After immediately confirming Didier Deschamps in his position as coach of the Blues, just after the defeat, despite the many criticisms, the president of the FFF, Philippe Diallo, spoke to the players of the French team after the elimination (1-2) against Spain, in the semi-finals of the Euro. Present alongside the Blues since the beginning of the competition, he assured his unwavering support to his players and his staff. “First of all I would like to say that I do not want to trivialise the fact of being in the semi-final of a tournament as high-level as the Euro. It remains a great achievement. Twenty teams returned home before us.”the head of French football was keen to point out. “It remains for me an objective, that I had assigned to the coach, which was achieved. So of course, I had dreamed and I think that you too had dreamed that we would go until Sunday, until this July 14 which seemed written for us. But it was not possible tonight. It was not possible because, first of all, you met a very good Spanish team and we must recognize its quality. For the rest, I will ask the staff to tell us what we lacked this Tuesday evening to go to the end of our dream.”
The FFF leader also took advantage of this speech to thank everyone present on site. “I would like this evening, since some of you are going to leave, to take advantage of the fact that we are all together to thank our coach, to thank our technical staff, to thank all the members of the staff. That is why I wanted everyone to be here because we are a team in the broad sense. And I know that everyone, in their mission, did their utmost.”Philippe Diallo ended his speech by recalling how proud he was of the Blues’ progress and the performances of his players. “I would like to tell you that you have done honour to the jersey you wear. Once again, a semi-final is not ordinary and it is the sign of a team that is in the elite of international football. By reaching this last four, once again, you have shown your talent and your commitment.” Words that surely counted in the minds of the players after the terrible disappointment experienced against Spain, this Tuesday evening.
