Marseille, June 12: This racially diverse port on the Mediterranean is the perfect showcase for France's multi-ethnic World Cup team. Half the 22 players have family roots outside France proper.French colonial history may be rocky, but one of the fruits is the contemporary melting pot that draws on the soccer skills of Frenchmen of various backgrounds to mount a serious challenge for the sport's biggest prize.France opens its World Cup campaign today against South Africa.In contrast to racial frictions in the French society at large, the national soccer squad had a tradition of integration even before the early 1980s when Michel Platini, France's greatest soccer star, made his mark. Platini's heritage is Italian."It's a pleasure to have them. I love them. I would miss them," French coach Aime Jacquet said of the minorities on the team.Much will depend on Zinedine Zidane, son of an Algerian immigrant and raised in Marseille's rough Castellane neighbourhood.Marcel Desailly, born 30 years agoin Ghana, and Lilian Thuram, from the Antilles Islands in the Caribbean, are stalwarts on defence.If "Les Bleus" are looking for a late goal, they'll probably turn to David Trezeguet, the son of an Argentine soccer player. He was born in France, but spent most of his life just outside Buenos Aires before his return to star in soccer.On the sidelines will sit a powerhouse of the midfield, Christian Karembeu, born in New Caledonia and proud to be Kanak."In the French team - there is this very natural contact, whatever the colour, whatever his origin. There is always this fabulous welcome," Jacquet said.It's a far cry from other soccer scenes in Europe, where some black players can still be pelted with fruit or have to endure jeers."Racial tension can also wreck the cohesion of a team. The Dutch squad went down quarrelling badly along colour lines two years ago at the European Championships. Sometimes it's tough to understand one another," said Dutch federation president Jeu Sprengers.TheFrench started integrating players from Polish origin, immigrants drawn to the northern coal mines, into the team during the 1950s."In my playing days, when the Poles and the Russians arrived, there was such a welcome, warm and spontaneous," said Jacquet, who played with them a quarter century ago. In the early 1980s came Platini and wave after wave from Francophone Africa and the French overseas territories.All the more surprising were Spanish media reports over the winter claiming Karembeu only used the French jersey to highlight the problems of his people in New Caledonia.Karembeu denied it. "I'm proud to wear the jersey. No one can take it away from me. I've always tried to wear it with honour," he said.Youri Djorkaeff's father, whose parents were were Armenian, was the French team captain a generation ago. Now his son has a key role to play in France's World Cup challenge.When French President Jacques Chirac visited the French training camp last week, he invited the player along for anupcoming presidential visit to the Caucasus nation."My grandparents left the country by foot and now I'll discover it by presidential plane," Djorkaeff was quoted by the L'Equipe Sports paper.When Zidane was asked what other country he would love to play for, he replied as a proud Frenchman. "Not any other nation," he said.
