The 41-year-old signed a two-year contract and replaces Brazilian Ricardo, who left the club to take over league rivals Monaco.

"I want to be a coach who takes this squad to another level," commented Blanc, who did not play in the 1998 World Cup final after being controversially sent-off in the semifinal win over Croatia.

"I want to try and retain all the good players at the club if possible."

Blanc, who was capped 97 times and also won the Euro 2008 title and numbered Napoli, Barcelona, Marseille and Manchester United among his clubs, said that he had started to become frustrated at not being a coach.

"I had the diplomas but every time I came to be interviewed by clubs the sticking point was my lack of experience at coaching," said Blanc, who provided one of the most notable habitual moments of the 1998 World Cup in kissing the bald pate of goalkeeper Fabien Barthez as a lucky omen.

"They were right but at the same time it was starting to irritate me."

Blanc said that two managers he had served under had made the biggest impression on him and he would take the lessons he learnt from them into his job.

"For me, the ideal coach is the one who gets the best out of his players," said Blanc.

"And if he can do that and also extricate the team from the bad moments in a season then that is even better.

"I know of coaches with these qualities, especially two, Marcello Lippi (who coached him at Inter Milan), and Sir Alex Ferguson (who he played under at Manchester United).

"The two of them may not have been the types to be there all week on the training ground, but on the day and eve of the match they took things in hand and spoke to you individually and with the squad in its entirety."