By Sportswriter Su Bin
BORDEAUX, France, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Featuring here ahead of Saturday's French League Cup final, the 1998 World Cup winner Youri Djorkaeff has seen young French players' potential to become stars in the future.
"There are some strong new players in the national team. When we won the World Cup in 1998, we only had Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet who were 20. The team in 2018 has several players around the age of 20," he said.
"Player like Mbappe maybe could become one of the big stars in the future. Why did I say 'maybe'? You never know it, and you always have to be careful.
"Why I like Mbappe is that he's a player on a good way with feet and head. With his thinking, he loves the game and enjoys playing. He not only focuses on scoring goals, but also talks about the game in a collective position," commented Djorkaeff, who also won the 2000 European Championship title with Les Bleus.
For Djorkaeff, the French team needs more leaders en route to reaching the peak at World Cup.
"Today we have Hugo Lloris, (Paul) Pogba and (Antoine) Griezmann. I would love to see Mbappe become a leader. With all players now, we need more leaders.
"We need character on the field. It's what makes us different. With the players we had, we can have a strong French team and win the World Cup.
Comparing the two French teams with a 20-year gap in between, Djorkaeff thought that the 1998 World Cup winning side was more mature and more ready to beat everybody.
He said, "Since 1995, we have been all together, and experienced tough times in national team. It was not easy as you think. We built ourselves on a collective basis, and with that you can beat everybody."
Djorkaeff, who also played in Italian, German and English leagues, expressed his confidence in future development of Ligue 1.
"Today the No. 1 league in the world is Premier League. Since the league (Ligue 1) changed its ownership, we really want to push to become a better league, not just raising the bar to where English (league) are, but step by step.
"It's important today to have more content, professional tour to go everywhere in the world and spread what's going on in France.
"I'm sure that the gap between England and France will be less and less. What's important is quality of the game to attract player and keep Mbappe in France," he said.
Playing for both Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain during his career, 50-year-old Djorkaeff joked that either side wins on Saturday, he will be the guy to win the trophy.
"It will be an interesting game. PSG needs a big victory after their Champions League loss to recreate something strong. Monaco also has a good chance," he pointed out.
As French league ambassador, Djorkaeff is scheduled to go to China the next week for promoting the league.
"This is just the beginning," he stated.
