Hired in July 2012, Didier Deschamps has been in charge of France for nearly nine years.
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France manager Didier Deschamps has stated that he is happy to have Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema as a member of the national team’s Euro 2020 squad. Benzema is representing France after a long time, with Deschamps earlier expressing a reluctance to include him. The France manager stated that there were a few steps involved before he made a comeback to the national team, which he preferred not to elaborate upon.
“There were a few steps before he came back into the France team. But I won’t go into detail. It is between me and him. The first step was having the opportunity to meet and have a long talk. Then I went through a whole thinking process. So he’s here now. He is happy to be with us, I am happy to have him here, and so are the squad because our purpose is the same. We all want to be as competitive as possible,” said Deschamps as quoted by UEFA’s official website.
Deschamps has been in charge of France for nearly nine years, having been hired in July 2012. He led Les Bleus to a heartbreaking UEFA EURO 2016 final defeat on home soil, before making dramatic amends by achieving 2018 FIFA World Cup glory in Russia.
The France manager stated that it was tough for him to pick the final list of 26 players, expressing his sadness on leaving some players unhappy.
“I have human choices to make and unfortunately some players will be left unhappy. But it is my responsibility. My purpose is always the same: I make choices for the good of the French national team. Some players would definitely have deserved to be there. That’s what my decisions are about, even though the squad is slightly bigger than usual, as I used to call up 23 players rather than the 26 [allowed] this year. But that’s not necessarily an advantage in terms of team management,” said Deschamps.
“We will have to send three players to sit in the stands for every match. But again, it is our responsibility. The 26 players are all happy to be here on the first day, but obviously I understand that those three players won’t be smiling when they’re sitting in the stands for the first match,” he concluded.
