PAVARD. Benjamin Pavard, holder in Dublin this Monday evening against Ireland in the second match of the Blues for the Euro 2024 qualifiers, will be closely scrutinized by Didier Deschamps and his staff. The Bayern player, dismissed during the World Cup, could well play his place in the future groups of the France team.
It was a month of March that looked like a great turning point for Benjamin Pavard and it should end this Monday evening with an unexpected start in the France team. He, who we imagined as a tricard for the Blues after a World Cup that turned into a nightmare both on and off the field, will discover the Aviva Stadium in Dublin as a holder this Monday evening for an Ireland – France counting for the Euro 2024 qualifiers. Le Figaro’s announcement at the end of the afternoon was confirmed with the release of the official match sheet. Remember, started as a holder against Australia, the 2022 World Cup for the defender of the Blues had turned into a nightmare. Incriminated on the rapid opening of the Australian score, visibly criticized for his attitude and his remarks during and after the match, Benjamin Pavard had finished the competition closed.
Deschamps: “It belongs to the past”
Didier Deschamps obviously didn’t hold it against him. “I spoke with him before, during and after the World Cup, explained on the sidelines of the announcement of the list for the rally the coach of the Blues at a press conference. We are not going to go back on that, that belongs to the past. What’s important is what’s ahead.” Didier Deschamps has obviously made a choice of reason, marked both by the experience in Blue of the Bayern defender, his great current form but also a lack of reservoir in this right-back position where no post specialist has really emerged for years. month. Something to promote a comeback…
The presence in the France group for the first matches of the Euro 2024 qualifiers was however not obvious after a difficult World Cup where he ended up relegated to the bench behind Jules Kounde and even supplanted by Axel Disasi as an understudy. Replacing against the Netherlands (4-0) on March 24, 2023, Benjamin Pavard, 26, is this time holder a few minutes from kick-off, the end of a lively month of March for the former companion of Miss France Rachel Legrain-Trapani. Brilliant in recent weeks with Bayern Munich in line with a three-man defense, the former Lille player hopes to have also caught the eye of Thomas Tuchel, the new Bavarian coach appointed a few hours after the dismissal of Julian Nagelsmann on March 24.
Off the pitch, March has also been a hectic month behind the scenes for the former Stuttgart defender. According to the German tabloid Bild, the Bayern player has reached an agreement with the German justice system to avoid a public trial following the facts of drunken driving dating back to August 2022. The agreement, the terms of which are n were not revealed, should be accompanied by a financial penalty and a license suspension.
Short biography of Benjamin Pavard Born in Maubeuge on March 28, 1996, Benjamin Pavard is a French footballer playing as a defender or right-back. Introduced by his father to football from an early age (his father is a former defender who played in the 3rd division), Benjamin Pavard seduces with his versatility and his personality. Rather shy off the field, the Maubeugeois is one of those footballers who are not afraid to take responsibility when the kick-off is whistled.
At the dawn of attacking Euro 2021, Benjamin Pavard is officially single. But the football player, however, has not always been. In February 2018, the one who scored “the best goal of the 2018 World Cup” during the France-Argentina meeting formalized his relationship with Rachel Legrain-Trapani. The love story between the French footballer and the former Miss France (2007) continued for a year before the announcement of the separation in February 2019. Since then, a few rumors have circulated more or less regularly about the couple stories of Benjamin Pavard. The main interested party has not yet confirmed any other romantic relationship.
Born in the North of France, Benjamin Pavard carried out the tests with the clubs of LOSC or RC Lens, at the age of 10. He joins the first and goes through the stages until the signing of his first professional contract. In 2015, he began his professional football career with a match against FC Nantes. Often a starter during the 2015-2016 season, the defender was then relegated to the bench with the arrival of a new coach. Dissatisfied with his playing time, Benjamin Pavard decides to leave France, heading to Germany. Across the Rhine, he put his bags in the locker room of VfB Stuttgart which was then playing in Bundesliga 2, after a transfer valued at 5 million euros, one of the most expensive in the history of the German club. Very quickly, the Frenchman established himself among the team’s leading players and participated in the club’s rise in the Bundesliga. At the very beginning of 2019, Benjamin Pavard was announced among the upcoming transfers to major European clubs. He finally joined the Bayern Munich club during the summer, for a sum of 35 million euros, and quickly established himself as a starter.
During the 2019-2020 season, he joined the list of players most used by the Bayern Munich coach, well helped by his versatility which allowed him to find his place in different positions in the Munich defense. In August 2020, in a particular context linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, he won the Champions League with Bayern Munich. Aged only 24, Benjamin Pavard then became the youngest French footballer to lift the trophy in the most prestigious club competition.
Often present with the Blues in the youth categories, Benjamin Pavard had his first selection with the France A team on November 10, 2017 against Wales, when he replaced Christophe Jallet during the match. He saw his first tenure during the last match of the Blues before the World Cup, March 27, 2018, which did not prevent him from being one of the 23 players selected by Didier Deschamps to play in the World Cup in Russia.
Competing with Djibril Sidibé in friendly matches before the start of the World Cup, the VfB Stuttgart side started in the Blues’ first match against Australia (2-1). Despite the sluggish match of the French, he will not leave the starting lineup and Didier Deschamps makes him an indisputable holder. Benjamin Pavard then revealed himself to France and the whole world thanks to his superb goal in the round of 16 against Argentina (4-2). Voted the most beautiful goal of the Russian World Cup by Fifa, this gesture takes the right side into another dimension and will allow the Blues to reach the final, won against Croatia (4-2) on July 15, 2018.
After sixteen games with the France A team, Benjamin Pavard experienced his first defeat in a 2-0 defeat in Rotterdam against the Netherlands. Well established as a starter with the Blues, the right side is part of the team that wins the League of Nations against Spain on October 10, 2021 (2-1) and adapts to the tactical change decided by Didier Deschamps after the back from Karim Benzema under the tricolor jersey, even if he is less comfortable in this role of piston on the right side. Called up for the Euro
2021, he signs mixed performances, like the French team eliminated in the round of 16 by Switzerland. Despite the ups and downs of performances, Didier Deschamps did not hesitate long before calling him on the list of 26 players to compete in the World Cup in Qatar. Holder in the first match but considered disappointing against Australia (4-1), he lost his place in favor of Jules Koundé and did not reappear until the final.
Benjamin Pavard could very well leave Germany and Bayern soon. The defender of the Bavarian club recently confided in L’Equipe on his desire to discover a new championship and new challenges, after having won everything with Bayern: “There were no specific discussions (concerning an extension , editor’s note). For the moment, I am focused on the World Cup, on being the best possible in a very big club, one of the best in the world. I have a huge respect for the Bayern, I learned there the requirement of the very high level and it is an honor to wear this shirt. Afterwards, I have been in Germany for seven years, I have won everything with the club, he said. he explained. I’m not against discovering a new project. It may be the right time. Why not discover a new country, a new culture? But the sports project must be interesting. (…) I I may have been around here, but I’m in a very big club, so I’m not going to leave for nothing. I’m not doing fictional scripts, we’ll see that They will be the options and we will discuss with Bayern. “