But for now, I just stumbled on an adorable quote from Zidane’s early idol, Enzo Francescoli.

And though his time on the Old Continent perhaps did not garner the silverware his gifts deserved, he left an indelible mark on those who saw him in action, including a young Marseille fan by the name of Zinedine Zidane. “He was my favourite player and I used to hang around to watch him train,” says Zizou, who named his son Enzo in honour of the former OM star.

“I was stunned when I found out about that,” says Francescoli. “I heard about it just prior to facing him in the final of the Intercontinental Cup in 1996, and that’s why I gave him my shirt after that game. Later on I heard that he used to sleep in that shirt both in his Juve days and with France during the 1998 World Cup.”

Makes me want to go, “Awwwww.”

Once the download starts, it will take a few hours to complete (depending on you internet speed.)

But once it’s downloaded? Magic.

Zizou is still amazing. His every touch on the ball is startlingly good. Still.

And Barthez is a pleasant surprise. I mean… You know your eccentric cousin? The one who’s disappeared for the last year, and you figured he was a homeless drug addict somewhere? And then he shows up at the family reunion in a three-piece suit and gives you a business card that says he’s the marketing manager for a Fortune 500 company? That’s our Fabien. He’s still the same, and doing okay. And surprisingly still very good at what he does.

And young people everywhere are watching Bixente Lizarazu and saying, “You mean the TV guy played FOOTBALL?!?!”

And everybody else is just… Oh my. Trezeguet… Thuram… Desailly… Blanc… Still our guys. Just…older. (And aren’t we all.) Didier Deschamps goes in for a tackle, and I’m thinking, “Honey, you’re turning forty in a couple of months. That’s going to hurt tomorrow!!”

Yes, they’re older. They’re slower. They’re less precise. (Aren’t we all.)

And yet they’re still the same. If you’re a France fan, you need to watch the video.

And here are a few photos to whet your appetite.

The team

The memories

Still magic.

Aimé, the trophy still belongs to you

So many good years

My favorite part:

Enzo: And Theo’s with you.
Luca: No, Theo’s with YOU!

And I love Theo calling for a red card for his brother. Siblings are the same the world over, eh?

Enjoy!

But before we do that? Let’s enjoy the view of former bleu Christian Karembeu (with gaping shirt) and his lovely wife Adriana. (The one with the black bra and seethrough top. You know. The former WonderBra model. Just fyi.)

This couple fascinates me almost as much as Raymond and Estelle.

(Thanks, Kickette!)

If you were following the PSG news in late 2006 when Vikash Dhorasoo got the sack from PSG, you might find it humorous also.

I wrote this up over on the Euro 2008 main page, and then realized that you might enjoy it here too.

For a description of what’s going on, click on the above link.

We should all be so out of shape.

He was there to do some charity work.

“It was a different story on his visit to a local shanty town. His plan to open a sports hall was cut short when, feeling a little worn down by the travelling, he left after just seven minutes when hordes of journalists and locals advanced. But he still had time to miss a penalty against a local politician.”

Zing. Ouch. I think I’ll head off to find some less negative reporting.

A huge thanks to Jeff for taking the reins of this blog while I’ve been busy elsewhere. I’m taking off on Thursday for Europe, where yes, I will be watching our boys play England next Wednesday.

So. Excited.

When I get back, Jeff and I will be splitting the France blogging duties as we head into Euros. It’s going to be a wild ride, so I think it will take two of us.

Next up, The List. So stay tuned.

(Does anybody else think the bald thing is a huge improvement? I mean…um…wow. Nice cleats.)

It’s now officially showing up on the fff site. And yes, there will be two games: One in Karembeu’s homeland of New Caledonia on May 26, and the other in Pascal Vahirua’s homeland of French Polynesia (Tahiti) on May 31.

So far it looks like we’re going to see these players: Laurent Blanc, Didier Deschamps, Marcel Dessailly, Youri Djorkaeff, Frank Leboeuf and Zinedine Zidane, along with former sélectionneur Aimé Jacquet.

I don’t know about you, but I think I could really stand to go to Tahiti in May.

Oh, one last thing, for the guys. Gentlemen, while I was looking for that photo, I stumbled on this one of Mrs. Karembeu that you might like. Whether or not it’s safe for work probably depends on where you work. And there are also a whole bunch out there that are definitely not safe for work. Just FYI.