DIDIER Deschamps is on the verge of making history as a coach today as he handles France in the Qatar 2022 final against Argentina, but he insists he is not driven by the quest for personal glory.
Having engineered France’s triumph four years ago, the 54-year-old Deschamps could become the first man to coach a side to back-to-back World Cup titles since Vittorio Pozzo masterminded Italy’s 1934 and 1938 successes.
Still, Deschamps is more interested in hyping his team rather than revelling in the monumental personal achievement.
“I’m not the most important thing here – it’s the team,” he said after this record was mentioned during a FIFA interview.
“Of course I’m proud and we all know that we now have the chance to defend our title in the final.
“That’s quite an achievement. But I don’t really think about myself. I’m just happy about the fact that we had this success.”
Instead of Deschamps to praise himself, the former France captain and present coaching hero is being lauded by his current and former players.
Jules Kounde told FIFA of a man who “does everything to make the players feel comfortable”, while Raphael Varane praised Deschamps’ ability to “use everyone’s qualities for a collective goal”.
“His best quality is his ability to build a squad,” Patrice Evra, the ex-France defender, said of his former boss.
“Sometimes he doesn’t pick the best players because his motivation is: ‘The team is the star’. He’s someone who can build a squad to win a tournament. He’s just a great coach and he’s so humble.
“For me,” added Evra, “he’s by far the greatest French coach.”
