Appointed to Fifa, legendary Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger is shaking up routines. Interview.
Paris Match. Could you define your function at the International Federation of Association Football [Fifa]?
Arsène Wenger. Since the end of 2019, I have had a first educational mission in the broadest sense. I want to develop both youth competitions and international competitions. I also have technical responsibility for the calendar. After the World Cup in Qatar, at the end of the year, we are going to start a new cycle and we need to organize the fairest possible, modern and easier distribution between club football and that of nations, to obtain a better separation between matches. We are used to saying that too much football kills football. It’s wrong. What damages football is first of all the repeated trips, the time differences suffered by international players. Over a four-year cycle, Lionel Messi, for example, travels 350,000 kilometers, when the Englishman Harry Kane only travels 30,000. It’s unfair. Therefore, it is our duty to streamline the schedule.
Read also:When Paris Match met Arsene Wenger, the football wizard
But then, why this intention to organize a World Cup every two years which would load the calendar even more?
First, it should be noted that 166 countries out of 211 have asked FIFA to study the feasibility of a biannual World Cup. It’s not me who will decide. What I want, on the other hand, is to reduce the number of matches for the clubs, group the dates, then give the players a period of rest before attacking the international games, with the key to a World Cup for one season On two.
We can assume that the so-called “minor” nations are at the origin of this request…
Obviously. Why prevent these countries from being able to develop? When I was a kid, France was considered a “minor” nation when it comes to football. Then she came of age, thanks to her training center policy. Other countries can learn from its example, including in Africa. Africa is a gold mine.
Because you think that an African country can, in the years to come, win a World Cup?
Yes, I believe in it. I would even say that if Africa failed, well, I would have missed everything! It is worth remembering that France has lifted two World Cups with a good share of African players or players of African origin, educated in France. In truth, my essential mission is to fill the education gap among the youngest. Every talent must have a chance wherever he is on the football planet, that’s my credo. At Fifa, we have created an online training center, accessible to everyone. It is a deep work, a skilfully studied program. Hope lies, I repeat, in the education of children. And then everything must be based on sporting merit, always. I don’t believe in the idea of the Super League, a selfish system where money comes first.
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In England, an identified hooligan is banned from stadiums and points to the police station
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How do you respond to those who claim that today’s football is just big business?
Football is first and foremost a team sport, a way to unite people and, for the greatest number of supporters, to get out of an often gloomy daily life. Thanks to football, they know moments of grace in communion with their team. Of course, the defeat exists, there are moments of dejection, of doubt, of misfortune. The paradox, as studies have shown, is that the most supportive supporters are those who support the teams that lose the most. The important thing is the commitment and the faith that drive the players. Supporters do not accept cheating, pretence, mere appearance.
At 72, the director of world football development is not definitely saying no to his passion for coaching. © Vincent Capman/ Paris Match
France has been facing multiple incidents in its football stadiums for several months. How do you view these overflows?
I’m sad, of course. But I am not an expert on the matter, nor do I have any miracle solution to offer. I will simply say that there are two forms of hooliganism, one which takes place outside the stadium and the other within the stadium itself. Outside, it’s about challenges between rival bands. Inside, it’s the most abject thing society produces when it comes to racism, homophobia, pure stupidity. The English have been able to curb hooliganism through strict measures, condemnations without appeal. An identified culprit is banned from the stadiums. At match time, he must report to a police station with an identity document. Impossible for him to break the ban. Another measure, economic this time: the price of places in England has increased drastically. It makes troublemakers think.
Do you believe that the British model can be transposed to France?
It’s difficult. The English Premier League is sold out even before the first game of the season, with a 95% fill rate. At Arsenal, for years we played in a full 38,000 seat stadium and we had 50,000 more requests waiting, which led us to build another stadium.
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From the beginning, I say that Mbappé is the new Pelé
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Why such a gap between England and France?
It’s cultural. To be honest, I have never been able to explain the phenomenon, except that the English supporters always present themselves as identity families. They are Arsenal, or they are United or they are Liverpool; clans [à l’écossaise] with an extraordinary form of commitment for their club, which can go beyond their own death: when, at Arsenal, we moved from the Highbury stadium to the Emirates, we had to relocate countless funeral urns … At the Emirates, players hit corners on dead bodies.
You remained manager of Arsenal for twenty-two years, and many believe that you left by the back door…
It’s exaggerated. Let’s say that I was perhaps at the end of the cycle, in opposition to a small fringe of supporters. But I believe I have served the values of the club, from the style of its team to the development of its players, including its size, its tradition; the ethics of a club born in a factory, built by workers. Today, in London as elsewhere, when you meet me, it’s always the same words: “Thank you Arsène” or “Allez Arsenal”. I’m pretty proud of it.
And in Paris, you are asked to sign at PSG…
I am a PSG supporter! Since the start, I have been in contact with the Emir of Qatar and with the deputy president of PSG. I was even included in the initial project. Only, bound by my commitment with Arsenal, with the project of the new stadium of which I was the guarantor in front of the banks, I could not make myself available.
No regrets?
No. I had to complete my mission with Arsenal. I know that PSG arouses criticism. But I also know the commitment of the Qatari leaders and I trust them, especially since this club is still very young… 10 years since Qatar is nothing.
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I am a PSG supporter. I was even included in the initial Qatar project
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What if tomorrow a major European club, PSG or another, came forward to obtain your services?
At first glance, I would say no… But I am a bit wary of my madness. She is a part of me. I never wanted a flat life. Throughout my existence, I have sought extreme emotions. I will be at the end of my contract with Fifa at the end of the year, we will see… What is certain is that I am not good at cultivating my garden…
A word on Didier Deschamps and the Blues?
Deschamps does a remarkable job. The last Euro sounded like a warning signal. Since then, players have been hungry again. This is the promise of a great World Cup for the France team.
Zidane announced as Deschamps’ successor?
It would be a natural continuity. But I don’t like speculation. Let Deschamps work and perhaps Deschamps’ successor will be called… Deschamps.
Mbappe?
From the beginning, I say that it is the new Pelé. They laughed at me. I am an admirer of this young player who has both talent, intelligence and maturity. If he is not slowed down by one or more injuries, then he will be Ballon d’Or, that’s obvious.
The greatest moment of your career?
Despite my first titles of champion of France and England, serious theses showed that no foreign coach could ever win the Premier League! The 2003-2004 season with Arsenal will remain as the peak of my career, 49 games without defeat, without any relaxation. I was aware that I had fully accomplished my work. Today, I am calm, I may be naive, but I have a positive view of people. I was a coach from 33 to 69 years old. Since a single year of this profession is equivalent to four years of normal life, see how old I am…
The “Invicible”, on Canal + Broadcast on January 23, the documentary looks back on the great moments of Arsène Wenger’s career. Here Robert Pirès and Thierry Henry, at Arsenal. © DR
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