the mixed zone, this ruthless universe – Liberation

For the 2022 World Cup, our special correspondents tell the inside story of this particular competition. Today, behind the scenes of this funny place where journalists fight to chat with the players after the matches.

Arriving in the mixed zone after World Cup matches means setting foot in a foreign universe. A new world for me, more accustomed to frequenting the stands than the maze of stadiums. For the uninitiated, said mixed zone is a kind of long corridor nestled under the stands where journalists hang around while the players show up after the matches are over. All are obliged to go through it, not necessarily to answer the questions. To be sure that the journalists do not leave empty-handed, Fifa nevertheless obliges the selections to make available at least three footballers immediately after the meeting under penalty of a fine. An obligation not always respected.

In this almost exclusively male microcosm from which women seem excluded, everything is, as for the players on the field, a story of placement. You have to anticipate the arrival of the footballers and stick together to capture a few snippets of what everyone is going to say. A bad positioning and it is the guarantee of finding myself blocked by a wall of journalists armed with a smartphone or recorder. Conversely, succeeding in slipping into the middle of the pack gives the impression of being a hooker in the middle of a fray: it pushes on all sides, shoulder to shoulder, all accompanied by hints of sweat and breath of coffee.

various fortunes

All this to hear people say in Dutch, German or Portuguese that “everything was not perfect” more than “Winning matters”. All after sometimes an interminable wait. But who knows, if a short sentence or a long analysis were to be dropped, you have to be there to hear it. So like everyone else, I jostle and hold out my phone in dictaphone mode. On the other hand, it is difficult, if not impossible, to ask questions: priority first of all for journalists who follow the selections on a daily basis, then for big mouths. Two categories of which I do not belong.

From one selection to another, we know in the mixed zone varying fortunes. Despite the Ronaldo affair – in conflict with Manchester United, which he ended up leaving at the start of the World Cup – I was surprised to see a good part of the Portuguese workforce take the time to answer journalists’ questions once the game against Ghana ended. Just as I appreciated the accessibility of the Canadians or the Senegalese, available despite their defeats in their first respective meetings – their more modest celebrity probably playing. Conversely, difficult to scratch the slightest quote from the Argentines. They only stick to the bare minimum: two minutes at most offered by Messi after the rout against Saudi Arabia at the opening (after an hour and a half of waiting), the rest of his teammates passing in single file, with their heads lowered, as if they were being taken to the slaughterhouse. Then fifty-four seconds watch in hand (I checked) for one of his teammates after the game against Mexico.

“Now journalists want photos!”

In the mixed zone, I also meet “journalists” showing up not to scratch a few reactions for an article but to be able to boast of having seen their idols up close. Some bring back jersey selections on the back that they try to sign when a player passes. Others beg for selfies or videos. For ethics, we will come back.

Cristiano Ronaldo, bombarded with requests for photos after the inaugural victory of the Seleçao against Ghana, even launched a little disillusioned with the press officer of his team: “Now journalists don’t ask questions anymore, they want photos!” After a short week of competition, a panel has also appeared in the basement of all the stadiums: «No photos, no videos, no selfies.» Without succeeding in discouraging the reporter-fanatics who continue to brandish their smartphones as soon as FIFA officials look away.