Ahead of the fire and brimstone of what appears to be France versus the world on Sunday, Didier Deschamps will be contemplating losses and the bigger picture.
On the morning of his last two World Cup finals, as a player in 1998 and as a coach four years ago, he remembered the loss of his older brother in a plane crash and felt a strong sense that a life-changing opportunity had to be seized.
“The years have passed. Time heals,” he said of how Philippe Deschamps was taken from him and how he, a 19-year-old in Nantes, had to mourn. “But we can’t forget. It happened at Christmas time. Of course, you will be marked by it for the rest of your life. These wounds are indelible.’
On Sunday, Didier Deschamps reflected on loss and the big picture – remembering his lost older brother ahead of his last two World Cup finals
Deschamps will be hoping to lead France to another World Cup title against Argentina on Sunday in Qatar
Aside from a few television interviews, most recently a few months ago, he hasn’t given it much thought, though he seems to be bringing that personal tragedy to days of momentous importance like these.
“It definitely gives me more strength,” he said. “Life takes people away from us, but it gives us even more unexpected strengths. I have a purpose because life hasn’t always been easy. I’m doing everything to get as high as possible.’
That narrative of the fight certainly applies to his leadership of the French team. L’Equipe announced on Saturday that the French Football Federation want to meet Deschamps next month in a bid to extend his contract until 2024, although he was unimpressed at having attended the tournament without that contract.
France have never won a World Cup without him, but he still struggles with a conservative, utilitarian image and never quite shakes the ‘sociable’ label Eric Cantona famously bestowed on him when they played in the team together.
Strikingly, Arsene Wenger made no allusion to Deschamps in an interview for L’Equipe on Saturday, in which he reflected on the reasons behind France’s so successful success – more so than England – at World Cups.
Les Bleus have never won the trophy without him in 1998 and 2018, but the boss is finding it hard to shake his conservative, utilitarian image or Eric Cantona’s ‘water carrier’ label
Deschamps was an attacking defensive midfielder, not as gifted as Zinedine Zidane (left)
“France know how to win it because they have already done it. England didn’t win it and it takes time,” said Wenger, who said amateur coaches are better in France than in England. The oversight won’t surprise Deschamps, who makes no apologies for lacking the aesthetic that some in France seem to want.
“I was a water bearer. I don’t reject my image,” he said a few years ago. “I didn’t pretend to believe I could change a match on my own. Players like me, we’ve done a pretty thankless job.
“You don’t show hard tackles or slow-motion possession on the big screen. But if you add it all up, I was always the one that the coaches automatically wrote on the team sheet.”
One of his mentors, Aimé Jacquet, the coach of the France team in 1998, called Deschamps, who is 1.75 meters tall, “Trois Pommes”, after the French expression for someone who is short: “As big as three apples. ‘ But Jacquet also offered a rider: ‘You’ll never bite that one.’
Many players of the team that faces Argentina on Sunday were bearers of the water jar. This is a France with less flair than previous incarnations; plagued by injuries and now a virus, although Raphael Varane, Ibrahima Konate and Kingsley Coman, all knocked down by it, trained on Saturday.
Arsene Wenger made no reference to Deschamps in an interview on Saturday, in which he reflected on the reasons why France were so successful – more so than England – at World Cups
But the 54-year-old has guided his imperfect French side to yet another final of the global tournament
The team have found a way to notch up victories despite times of danger, as Poland and England can attest.
And now to Argentina, Lionel Messi and the feeling that it’s in the stars that they and not France add a third World Cup star to their kits.
Deschamps applied his usual phlegmatism to the notion that most of the world’s viewers want Argentina to win.
“I often feel this way, but I’m fine with being alone. It doesn’t bother me,” said the 54-year-old. “These insecurities always come. We’re here and we’ve done everything we can to be well prepared.
“I know that Argentina and many people around the world, even some French, hope that Lionel Messi wins the World Cup – but we will do everything to achieve our goal.
His job is to disappoint thousands hoping Argentine Lionel Messi wins
“Argentinians are very passionate people. They stand behind their team and that’s positive. It’s good to have that kind of atmosphere in a World Cup final. But our opponents are not in the crowd, they are a team that we face on the pitch.”
The French won’t be entirely lacking in support. President Emmanuel Macron’s delegation will include injured couple Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante. France also comes to the Lusail Stadium with their own narrative.
“Leur Histoire” (“Your Story”) was the headline on Saturday on a memorable L’Equipe cover, with a picture of Olivier Giroud lifting Mbappe alongside the iconic shot of Pele and Jairzinho in this pose in 1970. France are aiming to complete their first consecutive victories since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
When 19-year-old Mbappe became the youngest player since a 17-year-old Pele to score in a World Cup final four years ago, the Brazilian tweeted that he might need to “dust” his boots. To which Mbappe replied: “The king will always be the king.”
The 82-year-old’s health has improved to the point where he can watch the final from his hospital bed. France is also feeling the pull of fate.