It was 13 years ago today, Didier Deschamps opened a big page in the history of the French team. He lived his first match with the Blues when Uruguay came to Le Havre, for a pitiful 0-0. “La Dèche” had made strong choices by forming two fairly amazing duets: a central hinge made up of Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and Mamadou Sakho and a midfielder Maxime Gonalons-Roi Mavuba! Only Sakho won with the Blues, competing in the 2014 World Cup.
While the training did not shine offensively despite a superb offensive quartet, with Mathieu Valbuena and Frank Ribéry on the coast and Karim Benzema in support of Olivier Giroud, number 1 and captain Hugo Lloris held the blow to the Celeste by Cristian Rodriguez and Diego Forlan. Its defensive block also shone by its solidity, as explained The team at the time.
Deschamps was visibly conquered by his hinge since he maintained Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and Mamadou Sakho for the two games of September against Finland and Belarus, in the World Cup qualifiers. The two young rocks of Ligue 1 were aged 23 and 22 respectively and Yanga-Mbiwa had just been crowned champion of France with Montpellier (without being the taulier of the Hérault training).
The descent into hell of Yanga-Mbiwa
Yanga-Mbiwa did not have the great career that some promised him. Far from it. The native of Bangui (Central African Republic) did not confirm with the MHSC the following season and was not imposed either in Newcastle and Roma. Before knowing a chaotic course at OL, where he arrived in 2015. After two seasons, he found himself in the depths of the Hierarchy of the Centrals of the Gones and decided to stay at the club to evolve in the reserve team.
On the bench of the French team at the time, Laurent Koscielny and Raphaël Varane, just 19 years old, were waiting for their turn. The first city was the defensive leader in DD Blues at the 2014 World Cup and especially at Euro 2016, alongside Adil Rami in particular, and the second is obviously the Taulier of the World Champions 98 with Samuel Umtiti.
