Zidane to lead International side against Australian team

Fri, May 16 12:57 PM

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) _ French World Cup star Zinedine Zidane will head an international side set to play an Australian team in a soccer exhibition on June 1 at Sydney Football Stadium. Zidane will lead a team featuring a number of his teammates from the French side that won the 1998 World Cup, including Marcel Desailly and Robert Pires, along with Danish international Jesper Olsen and Switzerland's Fabio Celestini.

The team, managed by France's World Cup-winning coach Aime Jacquet, will take on a side composed of stars from Australia's 1997 World Cup qualifying squad including Paul Okon, Tony Vidmar, Craig Foster and Stan Lazaridis and coached by Frank Farina. Australia's qualifying campaign for the 1998 World Cup ended in elimination in the final match against Iran despite holding a late two-goal lead.

Australian Tim Cahill, recovering from a foot operation, on Friday described Zidane's visit as the "biggest dream ever." "David Beckham was here (in Sydney) recently and he's one of the most iconic and marketable players in the world," said Cahill.

"But 'Zizou' is one of the biggest players in the world. He is poetry in motion, and he so passionate about football.

" Zidane, 36, retired in 2006 after a storied career with France and at club level with Real Madrid and Juventus. He was red-carded for headbutting an Italian opponent in retaliation for verbal taunts near the end of the 2006 World Cup final in Germany.

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