Z. Zidane, coach of the French national team, held a press conference to announce his first squad list since taking the position and answered questions from the media present. This article is the fourth part of the press conference.

Good morning. You mentioned earlier that you hope to bring highly entertaining and attacking football to this French squad. How do you intend to shape the specific tactical structure for the attacking line? Will you adopt an extreme attacking formation with two, three, or four forwards? Also, how do you plan to position key players like Mbappé, Dembélé, and Olise on the field?

Where to position them? It's simple—let them play in the positions that suit them best and make them most comfortable. As the game develops, everyone will naturally see the specific effects. Indeed, everyone knows that tactics are fluid and top-level modern forwards generally have the ability to play in multiple positions. Take Kylian, for example—he has delivered excellent performances in all three positions in the attack, so positioning has never been an issue for us.

The key lies in "tactical fluidity and organization"—how to design attacking patterns and how to implement this system. This is the concept I have always emphasized and what I'm committed to building. As for the "four-forward formation" you mentioned, obviously we cannot blindly pursue an extreme attacking line divorced from reality. The absolute priority in tactical design is always to maintain the offensive and defensive balance of the entire team. We have many gifted and outstanding players, and my responsibility is to place them in positions where they can best express their individual qualities and guide them to play with collective synergy.

Zinedine, good morning. Regarding your squad management plan, I would like to ask you a somewhat delicate, even sensitive question: is Karim Benzema's return to the French national team currently a realistic possibility?

Why is this an unpleasant question? No, you can ask whatever you like. In fact, quite the opposite—this gives us an opportunity to talk about Karim. I worked with him at Real Madrid for many years, and his performances were always outstanding and exceptional. However, the current situation is actually the same. In short, I personally love and admire Karim very much. He has contributed immensely to the national team, but he has also reached a certain age, which is somewhat similar to N'Golo Kanté's situation.

I have immense respect for his brilliant achievements throughout his career, but at this stage, I need to evaluate and work with younger players to see what we can build together in the future. Of course, this will never erase or diminish the great success he has achieved with the French national team and the various clubs he has played for. Your question is excellent, but my decision will certainly not affect his rightfully prominent place in football history.

Zinedine, good morning. Having taken over the team this time, you have only a short preparation period of 15 days for the training camp. Did you have in-depth communications with some players beforehand to understand the current atmosphere in the squad's dressing room and thus find the key entry point to integrate quickly and accelerate tactical adjustments?

No, frankly, we haven't had much private communication beforehand. However, starting next Monday, all the called-up players will arrive at the base one by one, and I will go tomorrow early to prepare. This time we have a full 15-day training camp—as you said, typical international match training camps are usually only 8-10 days, so this 15-day window is a very rare new opportunity. As everyone knows, we won't be conducting two high-intensity training sessions a day, so this extended time will give us a very solid window for in-depth face-to-face communication, building trust, and establishing tactical consensus.

Zinedine, good morning. We just discussed the relatively limited talent pool in the fullback position. How do you assess the current goalkeeper reserve situation in the French squad? Why did you specifically call up young goalkeeper Guillaume Restes for this list? Also, what tactical considerations led you to invite Fabien Barthez to join the coaching staff as goalkeeper coach?

Why not Guillaume Restes? This was not an impromptu decision at all, but one made after careful evaluation by our coaching staff, and I take full responsibility for this choice. In my first squad list for the national team training camp, we called up three goalkeepers: Mike Maignan, Guillaume Restes, and Robin Risser. We will rely on this combination of goalkeepers for our future work.

As for why I invited Fabien Barthez to be the goalkeeper coach, first, Fabien and I share a highly coherent understanding of the tactical roles and fundamental qualities of top-level modern goalkeepers. Second, as a decorated international player, he has unparalleled practical experience in elite competitions and has personally lived through all the highlights and challenges of major tournaments. I have complete confidence in his professional abilities and am confident he can help our goalkeepers achieve significant improvement. Combined with the rapport and shared experiences we built when playing together, we have always maintained alignment in our football philosophies.

Good evening, Zinedine. I'd like to ask you a relatively lighter question. With your leadership, the national team has introduced a completely new management model. We particularly noticed that every Monday, when international players gather, the spectacle of journalists and cameras surrounding the steps of the Clairefontaine castle will no longer exist. It is well known that the "walk down the steps" when players arrive has received much attention in recent years, even evolving into a "fashion show" for international players to display stylish clothing and a popular fixed meme on social media. How do you view this phenomenon? You must have also seen relevant content on social media platforms. Do you intend to preserve this tradition, or do you hope to use this move to send a signal of stricter disciplinary management and sober pragmatism to the entire squad?

No, I don't intend to deliberately emphasize any "reserved and simple" disciplinary requirement. Every player can dress and present themselves according to their own aesthetic and preferences. I won't interfere or change anything in that regard. What we truly need to adjust is the positioning of Clairefontaine itself—Clairefontaine is the sacred training ground of the national team. Once everyone enters, there's no need for excessive external publicity and packaging.

In short, players have absolute freedom in their clothing when they arrive, and once they enter the castle, it's a moment of internal concentration for our squad. Regarding the video recording management you mentioned, while we will more strictly control on-site video recording, players are absolutely 100% free in terms of personal expression and clothing.

At this point, the French Football Federation's press officer added: "I'll quickly add a small clarification here. Regarding video recording and images of players arriving at the castle steps, the Federation's official media will film and produce them uniformly and release and share them publicly with all media outlets. The operating model is exactly the same as the signal production and media distribution of today's press conference."

Tradotto dall'IA.

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