Zidane: I could not lead France

Former France playmaker Zinedine Zidane has revealed that one of the reasons he called time on his international career last summer is because he believes he lacks leadership skills.

The Real Madrid star, who earned 96 caps and scored 26 goals in 10 years with Les Bleus, had been unofficially appointed as the natural successor to retired captain Marcel Desailly by new coach Raymond Domenech.

But Zidane still decided to end his international commitments in August, two months after France bowed out of Euro 2004 in the quarter-finals.

“People wished I would become a guide for the new generation but I never felt I was a natural leader,” Zidane explained in France Football.

“Why would you think it can happen when I am over 30? At the European Championships some said I was the boss because during our match against Croatia I gathered with my team-mates on the pitch, but it was just instinctive. I play football for pleasure and I have never been the leader of anything.”

The departure of ’Zizou’ was felt as a huge blow for Domenech, who was also confronted by the retirements of defenders Lilian Thuram and Bixente Lizarazu.

And Zidane, who helped secure the 1998 World Cup for France by scoring two of the three goals in the final against Brazil, admits that it was strange announcing his international retirement.

“It was very weird for me,” he added. “I felt immensely empty. But I am certain I made the right decision and I am sure the French fans understood it.”

Asked when he is thinking about retiring for good, he added: “I don’t want to stop playing football. If one day I feel ridiculous on a pitch then maybe I will stop earlier than the end of my contract with Real (June 2007).”