Zinedine Zidane says his return to the international arena came after hearing a mysterious voice in the dead of night. 
   
"One night at three in the morning, I suddenly woke up and spoke to someone," Zidane said in an interview with France Football magazine, published on Tuesday. "I had to obey this voice that advised me."

The 33-year-old Real Madrid midfielder, who retired from international soccer last summer, announced last week that he would rejoin the national team to help France qualify for the 2006 World Cup.

"I don't want people to make too much out of this, or for what I've confessed to be misinterpreted, but what's happened to me is quite mystical and even escapes me a bit," Zidane said. "I didn't tell anyone about this, not my wife, not anyone."

Asked about the identity of his mysterious interlocutor, Zidane vowed to remain silent.

"Until my last breath, I won't say," he said. "It's too intense."

Zidane - Fifa's world player of the year in 1998, 2000 and 2003 - will start his comeback in an August 17 friendly against Ivory Coast and is available for crucial 2006 World Cup qualifiers beginning in September.

"If we qualify for the World Cup in Germany, I will participate in my third World Cup," he said. "In reality, when I stop playing for the French national team, I will stop everything - my career - quite simply."

Editor: Donald