Just retired at only 31 years old, Raphaël Varane leaves an indelible mark in the history of French football. And if the 2018 world champion has definitely hung up his boots, his international retirement had already been announced two years ago, just after the World Cup in Qatar.
Regular, reliable, technical, elegant, Varane has established himself over the years as one of the best defenders in the history of the France team. However, not everything has been linear in the international career of the former Madrilenian. In an interview with L’Équipe, the defender explained that certain periods had been delicate, such as Euro 2016, where Didier Dschamps was without him due to injury.
“A few meetings with the coach and it was hot”
“It made me suffer to miss this Euro, he explained. I don’t blame anyone. At the time, I was angry, because I would have had time to come back from my injury like I did at the 2022 World Cup, it was almost the same conditions. But I can’t blame him, I would have done the same in his situation. »
Not holding a grudge, Raphaël Varane obviously prefers to remember the best moments. “Winning for your country is incomparable… As much as the victory in 2018, my biggest memory remains the play-off against Ukraine (0-2 in the first leg, 3-0 in the return) in November 2013, qualifier in the 2014 World Cup. I still get chills talking about it…”
“There was osmosis, with values, people from different worlds, religions and cultures, but together, something happened. But it wasn’t easy. Just before the World Cup, there were a few meetings with the coach and it was hot. We fought with the coach. But he understood us very well, because he did the same thing when he was a player…” he concluded.
