Ever since their arrival in Germany on June 8 the France team have had something of a fairytale theme to their campaign - but if Zinedine Zidane can end his career by inspiring Les Bleus for the second time to victory in a World Cup final it will all go to prove that truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction.

France chose as their World Cup base the SchlossHotel Munchhausen in Aerzen - Baron von Munchhausen was an 18th Century German aristocrat who had such a fevered imagination (he told people he had been to the moon) that his name became synonymous with a mental illness where people fantasise so much that they inflict self harm.

Then Les Bleus chose to host their press conferences in nearby Hamlyn where, if the Brothers Grimm are to be believed, the Pied Piper many centuries ago spirited away the rat-infested town's population of vermin with music and then - when the city fathers refused to pay him - did the same with their children.

The conferences were held at the Rattenfanger Halle (the Ratcatcher's Hall).

Comparisons with Zidane and the Pied Piper may be facile but if he can spirit away the golden trophy for a second time in eight years he will have a World Cup record that perhaps only Pele can surpass.

Even Diego Maradona only led Argentina to one World Cup in 1986 while the likes of Ferenc Puskas and Johan Cruyff fell at the final hurdle.

Pele scored twice in the 5-2 1958 final win over hosts Sweden and added the opener 12 years later in the 4-1 win over Italy in Mexico and contributed to his side's run to the winning final in 1962 - although injury ruled him out of the decider.

In truth in 1998 Zidane had had a mediocre tournament and had even been suspended for two matches for a stamping offence in the group match with Saudi Arabia.

In the final he finally delivered with the two headed goals in the first half which put Les Bleus en route to a 3-0 win over favourites Brazil - the goals made him into a worldwide celebrity overnight.

After some excellent performances in the victorious Euro 2000 campaign, Zidane experienced the downside in 2002 when injury kept him out of the first two matches and then, clearly not fit, he failed to get France past the first hurdle in their title defence.

He quit the international scene after Euro 2004 but was lured back a year later with France's qualification campaign in trouble.

His decision to retire after the World Cup left many hoping he could exit on a high but few people imagined that he would be within 90 minutes of a second World Cup success in his retirement match after scoring goals in the last 16 match with Spain and semi-final with Portugal as well as being named man-of-the-match after the 1-0 win over Brazil in the quarter-final.

But for his last act as a footballer to lift the World Cup? Even the combined imaginations of the Baron von Munchhausen and the Brothers Grimm would have considered that script as too far-fetched. Now only Italy can prevent it from coming true.