Fabien Barthez joins Zidane's new France coaching setup
Former French football goalkeeper Fabien Barthez looks on prior to the football and rugby union "Match des Legendes" at the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice, southeastern France, on September 26, 2022. Fabien Barthez, a World Cup winner with Les Bleus in 1998, has joined the coaching staff of the French national team’s new manager, Zinedine Zidane, the French Football Federation (FFF) announced on August 13, 2026.
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The 55-year-old, who was Zidane's teammate when France won the 1998 World Cup on home soil, will be responsible for the national team's goalkeepers.
Barthez, who played for Toulouse, Monaco, Marseille and Manchester United, had previously worked as a consultant for the French national team under coaches Raymond Domenech and Laurent Blanc, but played no role during Didier Deschamps' 14-year tenure.
He was briefly part of the Toulouse coaching staff from 2020 to 2021.
The FFF also announced several other appointments to the France coaching staff.
Among them are assistant coaches David Bettoni and Hamidou Msaidie, two close associates of Zidane who worked alongside him during his two spells in charge of Real Madrid.
Another recruit, Gregory Dupont, appointed "Strategy and Performance Advisor" also worked with Zidane at Madrid.
Appointed on July 28 to succeed his former teammate Deschamps after France lost in the World Cup semi-finals, 54-year-old Zidane will take charge of his first France training camp in September.
France's first game under his guidance will be a Nations League match away to Turkey on September 25.
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