 Ribery speaks of Zizou dream
07/04/2006
French midfielder Franck Ribery has spoken of his joy at playing alongside the legendary Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup.
The 23-year-old Marseille playmaker was untried at international level when he came into the France squad prior to the tournament but has impressed so far, scoring Les Bleus' first goal against Spain in the second round.
Zidane, who retires from professional football after this year's competition, has been at his magnificent best and inspired his team following an inauspicious start.
The 34-year-old is a true footballing icon in France and is two games away from producing the perfect swan song to a glittering career.
"He is great, extraordinary," Ribery said. "Everyone would like to play with Zidane and I have done everything I can to play in this World Cup.
"It's great to be at the World Cup playing alongside him and it will be great later on in my career, or even when it's over, when I can say 'I played with Zizou'."
Despite the undeniable quality in their ranks, it has been a surprise for some that France have progressed to the semi-final, seeing as they did not start well and there were rumours of dispute and friction in their camp.
They are now heavily fancied to beat Portugal in the semi-final however, at evens, while Scolari's men are at 11/4.
Les Bleus also have a player in the list of favourites to become top scorer – Thierry Henry is at 5/1, behind hot favourite Miroslav Klose at 1/5.
The Arsenal striker is fancied to become the first scorer in Wednesday's game at 11/4, while Zidane and Ribery have been valued at 10/1 and 12/1 respectively to bag themselves a goal from outside the area.
|  |
