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Fabien Barthez Joins Zidane’s New France Coaching Setup

Former French football goalkeeper Fabien Barthez looks on prior to the football and rugby union "Match des Legendes" at the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice, southeastern France, on September 26, 2022. (AFP)
Former French football goalkeeper Fabien Barthez looks on prior to the football and rugby union "Match des Legendes" at the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice, southeastern France, on September 26, 2022. (AFP)
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Fabien Barthez Joins Zidane’s New France Coaching Setup

Former French football goalkeeper Fabien Barthez looks on prior to the football and rugby union "Match des Legendes" at the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice, southeastern France, on September 26, 2022. (AFP)
Former French football goalkeeper Fabien Barthez looks on prior to the football and rugby union "Match des Legendes" at the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice, southeastern France, on September 26, 2022. (AFP)

World Cup-winning goalkeeper Fabien Barthez will join the staff of new France head coach Zinedine Zidane, the French Football Federation (FFF) announced Thursday.

The 55-year-old, who was Zidane's teammate when France won the 1998 World Cup on home soil, will be responsible for the national team's goalkeepers.

Barthez, who played for Toulouse, Monaco, Marseille and Manchester United, had previously worked as a consultant for the French national team under coaches Raymond Domenech and Laurent Blanc, but played no role during Didier Deschamps' 14-year tenure.

He was briefly part of the Toulouse coaching staff from 2020 to 2021.

The FFF also announced several other appointments to the France coaching staff.

Among them are assistant coaches David Bettoni and Hamidou Msaidie, two close associates of Zidane who worked alongside him during his two spells in charge of Real Madrid.

Another recruit, Gregory Dupont, appointed "Strategy and Performance Advisor" also worked with Zidane at Madrid.

Appointed on July 28 to succeed his former teammate Deschamps after France lost in the World Cup semi-finals, 54-year-old Zidane will take charge of his first France training camp in September.

France's first game under his guidance will be a Nations League match away to Türkiye on September 25.

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Arbeloa Sent off and Fulham Walks off Before Penalty Shootout in Preseason Game Against Malaga

Real Madrid's head coach Alvaro Arbeloa looks out from the bench prior to the Spanish La Liga match between Real Madrid and Real Oviedo in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP)
Real Madrid's head coach Alvaro Arbeloa looks out from the bench prior to the Spanish La Liga match between Real Madrid and Real Oviedo in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP)
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Arbeloa Sent off and Fulham Walks off Before Penalty Shootout in Preseason Game Against Malaga

Real Madrid's head coach Alvaro Arbeloa looks out from the bench prior to the Spanish La Liga match between Real Madrid and Real Oviedo in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP)
Real Madrid's head coach Alvaro Arbeloa looks out from the bench prior to the Spanish La Liga match between Real Madrid and Real Oviedo in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP)

Fulham's preseason match against Malaga turned out to be not too friendly when the English club walked off and coach Alvaro Arbeloa was red-carded for complaining with the referees.

La Liga host Malaga scored a 90th-minute equalizer for 2-2. Malaga said a penalty shootout was scheduled. Fulham said there wasn't. Malaga kicked a penalty into an open net and claimed the Costa del Sol trophy on Wednesday.

Fulham said on X: “We can confirm that prior to the match, both teams agreed that there would not be a penalty shootout in the event of a draw."

Former Real Madrid coach Arbeloa was sent off for arguing with the officiating crew at the end of the match.

Malaga said a penalty shootout was scheduled but “Fulham left the pitch claiming that a shootout had not been included in the contract.”

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Xavi Says Honored to Be Named Netherlands Coach

12 September 2022, Bavaria, Munich: Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez leads a training session at Allianz Arena ahead of the UEFA Champions League group C soccer match against Bayern Munich. (dpa)
12 September 2022, Bavaria, Munich: Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez leads a training session at Allianz Arena ahead of the UEFA Champions League group C soccer match against Bayern Munich. (dpa)
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Xavi Says Honored to Be Named Netherlands Coach

12 September 2022, Bavaria, Munich: Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez leads a training session at Allianz Arena ahead of the UEFA Champions League group C soccer match against Bayern Munich. (dpa)
12 September 2022, Bavaria, Munich: Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez leads a training session at Allianz Arena ahead of the UEFA Champions League group C soccer match against Bayern Munich. (dpa)

The appointment of Xavi as Netherlands ‌coach late on Wednesday completes an extensive search and brings full circle the special relationship between Dutch football and Barcelona.

Xavi replaces Ronald Koeman, who quit after the Netherlands were eliminated from the World Cup in the round of 32 in June.

A World Cup winner with Spain as a player in 2010, Xavi has been out of coaching since leaving Barcelona in 2024, where he spent three seasons in charge.

He has signed a four-year contract through the 2030 World Cup and is the first foreign coach to take charge of the Dutch since Austrian ‌Ernst Happel at ‌the 1978 World Cup.

The six-week wait for a ‌coach ⁠drew criticism from ⁠Dutch media, but the country's football association received several rejections, including from Arne Slot and Erik ten Hag, before turning to the former Barcelona playmaker.

Xavi had also succeeded Koeman at Camp Nou in November 2021 and coached Barcelona to the La Liga title in 2023 before leaving after a run of poor results a year later.

Barcelona’s football philosophy of ⁠dominant possession, short passing and quick ball recovery ‌was introduced with the arrival of Rinus ‌Michels as coach and Johan Cruyff as a player, the pair bringing “Total ‌Football”, a philosophy honed at Ajax Amsterdam in the early 1970s.

Cruyff, ‌who later coached Barcelona, was a major influence on subsequent coaches, particularly Pep Guardiola, who had Xavi as one of his key players during his time in charge from 2008 to 2012.

“As someone who received his training at ‌the Barcelona academy, with strong influences from Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels, among others, I feel a ⁠special connection to ⁠Dutch football,” Xavi said in a statement on Wednesday.

“You could say that I am a bit of a son of Dutch football. I consider it a tremendous honor to become the national coach of the Dutch national team."

Xavi also played under Frank Rijkaard and Louis van Gaal, who gave him his Barcelona debut in 1998, and had as his teammates a myriad of Dutch internationals, including Frank and Ronald de Boer, Marc Overmars and Patrick Kluivert.

His most pressing tasks include building towards the European Championship in 2028 and the World Cup two years later.

The Netherlands also play four Nations League matches in quick succession in the September-October international window against Germany, Serbia (twice) and Greece.

Sports

Zverev Says Cutting Masters Events to One Week Is an Easy Fix for Crowded Calendar

05 August 2026, Canada, Montreal: German tennis player Alexander Zverev plays a backhand return against Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor during their men's singles second round tennis match at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Montreal. (dpa)
05 August 2026, Canada, Montreal: German tennis player Alexander Zverev plays a backhand return against Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor during their men's singles second round tennis match at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Montreal. (dpa)
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Zverev Says Cutting Masters Events to One Week Is an Easy Fix for Crowded Calendar

05 August 2026, Canada, Montreal: German tennis player Alexander Zverev plays a backhand return against Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor during their men's singles second round tennis match at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Montreal. (dpa)
05 August 2026, Canada, Montreal: German tennis player Alexander Zverev plays a backhand return against Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor during their men's singles second round tennis match at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Montreal. (dpa)

World number three Alexander Zverev ‌said cutting Masters tournaments back to one week would help players maintain their fitness instead of having to manage their workload and be selective about which events they compete in.

Jannik Sinner withdrew from the Canadian Open to prioritize his health after retaining his Wimbledon title, while 24-times Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic also skipped the US Open tune-up to manage his workload.

Carlos Alcaraz missed out due to a wrist ‌injury that ‌has kept him out since April.

The ‌withdrawals ⁠once again left ⁠the tournament without three of the sport's top names after the trio also missed last year's edition.

French Open champion Zverev, who lost his opening match in Montreal, told reporters: "I think that's what two-week events do.

"Unfortunately, especially if there's a Grand Slam coming after that. ⁠If you play everything and you're ‌a top player, you spend ‌seven weeks here in North America.

"That is quite a ‌long time and I think that's why a lot ‌of top players choose not to play Canada for multiple years now. That's unfortunately the sad reality of it.

"It's quite simple. Make us be here for two weeks, ‌not seven. For the Masters, it's two weeks for both of them. I think ⁠that's ⁠an easy fix regarding top players playing," added the German, speaking ahead of the Cincinnati Open.

Since 2025, seven of the nine ATP Masters 1000 events on the calendar have each been held across 12 days, with only the Monte-Carlo and Paris Masters still played over a single week.

Players have criticized the extended events, but the ATP has said they choose their own schedules and that it is working to create incentives for an appropriate number of matches to be played during the season.