Former Sports Minister Marie-George Buffet revealed in a documentary about Zidane that she was ordered to suspend doping controls on the national team ahead of the World Cup where Croatia won bronze.
A new documentary about the legendary Zinedine Zidane has caused a real earthquake in the world of football. In it, former French Sports Minister Marie-George Buffet admitted that she was ordered to suspend doping controls on the national team ahead of the 1998 World Cup. This news sheds completely new light on a tournament in which Croatia won its first bronze medal and hosts France became world champions.
Buffet made her confession in the documentary "Zidane, The Making of a Legend," aired on French television channel BFMTV. It refers to events from 1997, when an unannounced doping control was carried out on French national team players during a training camp in Tignes. Then-coach Aimé Jacquet reacted strongly to the doping control requests, and the football federation also protested, believing that the team's peace was being disturbed during preparations for an important tournament.
In the documentary, Alain Garnier, a former doctor sent to Tignes by the Ministry of Sports, also spoke out. He reveals that the minister conveyed the order to him solely verbally. "I was not to disturb the national team anymore until the World Cup. In other words, there were no more unannounced controls," Garnier said in the documentary, adding that the order came from the Prime Minister's office.
What makes the whole story even more controversial is the fact that the same Marie-George Buffet, in 2013, testified under oath before a Senate committee that the opposite was true. "We never gave any instruction to that effect," she said at the time. With her new confession, she has contradicted the official version she had maintained for more than fifteen years, including before state institutions, as reported by Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport.
For Croatian fans, this news carries special weight. The Vatreni achieved a historic success at that World Cup by winning the bronze medal, and they were stopped on their way to the final by none other than the French.
Meanwhile, a new football story is unfolding in Germany. Jürgen Klopp was presented on July 24, 2026, as the new head coach of the German national team, succeeding Julian Nagelsmann after a disappointing World Cup in which Germany was eliminated in the round of 16 by Paraguay. Klopp has revealed that he is monitoring as many as 57 players, one of whom is 25-year-old Philipp Treu from SC Freiburg.
Treu is a right-back, a position that has been a headache for German coaches for years. "We don't really have many options at the full-back position in Germany," Treu realistically assessed for kicker. It was precisely this lack of options that forced Nagelsmann to push Joshua Kimmich, the DFB's vice-captain, back to the right side, even though he plays exclusively in midfield at Bayern.
"It's no secret that it would be a dream of mine to one day wear the eagle on my chest," Treu admitted to Sky.
Goal.com draws an interesting parallel between Treu and Kevin Großkreutz, a former Borussia Dortmund player. In the 2013/14 season, Klopp deployed the naturally offensive Großkreutz as a right-back, and he performed so well in that role that he was nominated for the World Cup in Brazil. The traits Klopp valued in Großkreutz-immense commitment, tireless work, and strong physicality-Treu brought to Freiburg last year.
Just three and a half years ago, Treu was captain of Freiburg's second team in the 3rd League. In 2023, he moved to St. Pauli for €500,000, earned promotion to the Bundesliga, and stayed there. Two years later, in 2025, Freiburg brought him back for €5.5 million-eleven times the amount they had received for him. "Philipp has developed superbly, and we are absolutely delighted with his return," said Freiburg's sporting director Klemens Hartenbach. The investment has paid off-his current market value has reached €15 million. Last season, Freiburg, with Treu, reached the Europa League final against Aston Villa.
"I know I'm still a long way from the national team," Treu told kicker at the end of March, but added: "The way things have been going over the last few months gives me great satisfaction, but I'm always hungry." It is precisely that hunger that Klopp looks for in his players. In September, he will announce a 26-man squad for the Nations League, and Philipp Treu is a serious candidate for one of the spots.
