Didier Deschamps will leave the Blues in 2026: He has served his time, he can preserve his legacy

14 years is an eternity in football, especially on the bench, even more so that of one of the best nations in the world. DD owes its incredible longevity primarily to its results and its method. Without repeating history, without forgetting the mandate of Laurent Blanc, undoubtedly imperfect but already looking to the future, Deschamps is the man who made people forget Knysna and even a little more than that.

It took time but it almost ran out if the improbable Mamadou Sakho had not decided to make a cold evening in November 2013 a scorching night that no one forgot. That evening, something returned: the thrill around the Blues. His first victory was this: making a team that had become detestable endearing again, revealing new sensitive heroes (who forgot the hot tears of Griezmann in 2014) and allowing France to once again dare to dream for and around of his national team.

What followed was a decade of legend: a world champion title, a final lost forever in memory, another heartbreaking home final and failures, rare enough for us to insist still on it today (2021). Euro 2024, the one which undoubtedly confirmed his choice, is ultimately the most unclassifiable of its tournaments, with an objective achieved but a flat encephalogram. This is, in any case, not what will remain of his mandate.

His time, Deschamps understood, was running out. By the force of circumstances, by the gradual disappearance of his supporters, political (Le Graët) and sports (Lloris, Pogba, Varane, Griezmann, Giroud), and by this little music which has not stopped tickling his ears for 12 years on the lack of tactical ambition and on the lack of “game”, a polymorphous notion if ever there was one. His results, this time, would not save him.

The start of the 2024 school year had implicitly outlined the idea of ​​an end of an era and this hostile climate, reinforced by the Mbappé imbroglios, could not last. This announcement, in the form of taking control, outlines a completely different dynamic: from now on, it will no longer be a question of knowing if and when Deschamps will leave. Simply to benefit from indisputable know-how and hope for a worthy ending.

Nostalgia is a powerful weapon and, like certain Presidents of the Republic whose record has been frankly readjusted over time, Deschamps will undoubtedly see his legacy judged at its fair value over time. The two years ahead will simply allow the Blues to move forward without the risk of polarization – or worse, real disinterest – around them. Nothing worse than a bad ending and a sneaky departure to damage your legacy.

We must recognize Deschamps for many qualities. He is a competitor, first of all, which should reassure us as much about the next two years as about his intact personal ambition. He is also a fine strategist, on the bench and behind the microphones. This announcement, seemingly innocuous, immediately cleared the sky above the Blues.

Upon his arrival, Deschamps cited Joachim Löw and the German model as an example to follow. The latter stayed fifteen years on the bench of the Mannschaft but missed his exit, with a failed Euro (8th final) and the feeling of too much competition. So here is DD’s ultimate mission, never the easiest: to achieve the end. On Wednesday, he just wrote the first chapter. Hoping that the novel ends in apotheosis, for him as for us, on July 19, 2026 in New York.