Paris (AFP)

Like Karim Benzema, recalled Tuesday in the France team at 33 and five years after his last summons, several football figures such as Zinédine Zidane, Lilian Thuram or Lionel Messi made their return to the national team after an eclipse.

- Pelé, winning return -

Winner of the 1958 World Cup (in Sweden) and 1962 (in Chile), Pelé lives a nightmare during the 1966 World Cup in England, victim of blows from his opponents and lax refereeing.

He then decides to focus on his club Santos and will no longer wear the selection jersey for two years.

But the World Cup-1970 is approaching and the artist finds the Seleçao under the orders of his former partner Mario Zagallo.

Pelé will sparkle in Mexico to bring Brazil its third world title.

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- Gascoigne, tears and escapades -

Called for the selection for the first time in 1988 by Bobby Robson, Gascoigne will mark English football by his escapades, but also by his tears during the semi-final of the World Cup-1990 lost on penalties against Germany.

Robson leaves the selection and Gascoigne is dismissed by his successor Graham Taylor.

He returns for a friendly match but is injured and misses Euro-1992.

He was injured again in 1994 and was absent for a year and a half.

But in 1996, during the Euro at home in England, his unique genius struck, with an incredible juggling goal against Scotland.

- Zidane, a destiny in Blue -

Reaching the top of football after a historic double (World-1998, Euro-2000) at the helm of the France team, Zinédine Zidane announces his international retirement in the wake of an inglorious elimination in the quarter-finals of the Euro -2004.

But a year later, the brilliant playmaker decides to return.

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Under the orders of Raymond Domenech, "Zizou" led France to the final of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, including a recital against Brazil in the quarterfinals (1-0).

He nevertheless ended his extraordinary career with his famous header on the Italian Marco Materazzi which earned him an exclusion in the final.

- Thuram and Makélélé, squires of "Zizou" -

Like Zidane, Lilian Thuram and Claude Makélélé announce their international retirement after the failure of Euro-2004.

But they announce as "ZZ" their return to Blue and participate in the epic in Germany.

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In June 2008, after leaving the road in the first round of the Euro, the defender and the defensive midfielder announced their final international retirement.

With 142 selections, Thuram remains the most capped French player.

- Rossi, from infamy to the Ballon d'Or -

Suspended two years for his participation in the scandal of "Totonero", the Italian sports lottery, the career of Paolo Rossi seems to be shattered.

His suspension ended in April 1982, two months before the Spanish Mundial.

Coach Enzo Bearzot recalls it, but the first round goes badly.

The "Nazionale" draws three, only narrowly passes Cameroon, and Rossi has not scored a goal.

But his awakening is lightning in the second phase.

A legendary hat-trick against Brazil (3-2) in the quarter-finals, a double in the half against Poland (2-0) and the first goal of the final against FRG (3-1).

The redemption is perfect, Rossi, top scorer in the World Cup, guides Italy to the top, and ends the Ballon d'Or year.

- Messi, from disappointment to disappointment -

For Messi, crowned with success in Barcelona, ​​it was his repeated disappointments with Argentina that pushed him to temporarily move away from the selection.

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After a defeat in the final of the 2014 World Cup and then in the final of the Copa America 2015, Messi stumbles again on the last step in the final of the Copa America 2016.

"The selection is over for me, it's the fourth final that I lose, the third in a row," he said on June 26, 2016, bitter.

But this international retreat does not last.

Messi reconsiders his words two months later and will play in the 2018 World Cup ... without much more success: elimination in the eighth against France (4-3) and new international parenthesis for the six-fold Ballon d'Or, which makes a station wagon until early 2019.

- Ibrahimovic, broken return -

Like Benzema, the returning Zlatan Ibrahimovic should have been at 39 one of the stars of the Euro (June 11-July 11).

The announcement of his resounding return to business with Sweden, five years after his last summons, stirred the football world in March: the center-forward of AC Milan even signed two assists at the end of March with his selection in qualifications for the World Cup-2022.

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But a knee injury shattered the dream of the whimsical striker, who will be absent from the big continental tournament this summer.

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