UFO Info Week-End

I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to pick which country I wanted to play

I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to pick which country I wanted to play for.” Unlike the wannabes who failed to make it on to Eriksson’s World Cup list.. Nicolas Anelka must be sick and tired of hearing the name Djibril Ciss?Having been pipped to the post by the young Auxerre centre-forward for the fourth and final striker’s berth in France’s squad for the World Cup finals this summer, Anelka now looks like he might be replaced by Ciss?t Liverpool, too. Not, you suspect, the best way to improve the former Arsenal man’s notoriously sullen mood. Apart from the fact that the 20-year-old finished the season as France’s best domestic striker with 22 goals in a defence-orientated Championnat, Ciss? other great asset is his character. Forget the sulks and negative attitudes, this is a young talent who is genuinely happy to be where he is Happy, but also respectful and slightly nervous. “I’m going to meet Zinedine Zidane next week [at France's pre-World Cup training headquarters in Clairefontaine outside Paris],” he announces like an excited fan preparing for his big moment backstage at a pop concert.

“I’ve just finished watching a new four-hour video about him He’s my idol.”Ciss?s a 20-year-old in dreamland. No wonder, then, he was keen not to make the wrong sort of impression during his first senior call-up at Tignes last week. Perhaps that is why he let his manager, who is more than three decades his senior, overtake him during a cross-country trek in the snow.”I really was shattered,” jokes the Abel Xavier lookalike. Frank Leboeuf, the most senior of the eight players present for the world champions’ first reunion, was not so sure “That was a clever move,” the former Chelsea defender quips. “A little sneaky, but if Djibril ends up playing it will have been worth the effort.”Leboeuf is jesting, of course, not least because his new team-mate knows he is going to Japan and Korea as back-up for the three main strikers But Ciss?oes not care. One week ago, he had planned to spend the summer relaxing at his country house in the South of France near his home town Arles Then came Lemerre’s surprise call.

“I wouldn’t have bet one euro on my participation at the World Cup,” he says “So I’ll just take whatever I’m given. Even if I do not play a single second of this competition, it’s not a problem. After all, Ronaldo did the same at USA 94, and look where he is now.”It is this easy-going attitude, due in large part to Guy Roux’s excellent man-management at Auxerre, which explains why Lemerre had no hesitation in opting for Ciss?head of Anelka. The loss of Robert Pires through injury also played its part, as France suddenly needed someone with sufficient versatility to offer cover on the right-hand side of attack.