The end of the Deschamps era is fast approaching. Before flying to the United States, the French team must play two friendly matches in France. The first is next Thursday against Ivory Coast. As a symbol, this meeting will be played in Nantes, at the Beaujoire stadium, where Didier Deschamps spent four years in the first team (1985-1989) before moving to Olympique de Marseille. On this occasion, West France had an original idea: let several former Canaries do an interview with the national coach.
And among them, former coach Raynald Denoueix asked DD a teasing question, namely whether the future ex-boss of the Blues planned to meet with his successor as a handover. In short: will Deschamps meet with Zinedine Zidane, the very likely next coach? “Transmission is important. I know what Raynald means: give back what you’ve been given. My successor should ask me already. It’s not up to me to take the step. I stay in my place. Rudi Garcia asked me before taking Belgium. Until now he had only managed clubs. I spoke with him with great pleasure.”
“I will stay in football”
While waiting to see if his successor will be up for this meeting, another famous figure from FC Nantes, Antoine Kombouaré, asked one of the questions that often comes up about Deschamps: what will the Bayonnais do after leaving the Blues? Once announced in the sights of clubs in Saudi Arabia, Deschamps made headlines by being cited among the possible replacements for Alvaro Arbeloa at Real Madrid. Since then, the Frenchman has been overtaken by José Mourinho. Today, DD has in any case not yet decided according to his statements.
“I don’t know. I haven’t made a decision for the future. I know it will be different and that I will miss the French team. I don’t forbid myself anything. If it has to go through an inactive period… I know in any case that I will stay in football, in one form or another. There are different roles. I’m not going to invent myself as a musician, dancer or pastry chef. But I will see after the competition, so as late as possible. Need to cut? When you are a coach, there are break periods, especially after major competitions. But as I am in great shape and I recover quickly… In any case, I am privileged, because I have the chance to be able to choose. The message got through.
