France-Luxembourg-friendly match-Saint-Symphorien-Metz stadium. No matter how much you turn and turn the balls in all directions, at no time does it result in a winning combination in the lottery. However, this is what awaits us on Wednesday evening, on the occasion of the first preparation match for Euro 2024. A poster that will make you nosedive in your rocking chair, which does not enchant the French coach either , as he told AFP a few weeks ago.
“We have the obligation, due to the contracts signed by UEFA with the broadcasters, to play two friendly matches. Otherwise I would have only scheduled one,” he admitted. And seeing the identity of the adversary, it is not difficult to imagine how he was chosen by the Fed. “Okay guys, we need the shortest trip possible. Metz? Come on, bank. And what’s next to Metz? Ah well Luxembourg. Packed, it’s weighed! “. Note that, in the same vein, the Spaniards also went as simple as possible by choosing to confront their Andorran neighbor.
“We adapt, that’s all”
We knew Deschamps was already a little angry on the subject, but we still chose to jump into it at a press conference, after the announcement of his list, in the premises of TF1, the channel which will broadcast this famous match that no one wanted. “You want me to make enemies,” he laughed. We have two friendly matches in four days, that’s how it is. But all national teams are more or less in this situation. It’s not a problem, we adapt, that’s all. And we will make sure to find the best solution. »
But what lessons can we learn from a match against the 85th nation in the world, with a group not yet complete, the three Madrilenians who won the Champions League joining the team on Wednesday noon in Metz, while Olivier Giroud and Théo Hernandez will come out of a trip to Australia where they played a friendly match with AC Milan?
“For the coach, the idea is not even to learn lessons, because he knows his team, he has it in mind. Its only goal is to manage everyone’s fitness level, rest those who need to rest, and play those who have had less playing time in recent weeks. And above all, no one farts. It’s tinkering,” summarizes Xavier Frezza, individual physical trainer for many professional footballers.
A preparation phase in name only
The most optimistic will always find grounds for hope in fading such a match, seeing N’Golo Kanté on the field again, for example, but for the staff of the France team, this meeting is one more burden to add to the already very heavy bag of shit that FIFA and UEFA are putting on the backs of national coaches, who have seen their preparation time before a big competition melt like the ice floe under CO2 emissions.
“Each year the time allocated to preparation is reduced. I remember the good old days: before going to Brazil (in 2014), we had 28 days. Wow, 28 days! », remembers DD with nostalgia. There was a time not so long ago, in fact, when the Blues went to get some fresh air in the mountains during the famous training course in Tignes, before moving on to the second phase of physical preparation. A luxury forever gone, the fault of junkie authorities permanently lacking their dose of matches (and TV rights, above all).
“This system is a real nuisance. With such a short time, we cannot even speak of a preparation phase. For this to be the case, four weeks of work would have to be available. There, just over two weeks ago. At any given moment, what do you want to do? Nothing, you’re tinkering, notes Xavier Frezza bitterly. Especially since some players haven’t played too much, others are almost burned out. It’s impossible to get them all up to speed in such a short time, even less so with two friendly matches scheduled in four days. »
Too much football kills football
And this one to rebel in the name of his entire profession. “At some point we really wonder what we are for. A physical trainer is there to prepare work cycles but, today, it has become almost impossible, he complains. All we can do, at most, is a little recovery, a clean-up… There is no longer room to do real, relevant work. »
A rant that will remain a dead letter, one more, the only justice being the audience of the broadcasters on match evenings. So, so that our selectors have free rein again in the years to come and can benefit from real preparation time before a major competition, act and skip it. Also there is Bodin’s in Thailand at the same time on another channel. It’s not better, it’s even downright worse, but it’s for a good cause, ladies and gentlemen.