Victims of Athens traffic, it was thirty minutes late than the scheduled time that Didier Deschamps and Adrien Rabiot presented themselves at a press conference this Monday. Behind the scenes of the Agia Sofia Stadium, a brand new home of AEK Athens, the coach spoke in the wake of the Juventus player from Turin to express his desire to see his team complete the qualifying phase at the ‘Euro on a full box. And preferably by avoiding further injuries, even if the equation is not simple.
Since his return from injury, you have mainly used Lucas Hernandez in the center of defense. Do you still see him as a left back?
DIDIER DESCHAMPS. He can play two positions. When I put him in the list it’s primarily as a left back. You will see tomorrow (Tuesday).
To what extent are you using 1992 and achieving a Grand Slam in qualifying to motivate your troops?
(He smiles) That’s not a rugby grand slam! We will play tomorrow to win, but one more victory would not give us additional guarantees (Editor’s note: for the Euro). Some weren’t even born in 1992, I don’t see why I would talk to them about it. Today we are flawless, so if we can stay like this…
After what happened to Warren Zaire-Emery, how are you working on the risk of injury?
I have eight players playing Friday night in the championship, so if I take all the elements into account, I have the technical staff playing. I try to manage, but you can’t manage everything. Above all, you can be very well, not very tired and still get injured. Of course, there are the feelings of the players who can tell me that they don’t feel well. I take this into account as much as possible but I also have a team to put together, notably managing the five changes.
Randal Kolo Muani is less well at the club at the moment. Have you spoken to him?
He’s fine, he’s smiling. Less well on the pitch? It was you who said it ! He can do better. Yes, of course I talk to him. We must not forget what he has been going through for a year. The context and the requirements are higher, but he has the qualities. He is less successful but he is a young player who has steps to take, but he still has his serenity.
Will Adrien Rabiot, who was at a press conference, be captain?
No, he won’t be captain. As for the rest of the team, you’ll see tomorrow.
What do you think of Brice Samba’s start to the season? Is the hierarchy fixed with Areola?
Franck Haise gave Brice a little more responsibility by naming him captain. Brice, like his club, had a slightly more difficult start to the season. But he is a competitor, they rectified the situation with RC Lens. Alphonse is doing good things, this year he is playing Premier League matches, he is gaining in serenity and is putting in good performances. The hierarchy is good if it is defined. But it could change in March or June. Competition exists, if I think it’s better to do differently…
Has Kingsley Coman reached a milestone and do you now see him as a starter?
If he scores more goals, the better for him, he’s decisive, it’s better for him, that hasn’t always been the case. It gives him confidence, it frees him. Kingsley has the potential to be a starter, like others. We have the privilege of having several players capable of being starters and with confidence. In this position, whether it is Kingsley or Ousmane (Dembélé), the opposing defenders do not smile.
Will Antoine Griezmann add an 84th consecutive match to his series of participation?
Yes, I will make him continue his series, even if he only has to play thirty seconds, he will count one more match.
Do you expect to experience as many difficulties as the first leg during your victory (1-0)?
The first leg was difficult. There is quality in this team. On the offensive side, there is good aggression. We only won 1-0. The Greek public will be fully behind it. They are preparing for the month of March, for them it is an important match, I know they are not going to watch us play. There is going to be a high level match.
