Ribery ready to step up as French team leader

Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribery insisted Saturday that his successful first season in Germany has given him the confidence he needs to be a team leader with France during Euro 2008.

“All my successes in Munich have given me confidence, I've progressed on the pitch as in daily life. I'm better than before with the French team, I'm now a leader,” he said in an interview with the German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung.

Ribery, 25, has often been compared in the German press to former French legend Zinedine Zidane.

But he insisted: “The truth is that noone can play like Zidane.”

The former Marseille player also revealed that France's 2006 World Cup loss to Italy had made him “even hungrier” for success.

“The league, the European championships, the Champions league, I really want to win everything,” he said.

And he admitted he had still not come to terms with Bayern's heavy 4-0 loss to Zenit St. Petersburg in the UEFA Cup semi-final, second leg.

“That continues to really bug me even if we achieved the Cup/Bundesliga double,” he added.