Move over, Anelka, as Cisse becomes the Tignes idol

Late call-up for the Auxerre striker coveted by the top English clubs was a shrewd move. Alex Hayes visits France's Alpine retreat

Nicolas Anelka must be sick and tired of hearing the name Djibril Cissé. Having been pipped to the post by the young Auxerre centre-forward for the fourth and final striker's berth in France's squad for the World Cup finals this summer, Anelka now looks like he might be replaced by Cissé at Liverpool, too. Not, you suspect, the best way to improve the former Arsenal man's notoriously sullen mood.

Conversely, spend a couple of days with Cissé in the French Alps, and you will quickly understand why the French manager, Roger Lemerre, made the tricky decision. Apart from the fact that the 20-year-old finished the season as France's best domestic striker with 22 goals in a defence-orientated Championnat, Cissé's other great asset is his character. Forget the sulks and negative attitudes, this is a young talent who is genuinely happy to be where he is. Happy, but also respectful and slightly nervous. "I'm going to meet Zinedine Zidane next week [at France's pre-World Cup training headquarters in Clairefontaine outside Paris]," he announces like an excited fan preparing for his big moment backstage at a pop concert. "I've just finished watching a new four-hour video about him. He's my idol."

Cissé is a 20-year-old in dreamland. No wonder, then, he was keen not to make the wrong sort of impression during his first senior call-up at Tignes last week. Perhaps that is why he let his manager, who is more than three decades his senior, overtake him during a cross-country trek in the snow.

"I really was shattered," jokes the Abel Xavier lookalike. Frank Leboeuf, the most senior of the eight players present for the world champions' first reunion, was not so sure. "That was a clever move," the former Chelsea defender quips. "A little sneaky, but if Djibril ends up playing it will have been worth the effort."

Leboeuf is jesting, of course, not least because his new team-mate knows he is going to Japan and Korea as back-up for the three main strikers. But Cissé does not care. One week ago, he had planned to spend the summer relaxing at his country house in the South of France near his home town Arles. Then came Lemerre's surprise call. "I wouldn't have bet one euro on my participation at the World Cup," he says. "So I'll just take whatever I'm given. Even if I do not play a single second of this competition, it's not a problem. After all, Ronaldo did the same at USA 94, and look where he is now."

It is this easy-going attitude, due in large part to Guy Roux's excellent man-management at Auxerre, which explains why Lemerre had no hesitation in opting for Cissé ahead of Anelka. The loss of Robert Pires through injury also played its part, as France suddenly needed someone with sufficient versatility to offer cover on the right-hand side of attack. "Cissé is very young and relatively inexperienced, and yet I believe he deserves his chance," Lemerre says. "I have thought long and hard about this and I just feel that he is the right man in every sense for this World Cup. The exciting thing about Djibril is that I don't know what I'm going to get from him. Nicolas [Anelka] is not quite right at the moment – you can see that on the pitch. I think I've done the right thing."

So does Cissé, who now has the chance to train with his French idols and, perhaps next month, take on the world's best defenders. "I guess Titi [Henry] and David [Trézéguet] came from nowhere to burst on the scene at France 98, so there is no reason why I can't do the same," Cissé says, "but I'm not setting myself any targets. I'm just looking forward to mixing with the world and European champions. It is going to be nerve-racking, particularly to start with as I will be wondering whether I'm good enough to practise with some of these guys. But they are all kind gentlemen and I hope they will accept me into this special family."

Judging by the reception he received from the likes of Vincent Candela, Christophe Dugarry and Leboeuf, Cissé will have few problems. "Frank has been like a father to me this week," he says. "In fact, I've been teasing him that he is old enough to be my dad." Cissé is slowly finding his feet, but it will take him a while longer to integrate fully with such a tight-knit group. "That is why I decided not to call him up before now," Lemerre says. "I thought it would be wrong to put the spotlight on him early on in the season when he still had work to do. This way, the whole trip to the finals will be a pressure-free adventure."

The ploy worked, as Cissé scored 22 goals in an incredible season which might have been even better had he not missed six weeks through injury last autumn. "The manager was absolutely right to wait until the last minute to select me," he says, "because if he had brought me in during the season and things had not gone well, then it might have mucked me up." No chance. Cissé may be young, but he is already a husband and a father [his young daughter is seven months old]. He is intelligent and charming, so it is easy to see why so many of Europe's top clubs are so keen for his signature. Gérard Houllier and Arsène Wenger are two Frenchmen battling hard to secure his services before the World Cup inevitably increases his profile and value. Houllier sees him as the ideal replacement for Anelka. It would be some double if Cissé replaced his compatriot at club and country level.

Cissé talks openly about his burning desire to play in England before long, although he also insists he would like to spend at least one more year at Auxerre. "I think it would be wrong for me to jump ship just as we have qualified for next season's Champions' League. I would love to play for Arsenal, Liverpool or United one day, but I want to be ready. I must not burn any bridges." Money, you sense, will be the deciding factor.

Four years ago, Cissé spent his summer at the Auxerre Academy watching the World Cup and dreaming of becoming a Bleu. At the time, that club's centre-forward was leading the French attack. "It would be amazing if I was given that sort of opportunity," Cissé says. If he is, you can be sure he will score more goals than Stéphane Guivarc'h.