PARIS (FRANCE) (ITALPRESS) – “You will see my way of looking at football. There will always be balance within the team, but I want to see this team express its style of play. We have the players to do it.” Perhaps this is the statement that best sums up Zidane’s football philosophy as he announces his first squad as France head coach.
Zizou acknowledges that “some thought was needed, because there are players who have only just returned after the World Cup, and all these factors have to be taken into account. This is the first squad, the first training camp, and for me the ideas were already quite clear. Perhaps one or two players are deliberately absent, due to a lack of playing time or injury, but there has been a lot of thought and hard work ever since I was appointed.”
There were also some surprises, such as the call-up of Inter player Andy Diouf, whom Zidane is considering for a new role: “I want to see him at left-back. For some time now, that has been the area where we have been lacking a few players, even though we have had some excellent players in that position. Choosing Andy Diouf and Adrien Truffert is a strong and important decision: at the moment, they are players capable of playing in that position at this level.”
There is the usual abundance of options in attack. “They are extraordinary players, and you have to play them in their natural positions,” Zidane insists. Asked about Kylian Mbappé’s limited involvement in defensive duties, he replies: “It’s a non-issue, a false debate. He will have to be managed like all the other players. A team is a team when it has the ball and when it doesn’t. Kylian, moreover, is capable of playing in all three attacking positions, and I also really like him on the left.”
– Photo Ipa Agency –
(ITALPRESS)
