Since the start of the crisis which shook the French Football Federation (FFF), which resulted in the resignation of its president Noël Le Graët, on February 28, Didier Deschamps had been rather silent. In two interviews given au Parisian et au Figaropublished on the evening of Friday March 10, the coach of the Blues did not want ” come back to the reasons » which led to the departure of the leader, to whom he is close, but he explains that he had a bad experience of this situation.
“Whatever I say, I know that my words will be interpreted. If I defend him, people will say it’s because he prolonged me. If I criticize him, people will say that I’m letting him go because he’s gone”, justifies the 54-year-old technician, whose contract at the head of the national team had been extended by four years by Mr. Le Graët, at the beginning of January. This decision had been taken without the person who was still the president of the FFF notifying the executive committee (“comex”) of the federation beforehand. “It was the president’s decision, not mine.says the person concerned. Like any coach, I was subject to an obligation of result. If I’m still here, it’s because the objectives have been achieved. »
Didier Deschamps recognizes that the ” personal situation ” du Breton, after a damning audit report and the opening of a preliminary investigation for “moral and sexual harassment”, “put the institution in difficulty and probably French football as a whole”. However, he emphasizes all that he has “done before” in the reins of the body.
Asked about the case of his counterpart at the head of the French women’s team, whose mission was suspended Thursday after the withdrawal of several senior players from the workforce, “DD” said to himself ” disappointed “ for her. Corinne Deacon was “very severely criticized, while its results pleaded in its favor”, he believes. There, again, he kicks in touch on the bottom of the file: “I don’t have all the elements. So I can’t comment.”he insists. “On the form, one can wonder…”
“It’s the truth, there is only one”
In these two interviews, Didier Deschamps also returned to the World Cup final, lost to Lionel Messi’s Argentina on penalties. The competition was “far from being a long calm river”he recalls, pointing among other things “the absence of very important players…”. Among them, his star striker Karim Benzema, who left before the start of the tournament due to an injury in training… a case whose management was then criticized. The Ballon d’Or 2022 had finally resumed training with his club on December 10, four days before the semi-final against Morocco.
“We did things [sur le plan médical] as we had to do and Karim knows it well »sweeps the technician, who wanted to deliver his version of the facts:
“When I wake up the next morning [de sa blessure], I am told that he is gone. He had decided to leave on a commercial flight. I text him, he replied when he landed. It’s the truth, there’s only one and that’s it. »
“Karim told me himself that he would not have been ready [pour la suite du tournoi] », insists the coach. These statements were met with irony by the 35-year-old.
On Instagram, he published a screenshot showing remarks from the interview, adding the sentence “but what audacity”, embellished with a clown emoticon. He also shared the video of a French snapchatter, Ritchie, repeating the word “liar, you are a liar”. Above this excerpt, the scorer wrote: “Sacred Didier… Good night. »
This pass of arms between the two men is just one more episode in their tortuous relationship and that which the player maintained with the France team. The day after the World Cup, Karim Benzema announced in a laconic message his international retirement (97 caps, 37 goals). This choice, “DD” refuses to comment on it: “ Don’t ask me for his arguments. It will be up to him to communicate them or not. »
“From Monday [13 mars], we will all be focused on qualifying for Euro 2024, me first.adds the coach, who will have to compose in two other usual settings, Hugo Lloris and Raphaël Varane having both decided to end their careers in Blue. “I’m not afraid of heights. Otherwise, I would have been shaky before the World Cup given the criticism of the supposed lack of experience, managers, leaders… I assume, even in the worst situation, that there is always a positive”he pleads.
Thursday March 16, Dider Deschamps will present the players selected to compete in the qualifiers for the continental competition, organized from June 14 to July 14, 2024 in Germany. France will face the Netherlands on Friday March 24 (8:45 p.m.) at the Stade de France.