Book excerpt: This anthology charts French football's path to the glory of World Cup victory. Offering a behind-the-scenes view, it reveals how France went from being a second-rate team to a major footballing superpower in little more than 20 years. Footballers, coaches, writers and journalists describe the way it was and the way it is. The book reveals the scandals of greedy moneymen, the talented players who failed under pressure, the exemplary youth academy of Auxerre, as well as the winning of the 1984 European Championship and the magic of the 1998 World Cup success. It tells the story of how Cantona became king of England and of Zidane, a Franco-Algerian and arguably the world's best player, of how Platini conquered the Calcio, and why Ginola did not make it to the World Cup.