Zidane is gone but not forgotten for France squad

CLAIREFONTAINE, France, Aug 30 (Reuters) Zinedine Zidane is gone but not forgotten as France prepare to start their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign in Georgia on Saturday before hosting world champions Italy four days later.

The former number 10 left French fans shocked and dismayed when he was sent off during the World Cup final for head-butting Italy defender Marco Materazzi.

Zidane failed to cap his outstanding career with a second world crown, but his influence on France appeared greater than ever during the tournament in Germany.

''We badly miss him,'' said Manchester United striker Louis Saha.

''It's like there is now a little ghost dancing above our heads. We often think about him.

''He helped us achieve something great during the World Cup. He played such a great role when we were there.

''By reaching the final we got back the confidence we badly lacked during qualifying.

''We learned to play and live together, to be like a club more like a national team. Something was born during the World Cup and it now lives on.'' Olympique Lyon midfielder Alou Diarra also highlighted Zidane's absence, saying: ''It's a bit weird not have him here with us. He is the kind of player you can't replace. Each of us will have to work harder to make up for his absence.'' Without a top-level playmaker, France coach Raymond Domenech knows he can no longer bank on the sophisticated 4-2-3-1 line-up used at the World Cup and is expected to revert to 4-4-2.

The switch will call for a solid defence and Domenech has been anxious to hold on to experienced players like central defender Lilian Thuram and defensive midfielder Claude Makelele.

''From a psychological point of view, today's situation is different from the one which prevailed after the European championships in 2004,'' Domenech said.

''The players are in an upbeat mood. They played in a World Cup final,'' he said.

Domenech is also sticking with his experienced players in midfield, rather than trying to find a new Zidane.

He picked several young midfielders, such as Olympique Lyon's Jeremy Toulalan and Girondins Bordeaux's Julien Faubert, for the friendly international against Bosnia two weeks ago.

Les Bleus snatched a 2-1 victory thanks to an injury-time winner by Faubert but it was not enough to convince Domenech ahead of two difficult qualifiers in Group B.

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