A few days before the first matches of the French team since the 2022 World Cup, Didier Deschamps reviewed Thursday the busy news around the Blues.
For Didier Deschamps and the Blues, the start of the school year takes place in March. On the sidelines of the announcement, Thursday, March 16, of the list of 23 players selected to face the Netherlands and Ireland in the Euro 2024 qualifiers, the French coach was questioned, at a press conference, on the broad news around the France team.
For a good half hour, Didier Deschamps took the time, avoiding almost no subject, not even that of the eviction of his colleague Corinne Deacon on the women’s bench. But he did not want to fuel the controversy around Karim Benzema’s reaction to his remarks. Here’s what to remember from this back-to-school press conference.
The Benzema case: “A closed subject”
After returning to the premature injury of Karim Benzema ahead of the last World Cup last week in the ParisianDidier Deschamps was invited to react to the reactions of the Ballon d’Or, ironic towards him on social networks. “It’s a closed subject, behind, I’m not going to re-comment anything”first kicked the coach. “It’s a subject that interests you and that can lead to debates and controversies. Very quietly, I had to express myself to say what had happened. You are free to debate, that’s part of your work in quotes. For me, the important thing is the future and the 23 (players) you know.”
Relaunched a second time, Didier Deschamps again dodged the subject: “The disturbances, we have known them, there have always been them. You will not get another word from me. I took the floor to say what had happened. Today, it’s behind, nothing will make me talk about this subject again”. We will therefore have to wait for Karim Benzema to speak to find out more. For the moment, the attacker has contented himself with an Instagram story commented on in particular a “But what audacity”accompanied by a clown emoticon.
Departure of Noël Le Graët: “I adapt”
Extended by Noël Le Graët until 2026, after the World Cup, Didier Deschamps expected to be questioned about the departure of his ex-president, to whom he was close. But this change of organization chart was minimized by the coach: “I am not apprehensive, but I adapt. I have exchanges and a functioning that can be different and I have met President Philippe Diallo on several occasions. We have a common interest, which is that the The France team is doing well. It’s not something that weighs on me, I take note and I adapt.”
The armband: “It will go through internal discussions”
Hugo Lloris having retired from international football, like vice-captain Raphaël Varane, Didier Deschamps must appoint a new captain at the next meeting. But the coach has not yet finalized his choice. “There are some that I retain as a possible captain. Obviously, Kylian Mbappé is one of them, but it will go through discussions with them before I make my decision. There is a responsibility in relation to being captain , with somewhat larger obligations“warned Deschamps.
After the question of an Italian journalist, we know, however, that it will not be Adrien Rabiot: “Even if he has some experience, we know each other well, he has a form of leadership too, but I don’t know if he really wants the captaincy. Let him stay as he is, it will already be very good. “smiled the coach, who also clarified that he would not do a test or rotating captaincy, his decision will be final: “For the captain, I prefer to have a well-defined choice”.
Ousting of Corinne Deacon: “It bothers me”
At the end of a press conference which will have seen him address a number of related subjects – he was even questioned about the health of Italian football, and the possible sale of the Stade de France in 2025 – Didier Deschamps was invited to react to the crisis that is shaking the French women’s team. The coach obviously did not appreciate the fate reserved for his colleague, Corinne Deacon, dismissed from her post under pressure from part of the locker room.
Perfectly handling the art of the aphorism, he gave his opinion on the question with a laconic answer, but which says a lot: “I have to weigh every word. I don’t have the ins and outs, I don’t know if there was a good decision. But as a coach, on form, it bothers me. (Silence) I’m not going to say more, but you will have understood me.”