Clauss should “not play with the handbrake”
One of the highlights of Didier Deschamps’ list for this rally is the first call-up of RC Lens right-back Jonathan Clauss. His club relayed on its social networks a video of the Alsatian, surrounded by his teammates at the time of the announcement. Images that Didier Deschamps could not avoid: “These are moments of emotion, of happiness, shared with the people who are with Jonathan on a daily basis. His story is very beautiful, but that’s not why he is in the France team and I spoke to him about it yesterday. He has a register in which he is interesting, by his volume of play and his technical ability. On the defensive level, as his coach said, he has progress to be made. But he is part of the France team and when he is going to be on the pitch, he will have to be as natural as possible and not play with the handbrake. (In Marseille and/or Lille), he will be able to set foot on the pitch and become an international player.”
The coach defends Pavard
Another Northerner had already made an unexpected entry into the Blues a few years earlier. Less than a year after his first selection, Benjamin Pavard had become world champion. Not surprising for Deschamps, who regrets the recurring criticism of the LOSC-trained defender: “Perhaps not everyone followed him like me either. Today, even after what he did, there There are still some who question Benjamin’s level, when he is at Bayern Munich and playing. The first time you come to the France team, it changes things. Already, because the players are cataloged “international” and therefore for life. But in relation to the public, the partners, the opponents, the media, there is a requirement that is certainly higher.”
There’s no weariness, otherwise I wouldn’t be here
The pressure of the result, the coach knows it. Next August, he will celebrate his ten years at the head of the Blues. “There is no weariness, otherwise I wouldn’t be there. It’s essential to keep the same passion, the same energy and the same determination. Afterwards, you can’t deny the obvious: if I’m there , it’s because the French team has obtained good, even very good results. At the start, in 2012, I never plan for the medium or long term because in this life as a coach or as a coach, it’s more short term to manage. And I didn’t dream, I didn’t imagine (such longevity).”
Didier Deschamps is the coach who has led the most matches at the head of the France team (124), far ahead of Raymond Domenech (79) and Michel Hidalgo (75). He has a record of 81 wins, 25 draws and 18 losses.
20 years for the Didier Deschamps stadium in Halluin
The coach will go to the Pierre Mauroy stadium on Tuesday, March 29 for the match of the France team against South Africa. But he already knows the region! A few years ago, a stadium in his name was inaugurated in Halluin, in the North: “It was with great pleasure, I went there for the inauguration, 20 years ago! I don’t remember all the details… But it was a moment of sharing and also a pride, an honor for me at that time. I was asked so much, especially after the success in 2018, to put my name on different sports infrastructures… In Halluin, this is the only exception, because for all the other requests, I don’t want to trivialize. I don’t want, out of respect, to accumulate them to accumulate them. Even if I I can understand that it means something to people, I’m not looking to have my name on the right, on the left.”
Only two other stadiums bear the coach’s name in France: in Bayonne, his birthplace, and in Cap d’Ail.