He is one of the big surprises on Zinedine Zidane’s first list. Like Guillaume Restes (Toulouse), Jérémy Jacquet (Liverpool), Andy Diouf (Inter Milan) or Estéban Lepaul (Stade Rennais), Lucas Da Cunha was called up for the very first time in his career in the French team. Arriving in Como in 2023 when the club was still playing in Serie B, the player trained in Rennes has changed dimension since last season and the arrival of Cesc Fàbregas, who made him his captain. In an interview with the club’s media, Da Cunha spoke of the importance of the Spanish coach in his development until his arrival at the Blues.
“It’s certain that Cesc had a very important role at my level, I arrived as a winger in Serie B, we played maintenance at the time, and today, I find myself playing in the Champions League, being called up to the French team, and I find myself a midfielder because he felt it. He put me in this position, and since I’ve been there, everything has changed for me and I feel that I still have a lot of room for improvement. When I see how far we’ve come… it’s true that I didn’t expect that, but with work, anything can happen. He talks to me every day, gives me a lot of advice, it’s exceptional and I will be forever grateful. » Da Cunha also spoke about his best memory of the French team, and what Zinedine Zidane represented in his eyes: “When I think of the selection, I think of the 2018 World Cup that France won, I experienced it as a supporter, it gave me a lot of emotions. Zidane? For all French people, he was a legend, an extraordinary player, and today, being able to go to the national team with him as a coach is an immense source of pride.”. During this break, the 25-year-old midfielder could also find a teammate: a certain Moïse Kean, called up with Italy. As a reminder, the Blues will host the Squadra Azzurra at the Stade de France on October 2, for Zinedine Zidane’s debut at home as coach. A poster decidedly loaded with symbols.
