OFFICIAL: Coach Zidane welcomes World Cup champion back to the French national team

Legendary World Cup-winning goalkeeper Fabien Barthez will join the coaching staff of new French national team head coach Zinedine Zidane, the French Football Federation (FFF) announced on Thursday.

Barthez, 55 years old, was a teammate of Zidane on the French national team that won the 1998 World Cup on home soil. In his new role, the former goalkeeper will be in charge of training the national team's goalkeepers.

During his playing career, Barthez played for Toulouse, Monaco, Marseille, and Manchester United. He also served as an advisor for the French national team under coaches Raymond Domenech and Laurent Blanc, but held no role during the 14 years Didier Deschamps led "Les Bleus". Additionally, Barthez had a brief stint on the coaching staff of Toulouse from 2020 to 2021.

The FFF also announced a series of other additions to the French national team's coaching staff. Notably, two assistants David Bettoni and Hamidou Msaidie are both close associates of Zidane, having worked with him during his two stints as Real Madrid manager.

Additionally, Gregory Dupont has been appointed as "Strategic and Performance Advisor". This expert also previously collaborated with Zidane during his time at Real Madrid.

Zidane was appointed head coach of the French national team on July 28 to replace his former teammate Didier Deschamps, after "Les Bleus" were eliminated in the semifinals of the 2026 World Cup.

The 54-year-old manager will have his first training camp with the French national team in September. France's first match under Zidane will be an away encounter against Turkey in the UEFA Nations League on September 25.

The French national team coaching staff includes:

Head Coach

• Zinedine Zidane

Technical Coaching Staff

• David Bettoni (Assistant Coach)
• Hamidou Msaidie (Assistant Coach)
• Fabien Barthez (Goalkeeper Coach)
• Grégory Dupont (Strategic and Performance Advisor)
• Stéphane Plancque (Scout)
• Farid Tabet (Assistant Coach and Data/Video Analyst)
• Clément Ybert (Video Analysis Assistant)

Medical Staff

• Hervé Collado (Doctor)
• Maxime Matton (Physiotherapist)
• Paul Olive (Physiotherapist)
• Nagib Remita (Physiotherapist)
• Pierre-Yves Froideval (Physiotherapist)
• Philippe Boixel (Osteopath)
• Marc Retali (Podiatrist)

Support Staff

• Laurent Georges (Team Manager)
• Mohamed Sanhadji (Logistics and Security Officer)
• Mustapha Khalef (Security Officer)
• Kamel Lahlouh (Equipment Manager)
• Bastien Geray (Assistant Equipment Manager)
• Guillaume Bigot (Photographer)
• Antonio Mesa (Photographer)
• Roberto Falvo (Head Chef)