Deschamps: "I don't have any technical advice to give my players"

Didier Deschamps (Bayonne, 54 years old) is a resident of the Cap d'Ail, the mansion-studded promontory that stands out at the French end of the Bay of Monte Carlo.

He is practically at home in front of the window that opens onto the Ligurian Sea when he receives a group of foreign journalists in a hotel in the principality to talk about a subject he knows perfectly well: the World Cup, the tournament he won as player in 1998 and as coach in 2018. The French Football Federation asks him not to make political statements in relation to the controversial World Cup in Qatar that begins on the 20th. In the short distance his gentle aplomb is surprising, manifest in the contradictions in those that he incurs boldly, as if he had no doubt that the matter in which he lives immersed is anything but faithful to appearances.

Question

.

How pleasant is it for you that the World Cup is held in a country like Qatar?

Answer

.

The pleasure is total because there is nothing stronger than this competition, nor more beautiful.

We must not forget that I do not express myself as Didier Deschamps, the French citizen.

I am the national coach.

P.

_

Don't you think there is a gap between the real world and the world of football?

R.

_

Any sporting or artistic field is a world apart.

But I'm not the one who's going to sew up my players' mouths so they don't talk.

The players are participants.

But participating does not mean endorsing.

P.

_

What advantage do you have that this is his third World Cup as coach?

R.

_

That experiments make us know more things.

I would not pretend to say “I know what to do”.

But I know what not to do.

It's not bad at all!

P.

_

Is it more difficult to prepare for a World Cup in winter?

R.

_

There is no preparation.

In Brazil, we had 28 days, for Russia 24 days and now we will have a week.

From a sporting point of view it is not reasonable.

Physically, the players should be less tired than in June, after nine months of competition, but on the other hand, since August the calendar has been overloaded.

There are many more injured than usual because they have been chaining weeks with three games and their organizations are highly stressed.

P.

_

Today everything revolves around Benzema and Mbappé, and in 2018 the ones who set the tone of the game were Pogba and Kanté.

Is it easier to build a team around midfielders or forwards?

R.

_

Benzema and Mbappé are the ones who win games, but that's not enough.

In a World Cup you have to be solid.

The heart of the game is the battle in midfield.

This battle is important but not decisive.

Although there are midfielders with goals, those who make the difference are the attackers.

I'm not going to complain about having a lot of very high-level players in attack, but even if you accumulate great attackers, that doesn't guarantee results.

The French athlete, when he is comfortable, does not work.

If raising the competitive level means being uncomfortable, why not?

We need to live in hardness.

P.

_

Without outstanding midfielders, do Benzema and Griezmann gain more prominence for their ability to set times?

R.

_

It's a matter of character.

I include Mbappé: none of the three will have problems putting themselves at the service of the group.

The one who is still a little more involved in this is Griezmann, who is capable of sacrificing himself in defense.

P.

_

We see coaches obsessed with instructing the footballer in the placement and technical gesture during the plays.

Why don't you intervene?

R.

_

I don't have the PlayStation.

There is a framework, an organization from which no one can be excluded.

Then, the attackers must try to keep them physically fresh.

What do they want?

Not having to defend and be as high as possible.

Only sometimes you can't.

They must go down to respect a complementarity.

When they have the ball, the feeling of each one commands, even if there are free spaces, areas to occupy.

Regarding the technical gesture, I have no advice to give you.

Mbappé always carries the expectations of the people.

He too, in his head is clear: he wants to make sure he is the best.

He knows that he must be decisive, mark and mark

P.

_

Is France waiting for Mbappé with too much anxiety?

R.

_

It happens with all the great players.

He is a competitor.

He always carries an expectation.

If he scores a goal they say: “he only scored one goal when he could have scored two or three”.

He too, in his head is clear: he wants to make sure he is the best.

For that he knows that he must be resolute, score and score.

P.

_

Defending the title seems like a doomed undertaking since Brazil won the World Cup in 1962. How to stay on top?

R.

_

It is the reality of football at the highest level.

I wasn't born in 1962 and neither were you.

But this is not a curse nor is it something that undermines my morale.

P.

_

Who will be the big star?

R.

_

The ball.

He is the one who laughs the most.

I repeat it to my players, collective strength will always be greater than individual strength.

P.

_

Is the ego of the French player superior to the ego of the player from other countries?

R.

_

Managing the players of the French national team, at the highest level, is less work than managing Second or Third players, because they also think they are first level.

P.

_

Even the Italians and the Spanish are more disciplined than the French.

The French are more explosive.

We saw it in the riot in South Africa in 2010, and in Euro 2021, when Mbappé threatened to resign.

Do you as a leader enjoy this constant tension?

R.

_

The French athlete, when he is comfortable, does not work.

We need toughness.

P.

_

France experiences a generational transition.

Do young people feel superior without having earned the right?

How do you keep a player like Tchouameni from feeling as capable as Pogba?

R.

_

First of all, it should not be avoided.

Another thing is quality: Pogba has it.

Young people always want everything very fast.

I don't see the negative side.

Today, at the age of 20, they are in the best clubs in Europe, they leave France very early, they are exposed.

We can't have everything right away, but the potential is there.

It is important not to slow them down, but they cannot think they are above the group.

One thing is what Tchouameni does on the pitch and another what he has in mind.

There is no problem there.

With others it can be more complex.

Tchouaméni does not have the creativity of Pogba;

but his head works fine

P.

_

You played with Desailly, more central than midfielder.

Is Tchouameni closer to Desailly than to Pogba?

R.

_

He has a good part of Desailly and he doesn't quite have the creative part of Pogba.

P.

_

In 2021, was France eliminated in the round of 16 for not leaving the comfort zone or for coexistence problems [the inclusion of Benzema divided the squad]?

R.

_

If we had been comfortable we would have had a good European.

They criticized my decisions, but until the 80th minute against Switzerland we proved that we were right: we played with the solidity that is in our DNA.

And then we explode in mid-flight!

P.

_

Benzema's reinstatement in 2021 was great news for him.

But was Benzema just as good for the development of the game and the spirit of the group?

R.

_

Yes. He is someone discreet, who does not seek to have much space.

What interests him is the field and transmitting his experience and know-how.

On a human level, there was no problem.

P.

_

Benzema was sentenced by the French Justice [for blackmailing Mathieu Valbuena, his former teammate, with a sexual video].

Is there judicial justice and sports justice?

R.

_

There is media justice that is very destructive.

We cannot talk about sports justice.

There are decisions that are made, by the federations and then by the coaches.

I have justice for all players.

It can not be mixed.

Athletes are part of society, nobody is perfect, they can also make mistakes.

You have to accept it and weigh pros and cons.

P.

_

Is football inflated?

Don't you think this is a monster that moves too much money for it to be rationally managed?

R.

_

I have heard it since I started in Nantes 40 years ago.

“There is too much money, at some point it will have to stop...”.

Precisely, if it cannot stop, it is because it generates a lot of money.

THE SQUAD LIST OF FRANCE

Goalkeepers:

Areola (West Ham), Lloris (Tottenham), Mandanda (Rennes).

Defenders:

Lucas Hernandez (Bayern Munich), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan), Kimpembe (PSG), Konaté (Liverpool), Koundé (FC Barcelona), Pavard (Bayern Munich), Saliba (Arsenal), Upamecano (Bayern Munich), Varana (Manchester United).

Midfielders:

Camavinga (Real Madrid), Fofana (Monaco), Guendouzi (OM), Rabiot (Juventus), Tchouaméni (Real Madrid), Veretout (OM).

Forwards:

Benzema (Real Madrid), Coman (Bayern Munich), Dembélé (FC Barcelona), Giroud (AC Milan), Griezmann (Atlético de Madrid), Mbappé (PSG), Nkunku (Leipzig).

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