Deschamps sets sights on more France glory

Having scaled the international football heights as a player, Didier Deschamps now has his sights set on leading France to European Championship glory on home soil as coach. 

Deschamps was captain of the French team that won the World Cup at home in 1998 and also led Les Bleus to glory at Euro 2000, so could hardly be better placed to handle the pressure and expectation that comes with being in charge of the Euro 2016 hosts. 

When asked by sports daily L'Equipe if he felt France -- also winners in 1984 -- could lift the Henri Delaunay trophy for a third time in July, Deschamps said: "We will go into it with that objective. We can be humble and ambitious." 

The 47-year-old who hails from Bayonne, the capital of the French Basque Country and very much rugby territory, has been building towards the Euro climax. 

Exiting the 2014 World Cup in Brazil at the quarter-final stage was accepted, especially as some of the performances were encouraging and there was none of the off-field problems that marred previous major tournaments for the French. 

But an exciting young team is now expected to deliver at Euro 2016. 

It has not been all plain sailing for Deschamps, who has had to deal with a sex-tape blackmail affair involving Karim Benzema."Nothing shocks me anymore," he said, but he must hope the decision to drop the Real Madrid striker from the squad does not come back to bite the national federation.

Nevertheless, public opinion appears to back the decision and Deschamps has plenty of other attack options. 

Unless things go badly wrong, Deschamps will be in charge through to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, even though he has hinted at missing the day-to-day rush of club management.

"I am flourishing," he told L'Equipe recently when asked if he were still enjoying himself. 

"I am privileged. I would like to spend more time with my players, as would all national coaches, but I live very well with my duties. My objective is the Euro and I am focused exclusively on that." 

Schooled at Nantes under the legendary coach Jean-Claude Suaudeau, 'DD' was part of the France side that famously suffered a gut-wrenching last-gasp loss to Bulgaria to miss out on qualifying for the 1994 World Cup in the United States. 

The heartache marked a generation, with the exception of Deschamps, who recovered to lift the World Cup at the Stade de France in 1998 and then the Euro two years later. 

He won the last of his 103 caps in September 2000 and retired from playing a year later at the age of just 32, bringing a premature end to a glittering career as a defensive midfielder.

- 'Blessed' -

Once described by Eric Cantona as a "water carrier", he captained Marseille to Champions League glory in 1993 and won the trophy again with Juventus in 1996. 

His coaching CV is remarkable too, featuring a Champions League final appearance with Monaco in 2004 and a French title triumph with Marseille in 2010. 

He departed OM under a cloud in 2012, though, and might have done the same from the national team until a dramatic play-off win over Ukraine saw them snatch qualification for the last World Cup. 

"If we had been eliminated in the play-offs against Ukraine I would undoubtedly have a different life today," he told L'Equipe.

Deschamps has always been considered as having luck on his side. Michel Platini once wondered if he had been "blessed with holy water when he was born".

France were certainly handed a fortunate draw for the Euros, finding themselves in the same group as Romania, Switzerland and Albania.

Supporters of Les Bleus will hope that the lucky breaks fall for Deschamps all the way to the final on July 10.

Source :AFP