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⚽ On est les Champions ! 🏆🇫🇷⚽
I remember back in 1998, the first time that France won the World Cup, then coach Aimé Jacquet recieved some serious criticism and skepticism by a cynical media, sure that he was not the man for the job, and certain that he would fail.
Instead, France won their first ever World Cup, and did so in dominant fashion, scoring 15 goals in their seven games, while allowing only two during the entire tournament. They trailed for all of one minute total during those games, and that was in the semifinal against Croatia, who gave France the toughest time in that tournament, much like they did this time around, as well. In the end, France had a perfect record of seven wins in seven games, and celebrated wildly after decisively capturing the championship against Brazil, 3-0.
But prior to this run, many had criticized Jacquet when he decided not to go with one of France's biggest stars, Eric Cantona. He appeared to be France's biggest playmaker, and people thought that Jacquet was absolutely crazy not to play him, or even have him in the lineup. But Jacquet felt that Cantona was not the stable leader that France had needed. He had kicked a fan during a game and earned a year long suspension, and Jacquet had been forced to build a lineup without him. Before long, he decided that he liked that lineup better than the one that had featured Cantona as the key playmaker, although the media were livid, giving Jacquet harsh criticism. They assumed that Jacquet was incompetent, and could not see the most obvious fact that France absolutely needed Cantona. There were demands that he resign.
Clearly, France's World Cup victory was massive vindication. Jacquet had proven his critics wrong. But he did not rub this in their faces. In fact, he simply resigned shortly thereafter, still clearly quite bitter about the whole thing.
Now, two decades later, history repeats itself. A member of that winning French side in 1998 had ascended to be the coach for France in 2102, and he, too, made decisions that not everybody liked. Like Jacquet, he relied on a heavily conservative, methodical approach for the team, which not everyone was a fan of. And many criticized his moves, and were cynical of his chances for success. A team that had the explosive offensive talents of Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappé should take more chances and give them the room they needed to make things happen for France offensively. Some suggested that Deschamps did not know what he was doing, and some even called for Deschamps to resign or be sacked. Some gave him the nickname "water carrier," clearly implying that what success the French side had enjoyed during the tenure of Deschamps had been in spite of him, and not because of him. One television network in France, perhaps mindful of the overly harsh treatment of Jacquet prior to the World Cup title, took a poll and asked if criticism of Deschamps had been overly harsh. Fully 80 percent of people responded "non."
No translation needed, right?
One of the most vocal critics came from, perhaps not surprisingly, French great Eric Cantona. Perhaps voicing some professional jealousy, Cantona said that Deschamps' decisions to omit superstars Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa were quite possibly on ethnic grounds, essentially implying that, on top of everything else, Deschamps was a racist. Cantona went on to tell the Guardian in an interview prior to the 2016 Euro:
“Benzema is a great player. Ben Arfa is a great player.”
“But Deschamps, he has a really French name. Maybe he is the only one in France to have a truly French name. Nobody in his family mixed with anybody, you know. Like the Mormons in America.
“One thing is for sure — Benzema and Ben Arfa are two of the best players in France and will not play the European Championship. And for sure, Benzema and Ben Arfa, their origins are North African. So, the debate is open.”
Not all of the criticism was from France. The Independent’s Chief Football writer Miguel Delaney suggested that Deschamp’s was France’s ‘weakest link:’
ESPN’s UK Editor David Cartilage joined in the chorus and also called for Deschamps to be sacked to allow the explosive French stars to shine as brightly as they can. He tweeted just prior to the beginning of the World Cup:
"When you go through the personnel in this France squad and try to pick out weaknesses or thin areas regardless of what formation you would want to play, it’s very difficult to find one.
“They seem to have everything covered.
“That only increases the pressure on Deschamps to make something of it, however, and has only fed the argument that he is really the weak link."
ESPN’s UK Editor David Cartilage joined in the chorus and also called for Deschamps to be sacked to allow the explosive Freench stars to shine as brightly as they can. He tweeted just prior to the beginning of the World Cup:
“Griezmann, Mbappe, Dembele exciting on paper but means nothing without a supply line.”
He went on to suggest that this overly conservative approach was classic Deschamps, and that it was flat and uninspiring. Cartilage went on to suggest a more open style, allowing Griezmann to shine for France in the upcoming World Cup. But that would not happen without one thing, he said, and he made clear what that one thing was:
“Or just sack Deschamps and get Zidane in, tbh”.
Even success on the field of play did not change the minds of some of these cynics. The Independent's Delaney recently wrote an article just after France won the World Cup, and he remained critical of Deschamps. Look at the title of the article:
World Cup 2018: France must build on their World Cup triumph to earn the great legacy they are yet to achieve
Daniel Riolo, a prominent French commentator, seemed reluctant to give Deschamps any credit even after France’s semifinal win against Belgium, and stated:
“If we become world champions, we’ll be the ugliest world champions in history.”
Deschamps, though, himself described France's championship as "beautiful." Well, it sure seemed like a beautiful sight when France took the title. France celebrated wildly back at home, and were apparently completely unperturbed that Deschamps had won the title with what these critics viewed as an overly conservative approach. Maybe Delaney remained unrepentant, implying that France still had not shone as brilliantly as they were capable of, but a world championship is nothing to wave off and dismiss. It is a clear mark of the ultimate success. And to counter Cantona's not so subtle charges of racism, the tremendous success of l'Equipe de France has been seen as a triumph for French multiculturalism, even being recently praised by former American President Barack Obama. In a criticism of the growing narrow-mindedness and xenophobia that seems to be growing around the world, Obama used the French team's success as a glorious example of what a multicultural group can achieve:
“And if you doubt that, just ask the French football team that just won the World Cup because not all these folks look like Gauls to me, they are French, they are French.”
Some might suggest, as Delaney apparently continues to do without any trace of repentance, that France's success has come in spite of Deschamps, but surely the most important and key endorsement of Deschamps came from the players that he was coach of. On the field after the historic win, the players showed their love for, and appreciation of, Deschamps by picking him up and tossing him playfully up and down as an iconic part of their celebration. Later, they interrupted his post-match press conference to honor him, singing:
No translation needed, right?
One of the most vocal critics came from, perhaps not surprisingly, French great Eric Cantona. Perhaps voicing some professional jealousy, Cantona said that Deschamps' decisions to omit superstars Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa were quite possibly on ethnic grounds, essentially implying that, on top of everything else, Deschamps was a racist. Cantona went on to tell the Guardian in an interview prior to the 2016 Euro:
“Benzema is a great player. Ben Arfa is a great player.”
“But Deschamps, he has a really French name. Maybe he is the only one in France to have a truly French name. Nobody in his family mixed with anybody, you know. Like the Mormons in America.
“One thing is for sure — Benzema and Ben Arfa are two of the best players in France and will not play the European Championship. And for sure, Benzema and Ben Arfa, their origins are North African. So, the debate is open.”
Not all of the criticism was from France. The Independent’s Chief Football writer Miguel Delaney suggested that Deschamp’s was France’s ‘weakest link:’
ESPN’s UK Editor David Cartilage joined in the chorus and also called for Deschamps to be sacked to allow the explosive French stars to shine as brightly as they can. He tweeted just prior to the beginning of the World Cup:
"When you go through the personnel in this France squad and try to pick out weaknesses or thin areas regardless of what formation you would want to play, it’s very difficult to find one.
“They seem to have everything covered.
“That only increases the pressure on Deschamps to make something of it, however, and has only fed the argument that he is really the weak link."
ESPN’s UK Editor David Cartilage joined in the chorus and also called for Deschamps to be sacked to allow the explosive Freench stars to shine as brightly as they can. He tweeted just prior to the beginning of the World Cup:
“Griezmann, Mbappe, Dembele exciting on paper but means nothing without a supply line.”
He went on to suggest that this overly conservative approach was classic Deschamps, and that it was flat and uninspiring. Cartilage went on to suggest a more open style, allowing Griezmann to shine for France in the upcoming World Cup. But that would not happen without one thing, he said, and he made clear what that one thing was:
“Or just sack Deschamps and get Zidane in, tbh”.
Even success on the field of play did not change the minds of some of these cynics. The Independent's Delaney recently wrote an article just after France won the World Cup, and he remained critical of Deschamps. Look at the title of the article:
World Cup 2018: France must build on their World Cup triumph to earn the great legacy they are yet to achieve
Daniel Riolo, a prominent French commentator, seemed reluctant to give Deschamps any credit even after France’s semifinal win against Belgium, and stated:
“If we become world champions, we’ll be the ugliest world champions in history.”
Deschamps, though, himself described France's championship as "beautiful." Well, it sure seemed like a beautiful sight when France took the title. France celebrated wildly back at home, and were apparently completely unperturbed that Deschamps had won the title with what these critics viewed as an overly conservative approach. Maybe Delaney remained unrepentant, implying that France still had not shone as brilliantly as they were capable of, but a world championship is nothing to wave off and dismiss. It is a clear mark of the ultimate success. And to counter Cantona's not so subtle charges of racism, the tremendous success of l'Equipe de France has been seen as a triumph for French multiculturalism, even being recently praised by former American President Barack Obama. In a criticism of the growing narrow-mindedness and xenophobia that seems to be growing around the world, Obama used the French team's success as a glorious example of what a multicultural group can achieve:
“And if you doubt that, just ask the French football team that just won the World Cup because not all these folks look like Gauls to me, they are French, they are French.”
Some might suggest, as Delaney apparently continues to do without any trace of repentance, that France's success has come in spite of Deschamps, but surely the most important and key endorsement of Deschamps came from the players that he was coach of. On the field after the historic win, the players showed their love for, and appreciation of, Deschamps by picking him up and tossing him playfully up and down as an iconic part of their celebration. Later, they interrupted his post-match press conference to honor him, singing:
"Didier Deschamps, Didier Deschamps, Didier, Didier, Didier Deschamps!"
Shortly, they switched to the more common lyrics for that little tune:
"On est les champions ! On est les champions ! On est, On est, On est les champions !"
If you are not family with this little joyous chant, here is a video of it:
And here is a video of the press conference, where victorious French players invaded the press conference of their coach, Deschamps:
While French people celebrated all over the country back home, the French players also decided to celebrate in a rather unorthodox manner, interrupting the press conference of their coach, Didier Deschamps, simply to celebrate in front of the cameras of the media.
Just in case you wanted to see the entirety of the press conference, and not just the few entertaining minutes when the players livened it up, here you go:
Doesn't look too ugly to me. And Deschamps thrived through it all. He went on to talk about something that my brother and I also discussed after the match, that possibly, the disappointment of losing in the Euro final made this World Cup championship possible.
Frankly, would you not prefer to win a World Cup, rather than just the Euro?
Here is what Deschamps said after the match:
"It gave even more strength to my squad. I believed in them but then you need to see what happens, because it only took us through to the quarter-finals.
"If we had then slipped up against Uruguay a few days later, it would have been good but it would not have meant much.
"It was so painful at the Euro, but maybe if we had won it we would not have won the World Cup."
And despite the criticism, Deschamps ultimately proved his critics wrong and, in the process, has now become a French legend during the two most glorious chapters in French football history, one of only three men in history to have won a World Cup championship as both a player and a coach.
With him, and indeed because of him, all of France can now appreciate the fact that:
🏆🇫🇷⚽ On est les Champions ! 🏆🇫🇷⚽
I got all of the quotes used above from the following articles (see links below):
Surprise! France players crash news conference 15 Jul 2018 From the section Football:
France World Cup win 'as beautiful' as 1998 victory for Deschamps
From ‘weak link’ to World Cup winner: Deschamps silences the critics
https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/world-cup/from-weak-link-to-world-cup-winner-deschamps-silences-the-critics/news-story/ecb81a78e545b3b2837233fb61a9c28f?nk=134ae27a8950c15d4e4c3f22393b21e7-1531791763
In Mandela address, Obama cites French World Cup champs as model of diversity by AFP 24 with AFP, July 17, 2018:
I meant to respond to this yesterday, but the library was about to close. A couple of things about Aimé Jacquet, before I respond to the criticism of Didier Deschamps. He was also criticized, if memory serves, for not selecting Jean-Pierre Papin, who like Cantona was an immensely popular and successful player. But that to me is, in and of itself, par for the course. If you're the coach of a high-profile team like Les Bleus, you're going to be second-guessed on any number of things. What I found outrageous and unforgivable, however, was that the criticism of him wasn't limited to disagreements regarding player selection or tactics. L'Équipe, France's major sports daily which I occasionally read online but refuse to pay for anymore, made it personal. They mocked his Saint-Étienne accent, they mocked his "country boy" demeanor, suggesting that he wasn't very bright, and I believe they even dragged his family into it. Also, they failed to acknowledge that Cantona and Papin had been given ample opportunity to shine, to lift their team. Instead, under their "leadership", France failed to qualify for the 1990 World Cup, made a speedy exit from the 1992 Euro (despite having looked very impressive in the qualifying round) and, most pathetically of all, failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. If you'll recall, Les Bleus only had two qualifying matches left – both at home, and both against modest opposition (Israel and Bulgaria), and all they needed was NOT TO LOSE BOTH GAMES. That was it – they didn't need a lot of goals, they didn't need to be flashy or provide highlight material. One unimpressive, forgettable scoreless draw against either of those teams would have sufficed. Instead, they somehow managed to dig deep within themselves and find a way, against all odds, to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, losing both games in the waning moments of play. So while it would be silly and oversimplistic to suggest that the whole team needed to be replaced, it seems clear to me that changes were in order. I don't know if you knew this, but after all of that second-guessing and cruel, unrelenting mockery, Aimé Jacquet was so disgusted that he decided to resign following that WC triumph. Also, when asked by some asshole from L'Équipe whether or not he would ever forgive them, he replied that he would not. Shame on those lowlifes for tarnishing what should have been a moment of pure joy for him.
ReplyDeleteAs for Deschamps, while I don't think that the criticism was quite as cruel or as personal, I'm not at all surprised that it was as unrelenting as it was. Too many people in the French press love to dismiss, second-guess and resort to cheap derision, only to do an about-face when, lo and behold, the person they've been raking over the coals turns out to be far more competent than he was given credit for. I guess some things never change.
P.S. On a brighter note, the Italian sports daily "Corriere dello Sport" showed the image of Deschamps being tossed in the air by his players beneath a headline reading "Deschamps Élysées".
ReplyDelete