Didier Deschamps held his back-to-school press conference, and remotely, on Monday. A few days before the matches in Sweden and then against Croatia, on September 5 and 8, on behalf of the League of Nations, he responded for nearly 30 minutes to questions which had been previously addressed to him by the various media. He notably mentioned the case of A drien Rabiot, back in the selection for the first time since his refusal to be a substitute for the 2018 World Cup.
What health protocol has been put in place to protect the players?
DIDIER DESCHAMPS. There is a protocol that is imposed by UEFA, particularly in terms of testing. Every player and every staff member had to perform a test before coming here, as well as all the staff at Clairefontaine. This will allow us to create a bubble in which we are supposed to stay among ourselves. We will do another test before we fly to Sweden. Otherwise, there are all the barrier measures that we know and that we will apply, with the specificity of being a football team. It is not because we will be in a bubble that we should not respect them.
How to have a successful collective expression when the states of form are really very different because of the Covid?
This is the particularity of all the gatherings in September. There have always been, from the start of the championships which is not fixed on the same dates, differences in athletic form. There, it will be even more important. Some players are coming out of a vacation period, others have played league games or are in the process of preparing. We will have to adapt to all of this knowing that we have two games in three days. The recovery is very, very short. We will first prepare the first knowing that it will have an impact on the second in terms of recovery. I don’t want to take any risk for the physical integrity of the players.
In this context, is this the right moment to try new experiments in a match?
I am not here to experiment. We’re going to do different things and like every time the players are on the pitch, I would expect them to perform as well as possible. Then, in the analysis that I will do with the staff, I will take into account the particular situation in which we are, with players in very varied states of form. In a month, everyone will have resumed, but in the meantime, it’s more complicated.
Does being cut off from the world at Clairefontaine this week and playing in empty stadiums in Sweden and Stade de France change your approach to the start of the League of Nations?
We adapt. It is an unusual context. At Clairefontaine, we are used to being in a bubble even if normally, there is the arrival of the press and sometimes a little public during training. The big difference will be for the matches. Playing in an empty stadium is very special. Personally, as a player or even a coach, I have never experienced this. At the emotional and adrenaline level, it will not be easy. But the Swedes and the Croats will be in the same boat.
From the Champions League this summer to Euro 2021 in a strict health context, how to spare the organizations of players engaged in an extended season while preserving the intensity of the high level?
It is not necessarily compatible. The calendar, in a normal season, is already busy, even overloaded. There, it will be even more so, with disparities between those who were able to cut and those who will have to continue. Obviously, they will find themselves very early in the season with greater fatigue. But we suffer more than anything, the players too. They must be very careful with everything that is off the field, in recovery, care. This hellish pace can create problems for the physical health of some.
With the players selected, you could revive Albania’s 3-5-2. What do you see as the virtues of this system?
Each system has its advantages and disadvantages, and it all depends on why one uses so-and-so rather than another. We too often tend to say that a team that plays 3 behind, which can go up to 5, does so to reassure itself defensively. This can be the case, but these teams also have the advantage of being able to get the ball out better. This scheme, for us, has the advantage of placing our offensive players in the best possible conditions. But there will also be drawbacks and I hope that our opponents will give us problems, especially with the loss of the ball and in terms of balance. I want to have different options to prepare for the Euro. It’s something positive to have different animations at the start or during the match. I wish to broaden the range of our options.
Are you working on this system because you felt that the France team was becoming more and more predictable in its animation?
Predictable… We did some very, very good things that led us to the world title. We can do it again. It can well, even very well, happen. Not so good too. This postponement of the Euro leaves us a little more time and with the 8 matches that we have by the end of the year, I also want to have a little more answers without being certain. Have different options before ending up in the straight in March to prepare for the Euro. I am not here to surprise the opponent. But even knowing what we were doing, that didn’t stop us from performing well. I have this wish to broaden the range of our options.
Can Mbappé and Martial be complementary at the top of a 3-5-2?
Yes, whatever the system, there is no problem. They are able to play in an axial position, but also on one side. Regardless of the system, the association is not a problem. These are two players who have common qualities, whether in terms of speed, efficiency in front of goal. They don’t have the profile of a typical center-forward but the axial position suits them well. Anthony may have a little more power, he may be more comfortable with his back to goal but Kylian has the ability to be able to make the difference in small spaces.
Did you speak with Adrien Rabiot and what did you say to him?
For now, he and the others have not yet arrived but I will talk to him, as with all the players. I do not make a case of it apart even if the discussion may be longer with some. But the tenor of our discussion, for my part, will remain between us. After that, if he wants to talk about it outside… I never expected an apology from him or anything. It happened what happened and I do not ask him anything. We will discuss, and he will have his own feelings. He will wait for answers from me, which he could have had much sooner. I’m not going to talk only about that with him, and we will also have to quickly switch to something else.
Do you plan to discuss with Antoine Griezmann the situation of Barça with the probable departure of Messi?
I will trade with him as with most players. Everyone knows a different situation. But I don’t have a message for him. He does not yet know what will happen in the near future. Messi or not Messi, or what his new coach will do which could be different from the previous one… I hope for him that he will be put in the best possible conditions so that he gives the full measure of his talent. It’s a problem he doesn’t have with us in selection.
Has Edouardo Camavinga been included in the perspective of the Euro?
Taking him today is to consider that he is one of the players likely to be in the list of 23. But we can consider that the same goes for those I took before and that I will take in the fall. I will have choices to make then. I didn’t take it just to take it or to please anyone. I said it on the day of the list, it may be early or very early. It does not mean that he is not capable, but he started recently and it still takes a while to get to the international level. The circumstances (Editor’s note: Paul Pogba’s package) means that he came a little early but I know very well that he has the potential, even if there is the risk that he will experience a more difficult period.
