Zidane’s son could choose Spain over France

How the French football team could do with Zinedine Zidane right now to help lift them out of the worst crisis to hit Les Bleus in years.

Their World Cup in South Africa was a disaster, ending in mutiny and the subsequent banning of four of the ringleaders, and their Euro 2012 qualification campaign opened with a 1-0 defeat to Belarus in Paris on Saturday. True, they beat Bosnia 2-0 on Wednesday to end an eight-match streak without a win, but these are still desperate times for the team that ruled the world a decade ago.

None of this would have happened in Zidane's day, the greatest player to wear the famous blue shirt and the man who inspired France to World Cup glory in 1998 and then to Euro 2000 triumph.

But Zidane has been retired for four years – ever since he dragged France to the final of the 2006 World Cup, only to see red for headbutting Marco Materazzi – and in his stead are the likes of Franck Ribery and Florent Malouda, poor imitations of the genius the French called "Zizou".

Fortunately for France there is another Zidane on the horizon. His name's Enzo and he's the eldest of Zinedine's four sons, and the 15-year-old midfielder is said to have inherited his father's gifts. Thing is – if you're French, at least – there's a problem. The Zidanes live in Spain and for the past couple of years Enzo has been the star of the Real Madrid youth team, the club for whom his father played for five years.

Not only that but Enzo – named in honour of Enzo Francescoli, the former Uruguay midfielder who was Zinedine's childhood hero – has Spanish blood on the maternal side. He has taken his mother's maiden name and is known as Enzo Fernandez at Real, in an attempt to lessen the pressure when he plays. Now after eight years living in Madrid, Enzo considers himself more Spanish than French and would happily play for his adopted country.

And that's the choice he might soon be forced to make. According to weekend reports in several Spanish papers, Zidane junior is on the brink of winning a call-up to the Spain Under-16 side and the country's football authorities are keen for the teenager to make a definite commitment.

None of which seems to bother his father, who has only his son's best interests at heart. "When one of the national teams calls him, we will decide which one to play for," Zinedine said when asked this week about where his son's loyalties lie, adding: "If Spain call him up that's fine. And if France do, that would also be good. The important thing now is that he enjoys playing for Real Madrid."

For French fans it's yet more bad news in a year that can't get much worse, unless of course one of Marcel Desailly's sons should declare himself for England. ·