DIDIER DESCHAMPS. The contract of the coach of the Blues is extended until July 2026, after the next World Cup. Didier Deschamps announced it himself this Saturday January 7, 2023, at the general meeting of the FFF.
[Mis à jour le 7 janvier 2023 à 13h21] It is the main interested party who has formalized it himself. “I am going to announce something which is an immense pleasure for me, namely that my president has decided to extend me until 2026”, declared Didier Deschamps this Saturday January 7, 2023, at the podium of the general assembly of the French Football Federation (FFF), where his remarks were greeted with a standing ovation. “I thank the president (of the FFF, Noël Le Graët, editor’s note) for his permanent support and his maintained confidence. It is something which is essential in the functioning of the France team”, he continued. .
The main sticking point between Didier Deschamps and the president of the FFF, Noël Le Graët, concerned the duration of the new contract of the coach of the Blues. As explained The world, Noël Le Graët wanted the coach to be extended until 2024, after the Euro which will take place in Germany. A way for Noël Le Graët not to commit his successor to his own choices, since his mandate as president of the FFF ends in 2024. Didier Deschamps pleaded for his part for an extension until the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Breton therefore finally proved him right, by extending the mandate of Didier Deschamps until July 2026, after the World Cup.
Didier Deschamps’ new contract was signed on Friday evening in Paris, as reported The Parisian. The daily indicates that Jean-Pierre Bernès, the agent of the coach of the Blues, had met, Thursday, January 5, the president of the FFF in the capital, and that the two men reached an agreement on the details of the contract in less than ‘a half hour. “We have important deadlines ahead of us, with a busy return to school in March with two big games on our way to qualifying for the next Euro 2024 in Germany. You can count on me to ensure that the France team is maintained. at the highest international level”, promised Didier Deschamps at the general assembly of the FFF, this Saturday.
A new conflict with Benzema?
Some elements suggest that the disenchantment between Karim Benzema and the staff of the Blues has broken out again. The Frenchman notably decided to refuse the invitation of the FFF and Emmanuel Macron to go to Doha to attend the final of the Blues. And the player’s communication was controversial: few messages of support during the competition, but above all this photo of him, pouting, posted the day before the final with this comment: “I’m not interested”. If nothing is clear in this way of speaking, it was already quite obvious that the situation between Karim Benzema and the FFF was delicate. The newspaper The Teamwho is not one to make files on rumors, took the liberty of publishing, on Sunday December 18, 2022, a article entitled “The ‘Benzema dossier’ polluted the preparation for the World Cup final”. According to the French daily, the relationship between the Madrid player and Didier Deschamps would have deteriorated: the player would have liked to do everything possible with the medical staff of the Blues in order to be available for the France team during the final phase of the competition. , which Didier Deschamps would have refused, considering that the group dynamic takes place without the absentees.
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Didier Deschamps was born on October 15, 1968, in Bayonne, a city where he grew up with his parents Pierre and Ginette, and his older brother Philippe. After joining the FC Nantes training center in 1983, he quickly moved into the position of defensive midfielder. During his time in Loire-Atlantique, he had the happiness of meeting Claude, his future wife, but also the misfortune of losing his brother Philippe, victim of a plane crash on December 21, 1987, then his father-in-law, who died of a heart attack three days later. At the end of the five years spent under the colors of Nantes, he was transferred to Olympique de Marseille. Loaned to the Girondins de Bordeaux during the 1990-1991 season, he returned to Marseille in 1991 to win and become club captain. With OM, he won the Champions League in 1993, and two French championship titles in 1990 and 1992. In 1994, he joined Juventus in Turin where, with Zinédine Zidane, he won eleven titles, including one new Champions League in 1996 and three Italian league titles. At the same time, called up to the France team since 1989, he became captain of the national team in 1994 and established himself as the relay on the field of the coach Aimé Jacquet. With the Blues, he won the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship. He signed for Chelsea in 1999, then for Valencia in 2000. At the end of the season, he retired as a player.
In 2001, he was appointed coach of Monaco, a club with which he played in the Champions League final in 2004. In 2006, he coached Juventus Turin for a season, relegated to Division 2. After a two-year break, he returned to OM where he won five titles, including that of French champion in 2010. He left the club in 2012 to take the reins of the French team, which he took to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where France reached the quarter-finals. In 2016, the Blues are in the final for the Euro, beaten in overtime by Portugal (1-0). The French team takes its revenge two years later, winning its second World Cup in Russia. After a mixed start to the competition, victory in the round of 16 against Argentina propelled the Blues to the final, where they dominated Croatia (4-2). Didier Deschamps then qualifies the Blues for Euro 2021, where they are among the big favorites in the competition. But France was finally beaten by Switzerland on penalties in the round of 16. In 2022, he manages, for the second consecutive time, to lead the French team to the final of the World Cup in Qatarbut the Blues were defeated by Argentina’s Leo Messi, again on penalties.
According to figures published by the Dutch media Zoomin TV in 2018, Didier Deschamps would receive a salary of 3.4 million euros (excluding bonuses) from the French Football Federation. A few months later, during an interview with Parisian, the coach of the Blues had however refused to confirm these figures. “I won’t tell you, because it’s indecent, he explained. It’s impossible to talk about that. I’ve been aware for many years that I’m a privileged person. I’m not ashamed, Quite the contrary. I could argue, but Mr. and Mrs. Everybody can’t hear that, because they’re in trouble.”
As a player, Didier Deschamps was part of the team that missed qualification for the 1994 World Cup, following the cruel defeat against Bulgaria at the Parc des Princes in November 1993. Then appointed captain by the new coach Aimé Jacquet, the midfielder led the Blues to the first victory in the World Cup, at home, in 1998. After starting his career as a club coach, Didier Deschamps took the reins of the France team after Euro 2012. He brought order to the national team and, after difficult qualifications and a snatched place in the play-offs against Ukraine, managed to hoist the Blues into the quarter-finals at the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. In 2018, the coach patiently built his team, depriving himself of Karim Benzema but relying on the young Kylian Mbappé. Result: a second title of world champion, this time on the bench, after a big victory in the final against Croatia (4-2). If he then succeeds in leading the France team, once again, to the final of the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, he cannot repeat the feat since the Blues lose to Argentina. in shots on goal.
After his training in Nantes, Didier Deschamps joined Olympique de Marseille at the age of 21. After a complicated season, he was then loaned to Bordeaux. The midfielder stands up to Bernard Tapie, who wants to sell him to PSG. Deschamps persists and wins the right to start the season with OM. Two seasons later, the young player became the first captain of a French team to lift the Champions League trophy on May 26, 1993. He left the club a year later to join Juventus Turin. In 2009, Didier Deschamps returned to OM as first team coach. In his first year, the technician achieved a League Cup – Championship double, and thus ended a 17-year drought without a trophy for OM. Didier Deschamps will leave Marseille in 2012, with 2 more League Cups on the clock, but undermined by internal tensions.
Very discreet about his private life, Didier Deschamps has been married to Claude for over thirty years. After meeting in Nantes during their studies, the couple have a child, Dylan, born in 1996. Despite a common passion between father and son, Dylan studies in the financial sector, and launched his start-up called App4Media.