A FIFA collaborator for a few years, the 98 world champion Youri Djorkaeff is an ambassador for choosing the next club World Cup, the very first at 32 participants, which will take place from June 14 to July 13 in the United States. “The Snake” ended up his career at the New York Metrostars (who has become New York Red Bulls) and the semi-finals and the tournament final will be played at Metflife Stadium, in the suburbs of Big Apple.
Djorkaeff would have liked to play a club World Cup at the bonus of his career, recalling that very high level players were born to play major competitions and big matches to challenge the best. And to launch a journalist from a Venezuelan TV: “As a player, I would have liked it a lot. I played the 98 World Cup, it was exceptional, but I also played 2002, where it was a disaster for France. We did not score a single goal and we were eliminated after three games. ”
The essential “nine and a half” of the French team of Aimé Jacquet, alongside Zinedine Zidane, has obviously did not digest his last international competition. Djorkaeff had announced its international retirement at the end of the 2002 World Cup organized in Japan and South Korea, thinking of reliving the great epic of the Hexagonal World Cup in 1998. “Going after a big competition is always good. For two months, you take the lead, you receive a lot of emotion, and then you have things to tell for all your life ”he had entrusted to
Parisian.
Djorkaeff relegated to the bench
The former monaco, PSG and Inter player had done everything to play the World Cup in East Asia in the best conditions, leaving Kaiserslautern for Bolton in January 2002. Youri Djorkaeff was able to find rhythm before the big deadline but the adventure of the world champions obviously turned to fiasco, as he recalled. Without Zinédine Zidane, injured in the last preparation match, the Blues fell against Senegal (1-0) before stopping on Uruguay (0-0). “Zizou” returned to the third match but the team sank against Denmark (2-0).
The absence of the number 10 star of the selection had also led to a real internal baking. Youri Djorkaeff digitally replaced Zidane during the opening match against the Lions of Teranga and, discreet on the field, lost the ball on the Senegalese attack leading to the goal of Papa Bouba Diop. Roger Lemerre then decided to start Johan Micoud as a playmaker in the second match, against the advice of the executives. Djorkaeff did not play against the Uruguayans and was satisfied with the last 10 minutes of the game against the Danes. Terrible end clap for “The Snake”, in the record of 82 selections for 28 goals.
