A prestigious guest supporting the Blues! This Monday, at the initiative of the French Football Federation (FFF), Roger Lemerre (83 years old) will come and sit in the aisles of the Roi-Baudouin stadium, in Brussels, to watch the Nations League match between Belgium and the French team (8:45 p.m., TF1). The former coach of the Blues between 1998 and 2002 will return to the venue in which he qualified for the Euro 2000 final, a competition which turned his sporting and intimate life upside down since he met his partner Jeannette Van there. de Brand, of Dutch origin, whom he married three years later, after giving birth to their daughter Laure.
This return will bring back memories of a legendary match which saw the Blues win against Portugal (2-1), in the semi-final, on a golden penalty from Zinédine Zidane. On the bench that day was already Guy Stéphan. The current assistant to Didier Deschamps is celebrating his 200th with the French team after starting a first stint as second to Roger Lemerre, a recognized figure in French football who left his mark on a generation. Because before winning the European Championship, Lemerre was first assistant to Aimé Jacquet with whom he won the first World Cup in the history of his country in 1998.
His career at the head of the French team, also marked by a victory in the Confederations Cup (2001), ended with a premature elimination at the 2002 World Cup. After being replaced by Jacques Santini, he led Tunisia (2002-2008), which he led to the African title in 2004 at home, Morocco (2008-2009) or even Sedan and Étoile du Sahel. For several years, he has remained very discreet publicly and made a brief appearance, in November 2023, to attend the 50th anniversary of the INF in Clairefontaine. This evening he will meet Didier Deschamps, his captain in 2000.
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