The 1990s was a magnificent decade for French football. Olympique de Marseille claimed the maiden Champions League trophy - following it's 1992 re-brand from the European Cup - before Les Bleus saw out the decade by claiming their first ever World Cup at the 1998 tournament.

Some of the very best players in the world were wearing the blue, white and red of the famous 'tricolore', and were strutting their stuff for some of Europe's largest and most prestigious clubs. From Eric Cantona at Manchester United to Zinedine Zidane at Bordeaux and Juventus, the world was watching and marvelling at the best France had to offer.

10 Youri Djorkaeff

France career span: 1993-2002

A name familiar to fans all across Europe, due to this time in France, Italy, Germany, and England, Lyon-born Youri Djorkaeff gets us going in our top 10. A graduate of Grenoble's academy in 1984, Djorkaeff emerged as one of the brightest talents in the French division, eventually making the move to Monaco in 1990.

It was here that the talented forward truly emerged as one of the continent's best, scoring 67 goals across the following five seasons, before moving on to PSG, Inter Milan, Kaiserslautern, and eventually Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers in England.

Djorkaeff, fresh off the back of a 17-goal season with Inter Milan the season before, was a vital cog in France's 1998 World Cup triumph, making 18 appearances for his national side that year, including a start (and an assist) in the final of the tournament. Overall, the journeyman number 10 accumulated 82 caps for his country, and scored 28 goals.

9 Laurent Blanc

France career span: 1989-2000

Another of France's successful 1998 World Cup squad, Laurent Blanc is again another name familiar to many across the continent, having made seven transfers across the 1990's. Starting his career at Montpellier, Blanc went on to play for Napoli, Nimes, Saint-Etienne, Auxurre, Barcelona, Marseille, and Inter Milan, before finally hanging up his boots after a two-year spell at Manchester United.

A powerful, yet classy centre back, Le Presidente - a nickname acquired whilst at Marseille, due to his on-pitch leadership qualities - represented the pinnacle of modern day defending to many, and helped bring renewed focus to the role of the sweeper. Winning trophies in France, Spain and England, the 97-times capped Blanc also claimed numerous individual accolades, including being named in the UEFA Championship Team of the Tournament in both 1992 and 1996.

8 Thierry Henry

France career span: 1997-2010

Perhaps strange to see a player as great as Thierry Henry ranked as low as eight in any list, it is only due to his true excellence in the decade that followed, that stops Henry from being ranked higher today. The 1990's saw Henry play for both Monaco and Juventus - scoring just 31 goals across the almost seven seasons - before eventually making his now iconic move to Arsenal in August 1999.

It is here that the mercurial forward truly caught fire, bagging an astonishing 226 goals across the next eight seasons in England. This was followed by a brief three-year stint at Barcelona, which saw the back of the net hit a further 49 times. A controversial inclusion, perhaps to some, but a man who could never be left out of any greatest French players list to others. Whilst the 2000s may have seen the best of Thierry Henry, the Premier League legend still deserves a nod, for surging onto the scene as the decade came to a close.

7 Bixente Lizarazu

France career span: 1992-2004

He may not be a household name, but Bixente Lizarazu deserves his spot after a successful career that saw him claim countless individual and team honours. France's starting left-back in their 1998 World Cup victory, Bordeaux legend Lizarazu began the decade at his boyhood club, before eventually making the biggest move of his career to German giants Bayern Munich.

Here, he would go on to be a key part of a side that dominated domestically, claiming six Bundesliga titles and four DFB-Pokal's to his name across his two stints in Bavaria. Lizarazu also sneaks into the top 10 most-capped list for France, having accrued 97 appearances across his 12 years representing his country.

6 Lilian Thuram

France career span: 1994-2008

Speaking of the most capped players in French history, enter Lilian Thuram - the man who formerly sat at the top of the list, before a certain Hugo Lloris bettered his 142 appearances.Thuram was a true legend of the 1990's, making first 193 appearances for Monaco, before moving on to Parma of Serie A, where he would make a further 228 appearances in the five years that followed.

Perhaps most well known for the years spent at Juventus and Barcelona, towards the latter stages of his career, Thuram established himself as one of Europe's defending elite - a title he would go on to maintain for almost the entirety of his 18 years in the game.

5 Didier Deschamps

France career span: 1989-2000

When it comes to personal achievements in the 1990s, there are very few who could claim to have had a better decade than Didier Deschamps. Having made the move from his boyhood club of Nantes, to Marseille in 1989, Deschamps would go on to become the youngest captain in history to lead his team to European Cup/Champions League glory.

Apparently not content with this achievement, however, Deschamps would go on to raise the bar again just five years later, this time captaining his national side to their first ever World Cup. Not a bad five years. Overall, Deschamps would go on to break the 100-cap mark for his country (103), and claim five league titles before the new millennium rolled around.

4 Patrick Vieira

France career span: 1997-2009

Now we're really getting to the business end of things, and just missing out on our top three today is a Premier League and French legend, Patrick Vieira. The inspiration for a generation of midfielders, Arsenal fans, and modern day French footballing talent, Vieira truly encapsulated all that it meant to be both an elite level player, but more importantly still an elite level leader.

Whilst the national side wouldn't see the best of Vieira until the 2000s - with 84 of his 107 caps coming after the dawn of the new millennium - the 1990s saw Vieira's emergence as one of the most formidable players the Premier League had ever seen. The only ever so slight blot on Vieira's decade, would be that he could only come on as a substitute in France's World Cup final victory; but we're fairly certain he won't mind too much.

3 Marcel Desailly

France career span: 1993-2004

The first of our big three, and hopefully one that all can agree on, Marcel Desailly should need no introduction to any fan of European football in the 1990's and 2000's. Playing for Nantes, Marseille, AC Milan, and Chelsea, Desailly won seven major honours in the 1990's, and was also named in the Team of the Tournament for the 1998 World Cup.

He was also named in both the Premier League Overseas Team of the Decade, and Overall Team of the Decade at the Premier League's 10 Seasons Awards - a feat made all the more remarkable by the fact he only featured in four of those seasons. To almost all who watched him, Desailly epitomized defensive solidity, reliability, and elite level talent, and the Ghanian-born defender has rightly gone down in history as one of the very best ever to pull on a French shirt.

2 Eric Cantona

France career span: 1987-1995

Now, to many, Eric Cantona would be an absolute no-brainer when it comes to naming the best French players of the past few decades - but there are actually, however, several mitigating factors to consider. Despite almost all other inclusions in this list having won the World Cup with France in 1998, Cantona had actually retired from international football three years prior - and indeed from all football 12 months prior.

The talismanic striker also hardly ranks among the very best when it comes to either caps or goals for his national side, bagging a respectable 20 goals in his 45 appearances.

So why, then, his inclusion?

Well, to any who watched Cantona play for Manchester United in the 1990s, the answer is simple. Cantona revolutionised the way in which the beautiful game was played, and more so than any other, lit the fuse for the now all-encompassing behemoth, that is the Premier League.

Hated, adored, but never ignored, Cantona's legend has gone on to stand the test of time like almost no other, and despite missing out on the personal accolades and trophies that many others on this list won for their national side, he simply cannot be left out.

1 Zinedine Zidane

France career span: 1994-2006

Who else? You say French footballer to a whole generation of fans and players alike, and there is only one name that springs to mind; the one and only, Zinedine Zidane. A man for whom the game seemed to slow, opponents seemed to weaken, goalkeepers seemed to shrink, and the ball appeared at times on a string that only he could control, Zidane's elegance and brilliance transcended personal achievements and accolades - and simply made you sit back in awe.

That's not to say he didn't also win almost all there was to win. In the 1990's alone, 'Zizou' claimed eight major honours, playing for Bordeaux and Juventus - as well as a swathe of individual titles, including French Division 1 Young Player of the Year (1993/1994) and French Division 1 Player of the Year (1995/1996).

Zidane was also named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team for the 1998 tournament, in which he scored twice in the final to bring home his nation's first ever trophy. Perhaps fitting then, that he should also be crowned the FIFA World Player of the Year for 1998 - an award he would win twice more in his career (2000, and 2003). A player like no other, that has left a legacy like no other, Zidane is without doubt one of the best players of his generation; and perhaps even one of the best of all time.