Zinedine Zidane has been called the 'prototype of the 21st-century player,' evoking references at Juventus to the greatest of all French playmakers, Michel Platini.

Like Spain playing in Barcelona or Italy competing in Naples, France opening its World Cup campaign in Marseilles is an adventure into hostile territory.

Fickle Marseilles fans could turn on the Aime Jacquet's team if things don't go well against South Africa, but they will hold out their unconditional support for one player: native son Zinedine Zidane.

The 25-year-old Juventus star isn't just the top player on the French World Cup team and the top playmaker in the World Cup, he's been dubbed the ''prototype of the 21st century player'' by more than one source.

The son of Algerian immigrants, Zidane was born and raised in the Castellane section of Marseilles, between the two famous landmarks of Marseilles, the Vieux-Port, the Old Port, and the Stade Velodrome, home of OM.

Zidane perfected the art of dribbling during his youth in Castellane. There were no fancy fields for Zidane and his pals. Most of the time was spent on a concrete expanse, about 150 yards long by 15 yards wide.

''A field to play on?'' Zidane recalls. ''That was too much to ask for.''

In part because of OM's lack of training facilities, Zidane left home early. At the age of 13, he joined the youth program at nearby Cannes. At the age of 16, he debuted in the French First Division.

It wasn't until after France failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup that Zidane got his chance on the French national team. Coming on a substitute, Zidane scored two goals to earn France a 2-2 tie with the Czech Republic.

Two years later, Zidane would suffer the greatest disappointment of his career, again against the Czechs, when the heavily favored French lost on penalty kicks in the semifinals of the 1996 European Championship.

No one had ever doubted Zidane's ability on the ball or his maturity, but his endurance was questioned that summer in England.

''That was a nightmare for me,'' he says, ''and I do not want to go through that again. The first three games were fine but I had played something like 60 games that season and I was exhausted for the last two matches.''

Zidane struggled when he first joined Juventus from Bordeaux the following season, but Juve coach Marcello Lippi stuck with him, giving him more and more responsibility each game.

Juventus has now won back-to-back Italian titles with Zidane in charge. Sitting behind Italian strikers Alessandro Del Piero and Filippo Inzaghi, Zidane runs the Juve attack. Every team keys on the tall Zidane to watch for his runs through midfield, but the big improvement in his game has been his passing.

He now has the patience to play the safe ball instead of always trying to put through the winning ball. No wonder Didier Deschamps, Zidane's French teammate at Juventus, calculates that seven of every 10 balls he wins he lays off to Zidane.

Thanks to the work of Juve conditioning coach Giampiero Ventrone, a former marine, the 6-foot-1 Zidane has improved his conditioning to the point that he's one of Juve's best players in the high-pressure game so many European teams love to play.

Comparisons between Zidane and Platini

The comparisons between Zidane and Juve's former French star, Michel Platini, are inevitable.

Both were raised in immigrant families, Platini from an Italian family in the Lorraine region of France. Both learned their games in the streets. Both started their careers at modest clubs, Zidane at Cannes and Platini at Nancy. Zidane wears the No. 10 shirt for France, just like Platini did. And both are rather shy – which is why Platini in the role of co-president of the French World Cup organizing committee, its chief spokesman, is so ironic.

Zidane says all the talk about Platini and him doesn't bother him.

''I just try to do my job the best I can,'' he says.

Zidane was in the stands at the Stade Velodrome the night of one of the greatest wins in Platini's career, a 3-2 victory over Portugal in the semifinals of the 1984 European Championship. ''A fantastic match,'' recalls Zidane, who was 12 at the time. France trailed 2-1 late in overtime when it pulled off a miracle comeback.

Platini had the winning goal that night in Marseilles, one of nine goals in five games, and France went on to win the title.

An ankle injury this spring raised fears that Zidane would suffer the same fate that Platini did in his final two World Cups. Platini was ailing in 1982 and 1986, when France went out to Germany in the semifinals both times. Many French believe the Blues could have won the World Cup both times if Platini had been healthy.

It is no secret that France struggled this spring with Zidane out of the lineup. France has scored in just four of its seven warmup matches and Zidane had goals in three of them.

Jacquet will take Zidane in any shape.

''In most games he plays,'' says the French coach, ''just having 50 percent of Zidane is always better than having any other player.''

(by Soccer America managing editor Paul Kennedy.)

Zinedine Zidane

Country: France

Age: 25

Height: 6-1

Weight: 175

Tournaments:
European Championship (1996)

Teams:
Cannes (France 1988-92)
Bordeaux (France 1992-96)
Juventus (Italy 1996-)

Honors
Italian First Division champion (1997, 1998)
Toyota Cup champion (1996)
European Super Cup champion (1996)