While he celebrated his 83rd birthday this Tuesday, Aimé Jacquet has shown great discretion in the media for several years, making only a few rare appearances for charity matches.
Aimé Jacquet inevitably received a few words from his former players, the 1998 Blues in the lead. On social networks, Saint-Etienne and the French team paid attention to him. Tuesday, Aimé Jacquet celebrated his 83rd birthdaye
birthday. The native of Sail-Sous-Couzan remains an emblematic figure of French Football. Consequence of the coronation of his Blues at the 1998 World Cup.
However, the former midfielder remains extremely discreet, refusing all interview requests. Aimé Jacquet tried his hand at being a consultant in the early 2000s for Canal+ but the experience was short-lived.
“He has too much respect for his former technician colleagues to allow himself to criticize them. Especially with the media campaign he experienced before the World Cup, which marked him for life,” explained Philippe Tournon, the former press chief of the Blues, to Ouest France on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
Aimé Jacquet less interested in football
“What’s more, Aimé has fallen out of football. He no longer feels justified in talking about it. He watches the Blues or some big matches on TV, yes, but as a simple supporter or spectator. Football is no longer important in his life,” he added. Aimé Jacquet also refuses the (very) large majority of requests he receives. Ten days ago, he was not at the 50th anniversary of Montpellier Hérault and was also conspicuous by his absence at the centenary of Lescure last spring.
Almost strangely, Aimé Jacquet was on the other hand present, at the beginning of June, at the match between the legendary French team and the former SM Caen. A gala meeting for a good cause, with the profits going to the Bleuet de France association. The former French coach was careful not to respond to the media present. He did so last fall on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the INF in Clairefontaine, sending a few sweet words to Didier Deschamps. “We can go very, very far”he had slipped. A few months earlier, he had wanted to support FC Annecy, collateral victim of the Bordeaux-Rodez affair and for the moment relegated to the National.
For the rest, despite the Euro in Germany this summer or the 25e anniversary of the Blues' coronation at the World Cup in 1998, Aimé Jacquet remains far from football, enjoying his peaceful life in Haute-Savoie. “My daily life is friends, it’s devoting myself to others, very quietly,” he whispered to the JDD on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the 1998 coronation.
This discretion maintained for almost twenty years is also a source of regret for certain leaders of French football. “It’s a shame that Aimé Jacquet didn’t want to keep a role at the FFF. His expertise would have been valuable for French football,” a leader of the Federation had thus regretted, adding: “His outlook and his sense of diplomacy would have been beneficial to everyone. »
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