Zinedine Zidane has fine-tuned the organisation of his first gathering as head coach of the France national team. The manager convened his expanded staff at Clairefontaine in August to set the general direction for the start of his tenure.
The seminar, held in mid-August, allowed new members of the technical team to meet and establish the organisational groundwork. Zidane outlined the goal. "Everything must be optimised as best as possible so that this first gathering is as smooth as possible," the coach said. The staff wants players to adapt quickly to new demands and get to know each other from the first days.
Scouting and adjustments
Preparatory work began well before Zidane's official announcement in August. A source close to the manager confirmed this early planning. "They were able to anticipate - without making noise so as not to disturb the previous staff - a number of things."
Assistant coaches David Bettoni and Stéphane Plancque, officially appointed as observers, were deployed to multiple venues to assess player performances from the new staff's perspective. Zidane himself attended the Trophée des Champions at Stade Bollaert, his first match observed since his appointment.
Technical meetings also took place in Paris and Madrid, where the manager resides, to cross-reference observations and refine plans. This scouting phase is key as France, top of their World Cup qualifying group with 9 points, face Turkey away on September 25th.
A reshuffled staff
The physical and medical support teams have seen notable changes. Arthur Hochedé, formerly a fitness coach at Red Star and Club Africain in Tunisia when David Bettoni was manager there, has joined the staff. Grégory Dupont, football director at Red Star, holds a role as a strategic performance advisor.
On the medical side, podiatrist Marc Retali, initially announced in August, was replaced by Serge Isidro after giving an interview. Several staff members are already on site at Clairefontaine finalising logistical details before the players' arrival on Monday.
A modernised announcement
The traditional player parade in front of the media at Clairefontaine will not be accessible to journalists this Monday. The staff wants to control internal media exposure during the initial days. The squad list, highly anticipated with strong media accreditation demand, will be revealed on Friday at 18:00.
It could be expanded to include new faces and presented in a renewed format. The group will need to find its rhythm quickly after a patchy run of results (LLWWW), including a 4-6 defeat to England on July 18th. The squad composition and player statistics are available on our squad and stats pages. Zidane's first training session of the gathering is scheduled for Monday afternoon at Clairefontaine.
Background and full detail: RMC Sport Football
