Quiet enforcer, quite an achiever

Euro 2004: Claude Makelele

Your starter for 10: how many of the team who played in the 1998 World Cup final are likely to take the field against England in the opening game of next summer's European Championship? The answer is six, and that does not even include the likes of Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet and Robert Pires, who were only substitutes five years ago.

No wonder people feel Les Bleus have become the most exclusive gentlemen's club in the world. This French generation are not easily budged, which is why it requires a pretty special talent to be granted permanent membership.

Enter Claude Makelele, who has made the defensive midfielder's position his own for clubs and country over the last couple of years. He was, according to his former Real Madrid team-mate Rob-erto Carlos, the "engine under the beautiful car". At Chelsea, he has quickly established himself. In France, he is known simply as the Messiah.

"I am not the Messiah," Chelsea's £16.8m summer signing says. "I am just one player out of 23; one player in a very good team. The only reason why France are successful at football is because we have lots of good players. That's why no one can be a Messiah."

Not even Zinedine Zidane? "Zizou is Zizou," says Makelele, who played with the darling of French football at Real Madrid for two seasons. "He would be the first to acknowledge that the team allow him to be the player he is - the guy who can turn a match and do that little something extra. In that respect, he is our key man."

Not everyone would agree with that last statement. Many believe that Makelele is the pivot of the side, the player who dictates the tempo of the match. Like France's most successful captain of all time, Didier Deschamps, Makelele has turned what Eric Cantona mockingly called "water-carrying" into an art form.

"Claude is a vital cog in the machine," the France man-ager, Jacques Santini, says. "Not only because he does the simple things well, but also because he can fit in round more complicated players. If you are going to have a Pires or Zidane in your side, you need a Makelele behind them to provide the cover."

And then there is the association in the centre of midfield with Patrick Vieira. "How can I be anything but ecstatic about that partnership?" smiles Santini, whose team will be favourites to retain the title they won in 2000. "On one side you have the captain of Arsenal, and on the other you have the best protector in the business. That tends to make you feel confident."

So, too, has the qualification for Euro 2004. "France needed a boost," Makelele admits. "Our first-round exit at the last World Cup dented our pride, so we needed to book our place in Portugal in style." The French did that by winning their group with games to spare, thus allowing the players to turn their attention to the tournament itself. And, in particular, the opening game against England.

"It's still a bit early to get too excited about the match," Makelele explains, "but we all know it's there waiting for us. It will be a special occasion."

The two countries last met in a major tournament at Euro 92 in Sweden, when the game ended in a 0-0 draw. Not even Basile Boli's head-butting of Stuart Pearce could raise the tempo. "I think things will be very different in June," Makelele says, "because the players know each other so well. So many of us [at least 10 of the French squad] play in England, so it is obviously going to be interesting. Equally, it's also just another match that we have to win in order to qualify for the quarter-finals. In some ways, it will be a bit strange."

Even more peculiar would be another early French exit. Makelele falls silent. "Failure can do a nation some good... but only once."