Julia Solans (recorded by Jacques Vendroux and Cyrille de La Morinerie)
modified to
8:59 p.m., June 13, 2023
The France team is in full preparation for the Euro 2024 qualifiers with two meetings to come, against Gibraltar on June 16 and against Greece on June 19. Didier Deschamps, coach of the Blues since 2012, tells exclusively at the microphone of Europe 1 his passion for his job which is actually “not a job”.
Since his arrival at the head of the Blues, Didier Deschamps has offered a good record to the selection: a final at Euro 2016, a World Cup in 2018 then a final at the next edition in 2022. Much appreciated by the French people and respected by the players, the former captain of OM takes his role to heart and does not intend to let go for the moment. In an exclusive interview at the microphone of Europe 1, the coach returned to the passion that drives him towards this profession which is “not a job”, as the two qualifying matches for Euro 2024 approach.
A pleasure surrounded by an “indispensable staff”
“When you’re in sport you don’t work”, explains Didier Deschamps before confiding that he has in fact “never worked”. This coaching job is above all a passion, very “different” from the one he had in his “first life” as a player. For the former midfielder, “there is nothing more beautiful” than being a football player, “even if there can be more complicated and difficult periods.” In order not to be bored, the 1998 world champion bases himself on a recipe: “Keep the same determination, the same desire and be aware of being privileged because I am in contact with the elite and with very high objectives. .”
Considered a hard worker, Didier Deschamps never gives up on his goals. “That’s what I like, I need that and I take a lot of pleasure,” he says. This happiness is obviously shared since the coach of the Blues is surrounded by a “staff who is essential by my side”. The challenge for the former Marseille captain is to “make sure to achieve the objectives as often as possible” with different players. Sporting results are part of the job, but “the sporting and human adventure” is just as important according to him. A new “sporting and human” adventure is looming for the coach with Euro 2024.