Euro finals will mark end of French golden generation
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Euro finals will mark end of French golden generation
Vanguard Sports
Euro finals will mark end of French golden generation
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
WHATEVER the outcome of Euro 2004 for defending champions France, the tournament will mark the end of the generation brought to life by coach Aime Jacquet.
In the space of 10 years, the team, arguably the best France has ever produced, wrote the brightest and the darkest pages of French soccer’s story under Jacquet and his successor Roger Lemerre.
They became the first side to clinch the World Cup and the European Cup in succession before they experienced one of the biggest failures in World Cup history. The generation emerged when Jacquet was named to replace the sacked Gerard Houllier after France were eliminated by Bulgaria in their last qualifying match for the 1994 World Cup finals.
Jacquet comprehensively reshuffled the team and imposed a very defensive tone, convinced that avoiding conceding goals was just as important as finding the way to the net.
The story of the generation began with a 1-0 victory over Italy in Naples 10 years ago and it will end in Portugal next month, under Lemerre’s successor Jacques Santini.
There is little doubt that captain Marcel Desailly, who will turn 36 in September, is leading the last campaign of his international career.
France’s most capped player has made it clear he will not be in Germany in 2006, should France qualify. He could be followed by defenders Bixente Lizarazu, 34, and Lilian Thuram, 32, as well as goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, who is 32. The four players, among many others, owe a lot to Jacquet.
The former coach made Desailly a first-choice libero in place of Alain Roche and paired him up with Laurent Blanc to create a central duo envied by many countries.
Jacquet brought in Thuram to replace Jocelyn Angloma, he fielded Lizarazu instead of Eric Di Meco and named Barthez as number one goalkeeper, forcing Bernard Lama into retirement. He was also the first to exploit the talents of Zinedine Zidane.
Zidane, who will be 32 on June 23, is not certain to carry on until the World Cup finals even though he has extended his contract with Real Madrid until 2007. For “Zizou”, too, the European Championship could be the last major event of his international years.
Teaching France to exist without their inspirational playmaker is something Santini has been working on since he was appointed in July 2002, after France’s humiliating first-round exit from the World Cup.
“There will be life after Zidane,” Santini said. “And we must be ready for it. Now, I think we know we can play without him.”
For other players, such as strikers Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet and midfielder Patrick Vieira, there is time left on the international stage.
The former Monaco pair were only teenagers when they made their debuts during the victorious world campaign in 1998, while the Arsenal midfielder will be 30 in Germany. They can certainly aim at two or three more major tournaments.
But despite the uncertainties of who will leave and who will stay, France go into next month’s European Championship confident that they are no longer outsiders, as they were for many years.
A French fan at the seaside resort of La Grande Motte, where France have been preparing for the trip to Portugal, said: “We were the world champions once and we will be forever. There are not 10 countries in the world who were. That is something you can’t wipe from the record books.”
Euro finals will mark end of French golden generation
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
WHATEVER the outcome of Euro 2004 for defending champions France, the tournament will mark the end of the generation brought to life by coach Aime Jacquet.
In the space of 10 years, the team, arguably the best France has ever produced, wrote the brightest and the darkest pages of French soccer’s story under Jacquet and his successor Roger Lemerre.
They became the first side to clinch the World Cup and the European Cup in succession before they experienced one of the biggest failures in World Cup history. The generation emerged when Jacquet was named to replace the sacked Gerard Houllier after France were eliminated by Bulgaria in their last qualifying match for the 1994 World Cup finals.
Jacquet comprehensively reshuffled the team and imposed a very defensive tone, convinced that avoiding conceding goals was just as important as finding the way to the net.
The story of the generation began with a 1-0 victory over Italy in Naples 10 years ago and it will end in Portugal next month, under Lemerre’s successor Jacques Santini.
There is little doubt that captain Marcel Desailly, who will turn 36 in September, is leading the last campaign of his international career.
France’s most capped player has made it clear he will not be in Germany in 2006, should France qualify. He could be followed by defenders Bixente Lizarazu, 34, and Lilian Thuram, 32, as well as goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, who is 32. The four players, among many others, owe a lot to Jacquet.
The former coach made Desailly a first-choice libero in place of Alain Roche and paired him up with Laurent Blanc to create a central duo envied by many countries.
Jacquet brought in Thuram to replace Jocelyn Angloma, he fielded Lizarazu instead of Eric Di Meco and named Barthez as number one goalkeeper, forcing Bernard Lama into retirement. He was also the first to exploit the talents of Zinedine Zidane.
Zidane, who will be 32 on June 23, is not certain to carry on until the World Cup finals even though he has extended his contract with Real Madrid until 2007. For “Zizou”, too, the European Championship could be the last major event of his international years.
Teaching France to exist without their inspirational playmaker is something Santini has been working on since he was appointed in July 2002, after France’s humiliating first-round exit from the World Cup.
“There will be life after Zidane,” Santini said. “And we must be ready for it. Now, I think we know we can play without him.”
For other players, such as strikers Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet and midfielder Patrick Vieira, there is time left on the international stage.
The former Monaco pair were only teenagers when they made their debuts during the victorious world campaign in 1998, while the Arsenal midfielder will be 30 in Germany. They can certainly aim at two or three more major tournaments.
But despite the uncertainties of who will leave and who will stay, France go into next month’s European Championship confident that they are no longer outsiders, as they were for many years.
A French fan at the seaside resort of La Grande Motte, where France have been preparing for the trip to Portugal, said: “We were the world champions once and we will be forever. There are not 10 countries in the world who were. That is something you can’t wipe from the record books.”