Zinédine Zidane bets on a baby‑inspired assistant for the Blues

France's manager, Zinédine Zidane, has officially added Hamidou Msaïdie to the French national team's technical staff. A former physiotherapist, Msaïdie now holds the position of assistant coach, with duties that go beyond strictly medical matters. He works on physical preparation, injury prevention and player observation.

A role that goes beyond the medical

According to L’Équipe, Msaïdie studies the natural movements of babies to enrich his thinking on warm‑ups and posture. It is not about asking internationals to reproduce these gestures exactly, but about analysing a body mechanics that is little altered by acquired compensations. This approach fits within a global vision of human movement.

An approach born in Madrid

Before joining the French national team, Msaïdie was a physiotherapist specialized in fascia at Real Madrid, where he worked alongside Zidane and David Bettoni. He observed the players both in training and in matches, exchanged with the medical and physical services, and contributed to session preparation. This experience shaped his cross‑disciplinary coaching approach.

In the new staff, Msaïdie positions himself as the link between the medical personnel, physical preparation and the coaches. This role differentiates him from a traditional assistant, as he ensures the flow of information among all components of the group. The trio formed with Zidane and Bettoni at Real Madrid rests on the same complementarity.

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At Clairefontaine, Bettoni largely leads the session facilitation, while Zidane oversees the whole. The other members, including Msaïdie, intervene in their respective areas, thereby strengthening the coherence of the collective work. This organisation aims to optimise every aspect of the Bleus' preparation.

Physical prevention is of paramount importance for the new manager. Ibrahima Konaté has already had to leave the camp because of a knee injury, highlighting the need for increased monitoring. Msaïdie, thanks to his eye on the body, plays a key role in early risk detection.

Ultimately, behind the surprising image of babies' movements lies a much broader function: to observe, prevent and circulate information among all staff components, in order to ensure the best possible physical condition for the Bleus.