Zidane: 'I want to help the children of Bangladesh.'

A soft-spoken Zinedine Zidane smiled his way through the brief press conference held in his honour at the BFF Bhaban at the heart of the city yesterday and left a message saying that he would be proud to do something to help the children of Bangladesh.

" I shall be proud to do something to help the children of Bangladesh and aid in the overall development of football in the country," said the French legend in his opening speech which came after Nobel Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus, the man responsible for bringing Zidane here, said that "Bangladesh are fortunate to have a footballer of Zidane's stature grace us with his presence."

Yunus further went on to say that he hoped Zidane's visit would, " change the face of Bangladesh football" in the years to come.

In a packed conference room overflowing with reporters and photojournalists, Zidane was the star attraction in a panel that also included BFF president SA Sultan, vice-President Serajul Islam Bachchu and general secretary Anwarul Haq Helal.

" I want to thank Franck Riboud of Danone and Prof. Yunus for inviting me here," said a demure Zidane.

" I am very proud to be here and I am pleasantly surprised to see the enthusiasm of football in this region," said the French legend speaking through an interpreter.

And the maestro offered hope to aspiring young Bangladeshi footballers saying that regardless of their background if they worked hard and got the correct direction they could surely make the grade as professional footballers abroad.

" I believe that anything is possible if one has a fixed goal and believes in hard work."

Answering a query from a reporter about the key differences between Asian and European football Zidane said, " Asia is probably lagging behind since football is primarily an European sport and came late to this part of the world."

He was hopeful that it would catch-up very soon though.

Also keeping in tune with his roots, Zidane said that Muslim countries doing well in football made him happy and therefore he was hopeful that Bangladesh would one day reach a standard level.

VP Serajul Islam Bachchu opened the session by saying that this was a great day for Bangladesh football and the BFF. He thanked everyone including Danone and Professor Yunus for making this day possible.

After the initial formalities Zidane was asked a variety of questions and answered queries, which ranged from speaking about his future goals to expressing his dismay at not being able to watch Indian football on TV!

Zidane confirmed that he had no plans to take up coaching at this moment saying that, " I think that at this moment I can put my skills to better use in some other sectors rather than football."

Asked how bitterly he felt about his runners-up finish in this summers World Cup, Zidane was philosophical.

"A players' career is full of ups and downs. Sometimes the good things come along and other times its all bad. It's part and parcel of a footballer's life. There have been many incidents in my life and its part of who I am."

And faced with the age-old question of who amongst Pele and Maradona was better, Zidane was diplomatic.

" I only watched Pele on TV and videos after his career had finished but I grew up watching Maradona. Both are great players in their own time and both shall live on as legends."

Zidane also dispelled any comparisons between him and Platini saying that although Platini was a great player of the 80's there was very little resemblance between themselves.

There was also a hint of humour about the press meet when an apologetic looking Zidane said that he was sorry that he was not able to comment on Indian football because of the lack of transmission in Spain or France!

But the man affectionately called Zizou saved the best for last. When an overeager reporter engaged the services of Professor Yunus to ask the ex-Real Madrid star to take over as coach of Bangladesh, Zidane answered with a wry smile and the hint of a nod.

However, professor Yunus rescued him from the predicament by answering the reporter saying that he had talked about that very thing with Zidane and maybe something could be arranged in the future.

"Maybe in the future," was Prof. Yunus's reply.