In Dortmund,
Not that Twitter has ever been a safe place to exchange ideas over an Espresso Martini, but there are some topics that are more explosive than others. Among these, Didier Deschamps and his “boring style” figures, if not on the throne, at least on the podium, at every major international competition. With, on one side of the octagon, the ayatollahs of the beautiful game who abhor the pragmatism and coldness of the coach, and on the other, the champions of winning who vomit up the arguments of the former.
These two camps being too opposed, we will not pretend to reconcile them one day. Which does not prevent us from taking part in the fight after two matches for the Blues which we would describe as… faithful to their reputation. In the wake of the draw against the Netherlands, a tweet set the village on fire again. “12 years of Didier Deschamps. 10 years of Macron. We like to suffer in this country,” wrote the aptly named “Jason Burne”, with 90,000 subscribers, attracting the cheers of anti-DD people and the wrath of others.
Since he did not respond to our request, we found in Thomas, 25, another lawyer for the cause “Deschamps, thanks but no thanks”. If he admits to having already had fun watching certain matches – France-Argentina 2018 not to mention it – the young man specifies that it is first and foremost a story of “storytelling, of scenario” and not “on the performance of the Blues” itself.
“ “DD matches, 95% of the time, it’s a middle or even low block, a middle that presses and attackers who get away with it (Mbappé will talk about freedom), our accused unfolds at the bar. Tactically you’ve been bored to death since he took office. You progress in blue because the individual level of the players increases (Valbuena-Sissoko-Cabaye, Griezmann-Mbappé-Kanté) but you already know before the match how we are going to play, and depending on how it goes you can almost make the changes for him . » »
The FFL to the rescue of DD
Given what we have been writing at length since the start of the Euro, we can hardly blame him. But the whole question – and God knows we’ve been asking this for years – is whether we would agree to sacrifice our results over the last eight years for the sake of “joga bonito” alone. . For many supporters, there is no doubt about this. Which makes Antoine bristle, the head Raïs of the French Federation of Lose, who today sees himself obliged to leave his comfort zone to defend a team which goes completely against the principles of his media.
“Between 88 and 98, the French team was abominable. The question, at the time, was not whether we were going to go to the final but whether we were going to qualify for the World Cup or the Euro, he recalls. When I hear guys complaining and talking about suffering, it makes me crazy. You have countries which had golden generations and which gained nothing. Ask a Dutchman if he’s okay with you taking away total football for two World Cups? To me, we are completely spoiled scum. »
JF is not Dutch but Belgian and he also asks us where to put his signature at the bottom of the contract. “Seen from Belgium, seeing you complain is totally incomprehensible. You certainly have the best coach in the world. With a lot of friends, we are convinced that it is him who eliminated us in the semi-final in Russia, this Standard de Liège supporter keeps thinking. He set a trap for us and Martinez was unable to find a solution. Romantic football is fine for a while but the most important thing is the trophy cabinet. There are no great victories without a great general. And Deschamps is one of them. »
What do they think about it in other sports?
Seeing the supporters of a French team which made three finals (including one victory) in the last four major competitions and who dare to complain, it’s not only abroad that it turns the belly. Take our tennis fan friends. What they wouldn’t give to win a grand slam one day, no matter how!
“For me, when you are a France supporter, you have no right to complain about Deschamps’ style of play,” says Johan, founder of Tennis Legend. It’s as if a French player who reached the final of three of the last four Grand Slam tournaments was criticized because he has an overly defensive style of play, which is not a good look. As long as it’s winning, I find it hard to criticize, especially when we know how difficult it is to go far in major competitions, especially in football. »
Same reframing on the part of cycling enthusiasts who, apart from Julian Alaphilippe’s two world champion titles, have not had many opportunities to thrill to major titles. “Since Nanard Hinault in 1985, we have not seen a French rider win the Grande Boucle. In 1985, Platoche was still playing football, Deschamps was starting out at FC Nantes and Mitterrand was President, laughs the team from the Dans la Musette Twitter account. Which means that a large part of cycling fans have never seen a Frenchman win the Tour in their lifetime. »
“In comparison, 2018 was yesterday, and it would be about learning to cherish this contemporary gift from DD. While the fans of the Blues are grumbling with their two stars sewn on their chests, we would be ready to perform voodoo rituals under the full moon to give Lenny Martinez a tiny chance of winning the Tour by 2032,” continues they with humor, the last artifice of magnificent losers.
The beautiful, the winning or both?
Ultimately, the debate is not so much about whether the Blues are playing (and winning) lousy. On this, with a few exceptions, we all shake hands, good friends. No, dissensions appear on another ground, philosophical this one, when we have to decide between beauty or winning. Because that’s what we’re talking about. With a few rare exceptions, the Spain of Del Bosque is one, we have few memories of magnificent winners.
“We get pissed off in front of the Blues, it’s true. But that’s more or less always the case with all teams, unless you’re Spanish between 2008 and 2012 and all your players play for the same club. But, overall, international football is boring from a playing point of view, it’s rare to see super shimmering teams, argues Antoine from the FFL. So yes, we’re bored. Yes, we could certainly do better but, in my humble opinion, emotions are above pleasure. The last final, we were rubbish for 80 minutes but you forgot all that at the end of the match. And what do we remember today? That we vibrated like never before. »
“Some people want to win, play well, play well while winning… I want to win, whether we play well or badly,” says Tchouameni. At the end of our career, we will remember each person’s record more than how we played. » On arrival, in fact, criticism will always be extinguished by the noise of success. And DD knows it. But given what is happening to him while the Blues are at the top of national team football, we don’t dare imagine what will happen in the event of failure this summer. Although we had already had a nice little glimpse of it after the slap against Switzerland three years ago. Which did not prevent him from continuing to Qatar. The dogs bark and the caravan passes.