The 33-year-old Real Madrid midfielder, who quit after France's exit from Euro 2004 last year, recently had a change of heart and came out of international retirement to help rescue France's flagging World Cup qualifying campaign.

But despite being named captain for the 12th time in his career as France face Cote d'Ivoire in a friendly on Wednesday, Zidane admitted he's not a natural leader.

"For me, a leader is someone who talks a lot on and off the pitch," said Zidane.

"Someone like Didier Deschamps for example but this isn't me."

One of his teammates, Newcastle defender Jean-Alain Boumsong, said he understands why Zidane has been handed the armband.

"Zizou has returned, he is captain, it's normal and everyone respects that. He's not a shouter but he is respected and listened to."

Zidane's first match as skipper was a 1-1 friendly draw against Tunisia in August 2002; the last time was France's 1-0 defeat to Greece in the quarter-finals of Euro 2004 which turned out to be his last appearance.