En announcing his departure from the post of coach of the France team after the 2026 World Cup on the 1 p.m. news on TF1, alongside Brigitte Macron, did Didier Deschamps think, once again, to surprise everyone? “You have to know how to say stop,” justified the Basque, who, if he continues his contract until the end, will have lasted fourteen years.
At Didier Deschamps, there are first the statistics. The latter are unassailable: 105 victories in 165 matches, a World Cup won (2018), another lost (2022), a European Championship final (2016) and a Nations League won (2021). Above all, he was able to restore the French taste for their national team, after the chaotic cycles started by Raymond Domenech (2004-2010) and Laurent Blanc (2010-2012). He was able to support exceptional talents in the national team: Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba, Olivier Giroud, Raphaël Varane and Hugo Lloris.
The coach’s drunkenness and loneliness
But the former captain of the Blues undoubtedly let himself be won over, over time, by the drunkenness and solitude inherent to the role of coach. We know that the French football team goes beyond the simple framework of sport. Each year, the confrontations against other national selections occupy the first places in the ranking of the best audiences on television. The 67 million coaches in France never miss an opportunity to analyze the work […] Read more
