FC Bayern München Franck Bilal Ribéry King!!!

The celebrations were in full swing and the players drunk on euphoria. France had just beaten Brazil in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final in Frankfurt, a thrilling victory orchestrated by Zinedine Zidane, and a very important person wanted to drop in on the dressing room.
Jacques Chirac's entrance prompted degrees of reverence and slight straightening of backs. One player, though, stripped to his shorts, felt no distance between himself and the then president of France. He danced alongside him, arching out an arm to film the scene on his mobile phone. "Allez, monsieur le president," he yelled. Zidane and the others were agape.
The player was Franck Ribéry and if any episode served to illustrate his down-to-earth nature and infectious confidence, that was it. Chirac roared with laughter. Ribéry, the product of a tough upbringing on the rough Chemin-Vert estate in Boulogne, northern France, does not differentiate between princes and paupers. Nor, it seems, is he unduly fazed by the mounting pressure on his shoulders. The midfielder still plays with the abandon of a kid in the streets.
Much has changed for Ribéry since that heady night two years ago. Zidane has retired, his last act for Les Bleus being his infamous head-butt on Italy's Marco Matterazzi in the World Cup final, and the nation has looked to Ribéry to fill the void. He had never been capped before the World Cup finals; now he enters Euro 2008 as France's leader and creative spark.
When Ribéry plays, roaming from his starting position on the right of a four-man midfield, France play. The expectation on him is enormous. Yet, having just enjoyed an explosive debut season at Bayern Munich, he is ready. "The truth is that I do truly feel at ease in the company of great players like Thierry Henry and Zidane," he said. "I know that's my level. The fact is that I'm quick and skilful, and my extra bonus is that I can play equally well on the left or the right side."
There is no arrogance to Ribéry who, at 25, is the oldest of France's new generation, a group which features his close friend Karim Benzema, Samir Nasri, Jérémy Toulalan, Lassana Diarra and Bafétimbi Gomis. He simply knows his worth, having progressed at startling pace.
When Ribéry arrived at Bayern from Marseille last summer, he did so with Italy's main striker Luca Toni. Playing on the left of midfield, Ribéry finished as Germany's player of the year - in 2007, he had won the corresponding award in France. This time his boot company, Nike, produced a mock-up of him in monarch's regalia in front of a Munich church which was being renovated. "Bavaria has a king again," ran the slogan.
Ribéry, a popular joker in the dressing room, has been less comfortable under the spotlight, but he is coming out of his shell and has recorded a television show.
Self-belief now courses through Ribéry and it appears that over-confidence represents the single greatest threat to a France squad which is arguably the strongest in Switzerland and Austria. The depth of the resources available to Raymond Domenech, the coach, is reflected by the players he has not been able to accommodate.
David Trezeguet may have scored 20 goals for Juventus in Serie A this season but, together with Djibril Cissé and Louis Saha, he will watch from afar. Lyon's Hatem Ben Arfa and Bordeaux's Alou Diarra are among those disappointed in midfield while Gaël Clichy, the Arsenal left-back, has found that his good form at club level has not been sufficient to displace Eric Abidal or Patrice Evra.
There is no danger, though, of France lacking focus. The scars of the 2002 World Cup, when they slumped to Senegal and Denmark and bowed out without scoring a goal, remain in the memories of their more experienced players.
"It's important before a big tournament that there is always a doubt somewhere," said the central defender Lilian Thuram, France's most capped player with 139. "When you doubt, that's when you work harder and fight harder. Although we are confident, we are not complacent."
France's placement in a group alongside Italy, Holland and Romania - their first game is against the latter on Monday - has ensured a frisson of uncertainty.

But Domenech, whose chief selection teaser involves whether to let Benzema off the leash from the start, in preference to Henry or Nicolas Anelka, predicts his team will at least secure a place in the final. Having said that they would face Germany in the final of the last World Cup, he has gone for the same pairing. "I cannot get it wrong all the time," he said. "This time, I will be right."

In Germany, they know all about Ribéry. A pan-European audience is poised to follow suit.