NEWS
Following Kalulu injury: Zidane calls up second-division player
Replacing the injured Juve player is a footballer currently under contract in Germany's 2. Bundesliga.
Surprise in the French national team squad!
As the French Football Federation announced on Monday, head coach Zinedine Zidane has called up 21-year-old Sael Kumbedi as a replacement for the injured Pierre Kalulu (Juventus).
This late call-up is by no means an ordinary one: the youngster currently plies his trade "only" in the German 2. Bundesliga with VfL Wolfsburg. Kumbedi made a permanent move from Olympique Lyon to the club of ÖFB legionnaire Pavao Pervan in the summer following a one-year loan spell.
A rare exception
Second-division players in the French national team are naturally a rare exception.
The last time this happened was nearly 20 years ago, although the situation wasn't directly comparable: back then, national coach Raymond Domenech called up Juve duo David Trezeguet and Jean-Alain Boumsong.
The Turin side were playing in Serie B at the time due to their forced relegation following the match-fixing scandal, but both were already established key players in the "Équipe Tricolore".
Back in the 1980s, head coach Michel Hidalgo even took the then 20-year-old Didier Six to Euro 1984. Six was thus able to celebrate winning the European Championship title as a second-division player.
