World Cup winning coach Aime Jacquet rallies France squad

Paris: France`s 1998 World Cup winning coach Aime Jacquet on Friday visited Les Bleus training camp outside Paris to rally the troops ahead of their Brazil campaign.

Coach Didier Deschamps, captain of Jacquet`s squad when they won France`s only World Cup title, had lunch with the players before visiting the National Football Centre in Clairefontaine, south-west of the capital. "This is a coach who was world champion, he gave us some coaching tips, told us to stand united, to have fun and to go after our dream," said Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema. "He told us that the World Cup was a fabulous moment to share together," added Paris Saint-Germain defender Lucas Digne. "You have to remember that this is Aime Jacquet, the first French coach to win the World Cup." A former defensive midfielder during his playing career Jacquet earned two caps for France in 1968. He coached France from 1993, retiring straight after their World Cup success at home in 1998. France`s 2010 World Cup campaign in South Africa was marked by a players` strike and a group-stage exit. Deschamps`s side have been drawn against Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras in this year`s World Cup which starts on June 12.