MY ACCOUNT
Didier Deschamps and France have agreed not to discuss a new contract until after the World Cup but that does not mean Zinedine Zidane is guaranteed to take charge of Les Blues, says French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet.
Deschamps became France boss in 2012 and has since signed two contract extensions, the latter of which came after World Cup glory at Russia 2018.
The 53-year-old’s current deal expires after Les Blues aim to defend their title at Qatar 2022, leading to speculation that former Real Madrid boss Zidane will be appointed after the tournament.
Le Graet suggested the appointment of Zidane has not already been pre-agreed as he placed his support behind Deschamps.
“We both agreed not to renew him until after the World Cup,” Le Graet said of Deschamps to L’Equipe. “He’s not mad at me. He adores me. I think he will never say anything bad about me.
“He lost a game in the European Championship and for much of France, he should have been fired [after the last-16 exit to Switzerland at Euro 2020].
“We’ll see at the end of the World Cup if he wants to renew. We will spend time in Guingamp to discuss.”
When pressed for an answer as to Zidane taking charge as Deschamps’ successor, Le Graet responded: “First of all, you have to be careful with what you say. Zidane showed in Madrid that he had qualities that were barely imagined.
“In the minds of the French, he could be a successor. But that is not my goal. We’ll see. If Didier and I split up, he will definitely be one of the options.
“I’m not going to say to myself: ‘I hope Didier says he doesn’t want to renew and I go see Zidane’. Do you see me saying today: ‘It is Zidane who is going to replace Deschamps’? We’ll see.
“Maybe Zidane will take charge of Paris Saint-Germain. To train the national team you have to be free. But today we will do everything possible to put Didier in the best conditions to win this World Cup.”
Indeed, Zidane emerged as a favourite when reports circulated in France that Mauricio Pochettino’s PSG job was under threat after Champions League elimination at the last-16 stage to Real Madrid.
Even if Zidane is available, Le Graet insists he has learnt from the mistakes of his predecessor and will not seek a new manager while Deschamps is still at the helm.
“I will never do what my predecessor [Jean-Pierre Escalettes] did, who had already signed Laurent Blanc before going to South Africa for the [2010] World Cup,” he added.
“[Raymond] Domenech was already on alert. How do you expect the players to respect you when a successor has already been named?
“It doesn’t work and never will. In no case will I see another coach before having lunch with Didier after the World Cup.”
