Sydney: 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, today 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's so passionate about football."

Zidane, 36, retired in 2006 after a storied career with France and at club level with Real Madrid and Juventus.
Source : PTI