On January 8, 2023, Noël Le Graët, the president of the FFF, aroused a real outcry by making lunar remarks against Zinédine Zidane. Result of the races, he had to withdraw from his post four days later. And for Bixente Lizarazu, 1998 world champion and consultant on TF1, this outcome is quite logical.
“I think it was the right decision. The withdrawal was the minimum that the comex could do. What is crazy is to have come to this when we have just played a World Cup final, observes the former side in an interview granted this Tuesday to the newspaper l’Equipe. But Noël Le Graët’s release on “Zizou” was the straw that broke the camel’s back. When you are at the head of the FFF, you are already the guarantor of the values of the French team, so you cannot respond with so much contempt about the one who is, with “Platoche”, the greatest player in the history of the Blues. Having won three Champions Leagues with Real Madrid, he is also a legitimate candidate to be coach of the Blues and he has never hidden his desire to be one day, without ever going beyond declaring his availability. and his love for the France team. We should all be happy about this and the president of the FFF the first, instead of talking about “Zizou” with so much disrespect.
“Zizou deserves as much attention and consideration as Didier”
Former partner of Deschamps in selection, Lizarazu also judges his extension at the head of the Blues (until 2026) logical. “Since he took the France team, the jersey is respected, he won a World Cup, the results are very positive. He was able to preserve it from all the upheavals that have affected the FFF in recent months and it is also to his credit, underlined the international with 97 selections. Clearly, he has earned the right to continue the adventure. But the continuity, it should have been two more years and we see after the Euro. It seemed healthier to me, especially since Didier will already have had a twelve-year lease at the head of the Blues. It’s a lot for a locker room, especially since we have a possible successor. »
Also Zidane’s teammate in selection but also in Bordeaux, Lizarazu, close to Deschamps as the 1998 Ballon d’Or, continues. “Zizou deserves as much attention and consideration as Didier. It is a story of balance and fairness. Zizou is not in a rivalry with DD. He wants to train at the highest level and win. (…) He now wants to do it with the Blues because, for him, there is nothing above the France team. »
