Djorkaeff battles on for father, son and France

Youri Djorkaeff's face lights up in recognition. He points, not at the photograph of his father, Jean, but at a man dressed as a big cuddly dog with a Union Jack waistcoat.

"I have this," he says. "My father give me this. I have it. It's Willie. I remember Willie."

We are looking at a 32-year-old copy of Miroir du Football, a long-gone French football magazine. I've opened it at a picture of Jean Djorkaeff posing outside the Welwyn Garden hotel the French 1966 World Cup squad used as its base. Youri's attention is caught, however, by World Cup Willie, the tournament mascot.

"My father brought back a Willie for my brother and me. We still have him. He's in France. He was my first mascot."

I turn the pages. There is another picture of Jean Djorkaeff, this time playing the Uruguayan attack onside before the South Americans score. Youri defends his dad. "It was not his fault, France were not playing offside."

Djorkaeff gets his own back. He turns to the front page and gleefully translates the headlines. "All the truth about how the victory of England was organised by a conspiracy to eliminate the South Americans".

This was a widely-held view. A German referee sent off an Argentinian against England in one quarter-final. An English referee did similarly with the Uruguayans against Germany in another. And brutal European tackling kicked Pele, and Brazil, out of the tournament.

This year, if the seeding runs to form, France are scheduled to meet England in the second round. How does Djorkaeff, after his period at England, rate the national team? "They are making a big progression and are now one of the best teams," he said. "Owen is very good."

If Michael Owen ever feels the strain of becoming public property at 18, Djorkaeff would sympathise. Due to his father's achievements he has lived with fame all his life and found it a mixed blessing.

"It was very hard at the beginning because I have a name," he said. "When I started playing they said: 'You do not play like your father. He was better'. He won 48 caps. He was captain of the national team. People said 'he did all that, you are nothing'. Some doors were closed because of the name, even at school.

"I was always expected to be the No 1. When you are a kid you want fun but I was always 'the son of' – 'the son of Djorkaeff'. Everyone knew me. They wanted something special. Eventually I said: 'enough'. I must make the best in every game. Every little game. Because there will always be someone there who knows me, who knows my father's name.

"Now it is difficult for my sons. With TV all the people know my face, know my name, know my goals."

Djorkaeff's sons are five and eight. "The eight-year-old is just beginning to like football," said his father. "He comes to the stadium. There is a good atmosphere."

Djorkaeff was talking about The Reebok where he arrived in spring as an unexpected loan signing from Kaiserslautern. Bolton, embroiled in a relegation battle, needed points; Djorkaeff, having been frozen out in Germany, needed matches to regain his place in the French team ahead of the World Cup. It proved a fruitful deal all round. Bolton stayed up and Djorkaeff is in South Korea.

In the absence of Robert Pires he is once again a key player, as he was in 1998. France start their defence on Friday against Senegal in Seoul and Djorkaeff is brimming with anticipation.

"I don't know if France is better than in '98 but we are very strong," he said. "We have had lots of training and our preparation is stronger. We can't say we will win but we know we are ready to make a big world cup.

"But I do not look beyond the group [which also includes Uruguay and Denmark]. The first game is very important. If you lose that you are going back home. Remember in '98 the most difficult game was Paraguay. Not Italy, Croatia or Brazil. Paraguay were the most difficult for us and the team."

Part of their preparation was playing, and winning, the Confederations Cup in Japan and South Korea last summer. Djorkaeff feels the advantage could be significant. "It was good experience. To see the countries, feel what they can be like. It is very strange, another world. The mentality, the weather, the food, the pollution, the noise in the stadia. All are different. It was important for the medical staff – the humidity was terrible. And for the little things which make a difference. Knowing the good hotels. How long it took in traffic to reach the ground."

France's preparation will clearly not be lacking. Nor should their motivation. The recent presidential election, in which the National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen won through to the run-off with Jacques Chirac, underlined for many in the team the need to show the value of a multicultural France.

Djorkaeff, whose own ancestry is Armenian, said: "In '98 a lot of people recognised themselves in the team. They said: 'I am a fan of Thuram because I am from Guadaloupe like him' or 'I am a fan of Zidane because I am also Algerian'. It was great. France is a mix of countries but it is a good mix. It has the culture of Armenia, Guadaloupe, Algeria all in the same country. There is a lot of respect because we showed we had respect and we played for the French national team."