Didier Deschamps is preparing to do the history of training for France

MOSCOW – Half-time at the 1998 World Cup finals, France is 2- 0 against Brazil. In the locker room, Zinedine Zidane is flat on the back, legs raised on a bench, catching her breath after scoring both goals. Other players receive thigh mbadages. But Didier Deschamps, the captain and a relentless energy, bends the ears of Les Bleus, urging his teammates to maintain the pressure in the second half.

"Guys, we're not going to relax from a millimeter!" Deschamps shouted. "We did the hard part, but there's still 45 minutes of madness!"

Twenty years later, almost to the day, Deschamps will still lower orders Sunday in a final of World Cup, but this time as coach of France. The victory against Croatia would be the crowning glory of this Brazilian-born 49-year-old leader who could join Brazil's Mario Zagallo and Germany's Franz Beckenbauer as the third player to win the World Cup both as Coach and as coach

. second star for the dark blue jersey he wore 103 times as a player would also be a button, he refutes critics who claim that Deschamps is more a lucky coach than a talented. This school of thought postulates that any half-decent tactician could have done as well or better with France's deep talent pool that includes some of the most expensive football players, titled by the electrifying Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain. Admittedly, a semi-final in Russia would have been considered disappointing for the French football production line that finished second in Portugal two years ago at the European Championship and lost to Germany in the final of the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2014. [19659006] But as the great French chefs know, it takes more than quality ingredients to make a winning recipe. The skill of Deschamps has been to entice star players from the biggest clubs in Europe to bury their ego and to rally behind his almost socialist philosophy, the principle that everyone is equal in the world. Team or, as he says, "collective". "He left behind extremely talented players – Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, PSG midfielder Adrien Rabiot, to name two – by selecting 23 players who have tied up remarkably and selflessly during the seven seasons. The following weeks.

Deschamps' priorities were evident when he spoke at length with a small group of journalists at the headquarters of the French Football Federation a few weeks before appointing his team. May he spoke more of team-building than tactics

"The ability to live together, the social side, is very important," he said. "You must always find the right balance. You do not want too much individualism, too much quality. The collective spirit must prevail over everything. You have to find a good mix of experienced players, leaders who have lived things and young people. There are not only negative sides in young people. They have this quality of enthusiasm. They are sometimes a little carefree.

Obviously, Deschamps chose the mix well. Laborious victories against Australia and Peru and a 0-0 draw against Denmark in the group stage were followed by an exhilarating and confident 4-3 in eliminating Argentina who showed the speed and skills of Mbappe, author of two goals. Then, impressive defenses against Uruguay (2-0) and Belgium (1-0) in the quarterfinals and semi-finals.

Although the age of Mbappe is 19, veterans in their thirties like Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud, the team has visibly gelled, becoming more than the sum of its parts with a shared mantra of dedication that owes a lot to Deschamps.

There was not a single complaint shot of players who saw little or no action. The likes of defender Adil Rami, unused, and winger Florian Thauvin, who had a few minutes late against Argentina, were good mood models, encouraging encouragement. The bench players celebrated goals as they marked themselves. Regular beginners had only good things to say about the morale contributions and the training of teammates who were not complaining.

"We were so good that I could spend another month with them, because it went well. Central defender Samuel Umtiti, who played every game and scored the semifinal against Belgium. "We always laugh, there is always something to do."

In the field, the team's first mentality saw midfielder Paul Pogba, in particular, curb his natural flamboyance and excel in a a smaller and deeper role. His defensive work helped protect France and allowed Mbappe to have more freedom to move, run against defenders and do damage to the front.

"It's a World Cup, I want to win it, you have to make sacrifices," Pogba said. "To defend is not my strong point … But I do it with pleasure."

The sober and professional approach is a reflection of Deschamps's character. Growing up in the Basque Country of south-west France, his father, Pierre, worked as a painter and decorator; his mother, Ginette, sold wool. Invariably polite and measured, Deschamps is a master of what the French call "the tongue of wood", the ability to say little or nothing of interest that could make waves, make headlines, risk provoking opponents or divert attention from the mission of the team. He is very lively on the sidelines when he needs to be, barking instructions with still-audible traces of his accent singing Southwestern France's song and congratulating the players with great hugs. But one thing he says he never talks to them about is his own experiences in 1998.

"It's not their life, it's my life but it does not talk to them much. ", he said before flying to Russia. "It's a matter of generations."

He wants them to write their own story, rather than risk annoying them with his own. Come on Sunday, they could do just that, together.