‘What happened in first 80 minutes? why so uninspired in world cup final?’ France’s 1998 world cup winner blasts Deschamps and wants Zidane as new coach
France’s 1998 world-cup winning footballer Chrophe Dugarry says he is “disappointed, sad, and angry” about the first 80 minutes in the world cup final where France “got walked on”. “How is it possible? For the good of France team, this debate must take place.” Dugarry also wants Zinedine Zidane to replace the current coach Didier Deschamps.
“I am still shocked those eighty minutes. If we are not world champions, it is because of that. If we play them [Argentina] at our level, we win this match without any problem and we are world champions.” Speaking to L’Equippe, Dugarry detailed his angst. “I quickly put myself in the shoes of the players, and I think they will regret it all their lives, just as I still regret the goal that I did not score in the final, in 1998, even though it had not had an impact on the collective destiny, as my friend Stéphane Guivarc’h also regretted his opportunities. Both the players and the staff will be marked all their lives these eighty minutes which cost them the title of world champion.”
“For the good of the France team, this debate must take place. If that was enough, it must be said. If it was physical [fatigue], it must be said too. So that it doesn’t happen again. How can you be so invisible, so uninspired with the ball, so far in duels? It’s not the defeat that’s the problem. It’s those eighty minutes.”
Dugarry said he couldn’t understand what transpired that made big-name players so unrecognisable on the field.
“With the ball, we are catastrophic. In duels, the same. We were never able to answer. How could (Antoine) Griezmann and (Ousmane) Dembele have been so catastrophic? How did (Olivier) Giroud get himself moved so much? For me, it is incomprehensible.”
He then placed the blame on the coach Deschamps.
“Because the Argentinians, we blew them up in five minutes like popcorn. They are less strong than us, it was a gift to play against them. There was no fully managed match, but we are used to it now, for twelve years [10 years of Deschamps’s reign], it is part of the Deschamps style where only the result counts. But these eighty minutes is the real debate for people who are passionate about football and who love the France team. Even in the decision to extend or not Deschamps: shouldn’t we, before, ask what happened?”
Dugarry, who has had stated his displeasure with Deschamps’s style in the past as well, went on to say Zidane should be France’s new coach.
“I do not hide that I would prefer it to be “Zizou” (Zinédine Zidane). Deschamps, I hear what he says, but you can’t say that the France team belongs to everyone and keep it for twelve years, especially when you have a possible successor who has won the Champions League (with Real Madrid, in 2016, 2017, 2018) and which can bring something to the France team.”