Born Gaston Ghrenassia in Constantine, Algeria in 1938, Enrico Macias’ career now spans more than four decades. A man of French/Arab origins, of which he is fiercely proud, he has become famous around the world, playing such legendary venues as l’Olympia, Carnegie Hall and the Royal Albert Hall.

Enrico Macias gave FIFAworldcup.com his verdict on France’s hard-fought 3-1 Round of 16 win over Spain.

I watched the match with my friends at La Boule Rouge, which is where I go to eat in Paris. We’re all over the moon. Les Bleus were incredible. We let one in as a result of a disputed penalty, but that didn’t matter. They all played well, but two players deserve to be singled out – Zidane and Ribery. Zidane floated in that lovely free-kick that Vieira put away, and then he scored that amazing third goal. What a moment! He was unstoppable! Magic! Incredible.

Before we played Togo, I predicted that we’d get through and that we’d go far. Now anything is possible. Before the Togo match, everyone was sceptical, pessimistic even. The critics really had it in for Domenech’s managerial style. Fortunately, he didn’t listen to them. He stuck to his guns and to his principles.

He has some great players at his disposal. Every fan thinks that they could do a better job as manager and, while it’s a shame that Giuly and Micoud aren’t there, the players Domenech has picked have really done the business. Tactically, he’s been spot on as well. In modern football, teams that take the game to the opposition tend to get caught out, but France’s counter-attacks have been excellent.

Even if we were to lose to Brazil in the quarter-finals, it would be no disgrace. However, I do think that we’re capable of beating them. Brazil haven’t impressed me thus far, even if they are among the favourites along with Argentina and Germany. Ghana played really well against them but just didn’t have the luck.

France came in for some criticism at the beginning of the tournament, but again, a lot of it was down to luck. Against Switzerland, it’s true that we weren’t very good, but we should have beaten Korea. France are among the favourites now. You shouldn’t forget that we won the World Cup in 1998. After the fiasco in 2002 and at Euro 2004, we’ve now got some pride back. The tough times that we’ve been through will help us to play our football and not worry about what might happen. The pressure we were under before has been lifted.

Tuesday night really might be the turning point as far as Les Bleus are concerned. What we felt after the match with Spain was even more intense than when we won in 1998 and 2000 because this time, we’d come back from the dead. We’ve come all the way back from hell to heaven.

Franck Ribery? A star is born. He’s always looking to get forward and take on the opposition. He’s a real team player, but more than that, he can change the course of the game on his own. He knows where the back of the net is as well. We’ve found a successor for Zidane – not that Zizou is finished yet, as he proved on Tuesday night. He’s more of a legend now than ever.

Source: WCoffsite