Liverpool transfer target Djibril Cisse has admitted to being very short-sighted, but that is not the reason he does not see himself as coach Roger Lemerre's secret weapon.
|
"I am just a normal player like others and being short-sighted does not bother me," he said.
"The ball is big enough, I can see it easily."
There are many opposition goalkeepers who must wish they could say the same - all too often they do not see any ball he hits until it is far too late.
It was no surprise when last season Cisse emerged joint top scorer - alongside Bordeaux's Portuguese ace Pauleta - in Le Championnat with 22 goals in 29 games.
"But I don't think I am France's secret weapon," said Cisse, who initially suspected a cruel practical joke when told he had been named in the France World Cup squad.
"I am just here to learn from my new team-mates who are exceptional."
Lemerre called up Cisse two weeks ago to invite him to squad training at Tignes and accompany the defending world champions to Japan and South Korea.
An under-21 international who had had no contact with the celebrated senior squad, Cisse was preferred to Liverpool's Nicolas Anelka even though Lemerre said he did not know what to expect from the precocious youngster.
"It is understandable that the coach has doubts about my attitude on the pitch with the team because he has never seen me play with them," said Cisse.
"I want to remain cool whatever happens and try not to put too much pressure on myself.
"But he chose me because he trusts me and believes I can bring something to the existing team.
"Their style, which is very direct, suits me perfectly."
Cisse seems likely to make his international debut in Friday's friendly against Belgium at the Stade de France.
But he says he will not lose any sleep if he has to wait a little longer to break into the national team.
"I do not mind whether I play or not on Saturday," he said. "This is Lemerre's decision.
"Of course I will have a little apprehension if I play but it will soon disappear once I am on the pitch.
"I don't want to be stressed about it.
"Four years ago I was watching the World Cup on television and I did not think I could ever be part of the next one.
"When you are 16, you dream about the French team but it does not seem serious.
"But I do believe in destiny, I believe in God and if I was selected, then it is because it was meant to happen."
Although Cisse is in no hurry to leave Auxerre, where he made his first team debut in 1998-99, his prodigious talent and disarming maturity have already made him a prime target for some of Europe's leading clubs.
Liverpool, coached by Frenchman Gerard Houllier, have the youngster firmly in their sights.
The French daily L'Equipe has quoted Houllier as saying that Cisse was one of four or five players they were interested in signing.
But he has a strong attachment to Auxerre and is especially close to their veteran coach Guy Roux, who spent most of the winter recovering from a heart bypass operation last November.