Berlin is “le bleus”
Berlin is becoming a French town before the World Cup final that could take Zinedine Zidane to the legend.
Even the sky was tearful as the inhabitants of a small village near Hameln turned out to bid a bitter-sweet farewell to the France squad after their final training session on Friday.
The volunteers from the media centre were among the many locals who ignored the driving rain to come out and wish Raymond Domenech and his players goodbye and, of course, good luck.
Before setting off for Berlin and their date with destiny, Les Bleus had wanted to say a last goodbye to the people of Aerzen, a village some five miles outside Hameln where the French squad had held most of their training sessions since arriving in Germany on 8 June. The French delegation duly provided 100 free tickets for locals to come and watch their final practice.