France's hopes rest on Zidane clones

For the first major tournament after the retirement of the great Zinedine Zidane, France's destiny appears to be in the hands (and feet) of young players made in his image.

Striker Karim Benzema, his Lyon teammate Hatem Ben Arfa and Marseille midfielder Samir Nasri resemble the hero of France's 1998 World Cup title not only in their North African heritage, but also in their football style.

Like Zidane, Benzema has spectacular skills and is a permanent threat in front of the net. Only 19 years old, Benzema currently leads France's Ligue 1 in scoring and has netted three goals in seven matches with the national side.

The 20-year-old Ben Arfa is an attacking midfielder with dazzling speed who scored a goal in his first international match, against the Faroes Island in October.

Also 20, Nasri is a clever playmaker who can also score, and has racked up two goals in only six international games.

In addition to these three certain future stars, France also have the promising 21-year-old Abou Daby, 22-year-old Lassana Diara and defender Francois Clerc and midfielder Jeremy Toulalain, both 24.

The coach of the 1998 triumph, Aime Jacquet, gives current team manager Raymond Domenech much of the credit for reconstructing the side, runner-ups to Italy in the 2006 World Cup.

"He is shaping a solid group and improving it by giving a number of young players their chance. By playing them more quickly, he is making them competitive more rapidly," Jacquet told the daily Le Monde.

In addition to this rich stock of young players, Domenech can count on a solid nucleus of veteran stars, such as striker Thierry Henry and midfielder Claude Makelele, to provide continuity and experience.

"We have a very, very good (new) generation mixed with 5 or 6 veterans who... still have more to give, such as (Lilian) Thuram, Henry, (William) Gallas, (Willy) Sagnol, (Patrick) Vieira," Makelele said.

In qualifying for the Euro 2008 finals, France showed a great deal of promise, both in the style of play and in the results. They defeated every team in their group at least once, all except Scotland, losing both matches by the identical 1-0 score.

The losses to a clearly inferior side made Domenech vulnerable to those who criticised his team selection, not for who was chosen, but for who was not - particularly the prolific Juventus striker David Trezeguet.

The 30-year-old Trezeguet has scored 34 goals in 70 international matches, including the extra-time winner against Italy in the Euro 2000 title game. But Domenech has chosen to play with only one pure striker, and prefers Henry, who is now France's leading career goal-scorer with 43.

Win or lose, the Euro 2008 finals will mark an important watershed in the development of the French national side, a transition that Domenech appears to believe will lead to another World Cup title soon.

"We are like (we were) in 1996-1998," he said. "Players come, need to play in matches and important tournaments to, one day, replace those who are here." - Sapa-dpa

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Ditulis oleh lankapo pada tanggal Wednesday, November 28, 2007