football folklore.
Zinedine Zidane, left, and France soccer team coach Laurent Blanc in action during a training session in Clairefontaine, southwest of Paris Wednesday, Sept 1, 2010.
Patrice Evra led the players onto the team bus and drew the curtains, moments after he had a heated row with the team’s fitness coach. One furious French football official then resigned on the spot.
As punishment for being the perceived ringleaders of the training strike, Evra, Franck Ribery and Jeremy Toulalan were all suspended by the French Football Federation. Anelka was given a massive 18-game ban.
Toulalan received only a one-game ban, ruling him out of the Belarus game, but Blanc did not pick him anyway.
Zinedine Zidane, left, and assistant coach for goalkeepers Fabien Barthez in action during a France soccer team training session in Clairefontaine, southwest of Paris Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010.
Evra was banned for five games and Ribery, a former vice captain, was suspended for three matches. Both players have been ruled out the opening two qualifiers.
France also went out of the 2010 World Cup without winning a single game — the second straight first-round exit for Domenech after the poor Euro 2008 campaign.
Zidane predicts Blanc will turn France into a successful team again.
"Laurent is the right man for the job because of his experience and the player he was," Zidane said. "Because the team is starting from scratch, they can do some extraordinary things together."
