{"id":484454,"date":"2026-06-09T19:54:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T19:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/484454\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T19:54:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T19:54:11","slug":"didier-deschamps-mbappe-knows-that-when-he-speaks-he-speaks-for-all-the-players-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/484454\/","title":{"rendered":"Didier Deschamps: \u2018Mbapp\u00e9 knows that when he speaks, he speaks for all the players\u2019 | France"},"content":{"rendered":"

Follow the verdant path towards the Ch\u00e2teau de Clairefontaine and you are met by a three-metre replica of the World Cup trophy accompanied by two stars, representing France\u2019s World Cup triumphs. Didier Deschamps had his hand in both of them, captaining his side to victory in 1998 before repeating the feat as manager in 2018<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The \u201898 World Cup<\/a> final was France\u2019s first ever but Les Bleus have now participated in four of the last seven end games, with Deschamps involved in three of them. In North America, he will have one final shot at reaching another. These are the expectations, moulded by past success. Deschamps has taken France to three major finals in his 14-year stint as manager. \u201cWe\u2019re among the favourites,\u201d he says as he sits down for the interview. \u201cIt isn\u2019t a taboo word for me. If we have this status today, which seems logical and legitimate to me, it\u2019s because of everything that we have done, the results we achieved.\u201d<\/p>\n

As we speak to Deschamps, his assistant, Guy St\u00e9phan, pops his head through the door. \u201cYou\u2019ve got the best,\u201d he jokes. The France<\/a> manager replies with a smile: \u201cHe is always very objective.\u201d Deschamps\u2019 record as a player and then as a manager makes St\u00e9phan\u2019s comment difficult to refute.<\/p>\n

As always, however, there is a subjectivity. \u201cAbroad there is perhaps more recognition,\u201d says Deschamps. \u201cI know very well, since I also travel a lot abroad, that the feeling abroad is different from the one in France.\u201d The qualms from within the country concern the playing style. Before addressing the topic, he lets out a small chuckle: \u201cIt depends what you mean by \u2018play style\u2019. Internationally, that\u2019s one thing, but then there\u2019s France and God knows that, if the France team has been categorised as a [team with a] defensive, restrictive game, it didn\u2019t prevent us from getting results.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Deschamps is not someone concerned about legacy. He insists that \u201cit doesn\u2019t matter\u201d and nor does it interest him. He adds: \u201cThe most important thing is today and tomorrow, and tomorrow is the World Cup. After that, everyone will have their own \u2026 interpretation, their own feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Didier Deschamps guided France to their second World Cup triumph in 2018. Photograph: David Ramos\/Fifa\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Public opinion is one thing, but how he is perceived by colleagues is another. Gareth Southgate was a disciple while Deschamps reveals he has also exchanged messages with Thomas Tuchel \u2013 \u201ca very good manager that I like a lot, too, and with whom I have the chance to talk a lot,\u201d \u2013 Brazil\u2019s Carlo Ancelotti, and the former Germany head coach Hansi Flick. Three major finals in 14 years and a Nations League title have made Deschamps the godfather of modern international football.<\/p>\n

Yet he says there is not a secret formula to emulate. \u201cI have a magic word: adaptation \u2026 I say to myself, \u2018In relation to the person I have in front of me, I adapt.\u2019 And so it leads to modifications \u2026 It\u2019s not because we did this and it worked well that we shouldn\u2019t change. It\u2019s not about changing for the sake of changing either,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Beyond the tactical element there is the man management, where adaptation is also essential. \u201cThe generation from when I started in 2012 is not the same as today \u2026 the new generation need more exchanges,\u201d says Deschamps, who has presided over a changing of the guard in the France dressing room.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Since the 2022 World Cup final defeat to Argentina<\/a>, the likes of Hugo Lloris, Olivier Giroud, Rapha\u00ebl Varane and Antoine Griezmann have all retired from international football. \u201cThe baton has been passed,\u201d says Deschamps, who named Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 as the successor to France\u2019s most-capped player of all time, Lloris.<\/p>\n

\u201cKylian, today, who is our captain, before being captain, he listened, he looked, he doesn\u2019t do things like Hugo. It\u2019s not at all the same character and personality. He takes on this leadership outside, on the pitch as well, and he knows that when he speaks, he doesn\u2019t speak in his own name, but he speaks in the name of all the players as well.\u201d Deschamps also defended his use of the Real Madrid forward: \u201cI must be stupid, and there must have been a lot of stupid people who he has had as coaches to put him in the middle of the attack within the teams he has played \u2026 for the past two years at Real and his last year at PSG \u2026 it\u2019s been three years that he has played in a central position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mbapp\u00e9 underwhelmed at Euro 2024. Breaking his nose in the opener<\/a> against Austria certainly didn\u2019t help while Deschamps also says that his preparation for the tournament was \u201csuboptimal\u201d, adding: \u201cHe arrived following his final six months with PSG, which were very, very difficult. He didn\u2019t have much playing time.\u201d Mbapp\u00e9 heads to this World Cup one goal shy of Giroud\u2019s all-time scoring record for France (57) and that is a justification in itself for Deschamps, whose choices are always scrutinised, often criticised, but almost invariably the right ones.<\/p>\n

Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 edged nearer to Olivier Giroud\u2019s France goal record when he scored in a friendly against Brazil in March. Photograph: Franck Fife\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

For Mbapp\u00e9 to surpass Giroud\u2019s record, Deschamps must find the right \u201cbalance\u201d, a word he repeats eight times during our talk on a wet afternoon. \u201cAt the 2022 World Cup we already had four attackers [starting],\u201d says Deschamps, countering an assertion that a switch from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1 could leave Les Bleus\u2019 famously resolute defence exposed.<\/p>\n

He cites the role of Griezmann, placed within the midfield three at the 2022 World Cup as the fourth attacker in that system. His replacement in the team came in the form of Michael Olise. \u201cHe\u2019s more of a discreet person, a little shy, but when he\u2019s on the pitch, it\u2019s wonderful,\u201d eulogises Deschamps. \u201cToday, he\u2019s someone who is shining, and he is one of the best players at the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deschamps has difficult decisions to make, particularly in the forward positions. Mbapp\u00e9, Olise, Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9, Rayan Cherki, D\u00e9sir\u00e9 Dou\u00e9, Bradley Barcola, Marcus Thuram, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Maghnes Akliouche cannot all play.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about managing the frustration of those who won\u2019t start the game,\u201d says Deschamps. \u201cIt\u2019s always hard to accept, because each player thinks he\u2019s better than the one who plays in his place \u2026 ask any professional footballer at the very highest level, they will say: \u2018Competition? Well, of course, it\u2019s part of our life,\u2019 but only when it concerns a teammate, when it concerns them it\u2019s more difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

French fans pay tribute to Didier Deschamps during the friendly against C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire Photograph: Sebastien Salom-Gomis\/Sipa\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

As a result, and in line with comments made by Tuchel, newer to the international scene, Deschamps insists it isn\u2019t about simply taking the best 26 players to the World Cup.<\/p>\n

Deschamps, who will be 58 in October, already knows all of this. International management, he says, is a \u201ctotally different job\u201d to managing at club level and none of his counterparts at the World Cup have the experience he has accrued.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m still here today, it\u2019s because the French team has won a lot of games. Otherwise, it could have ended before, whether I decided it or it was decided for me,\u201d he says. Ultimately, it is the former. As he confirmed in January 2025, Deschamps will depart upon the conclusion of Les Bleus\u2019 campaign this summer.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t retirement, but the former Juventus, Monaco and Marseille manager isn\u2019t thinking about what is coming next. \u201cI won\u2019t make any decision until after [the World Cup],\u201d he says, but admits that there have been offers.<\/p>\n

When asked about the possibility of a hiatus, Deschamps says he has \u201cthe freedom to choose\u201d. That wasn\u2019t the case the last time he took an extended period away from the game. \u201cI stopped at Juventus in 2007. Between 2007 and 2009. I was on all the shortlists, practically. But my son told me: \u2018The problem is that you always come up short.\u2019\u201d He doesn\u2019t exactly need the World Cup to put himself in the shop window.<\/p>\n

Deschamps doesn\u2019t care about legacy, but as he departed the Ch\u00e2teau de Clairefontaine for the last time on Sunday, he has already ensured that he has left one behind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Follow the verdant path towards the Ch\u00e2teau de Clairefontaine and you are met by a three-metre replica of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":484455,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-484454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/484455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}