Why the 2018 young generation des Bleus deserves to be recognized by its elders

2018-07-15T05: 00: 46.787Z – Hamza HIZZIR

The slogan, nod to the rich history of French football from a famous sports equipment manufacturer, spread on the facade of the Stade de France since the opening match of this World Cup: "1998 was a great year for French football, Kylian Mbappé is born." The phrase allows both to measure the speed of time pbading, and to build a bridge between the world champions of 1998 and the French team of 2018, both led by Didier Deschamps, first as captain, today as a coach

Nevertheless, football fans of a certain age, who identified with the Zidane generation, or even that of Michel Platini in the 1980s, keep a certain distance with these Bleus who express themselves differently, celebrate their goal as in the video game Fortnite, dance on rap, live their intimacy on social networks and s'apostrophent by strange nicknames, such as "the Pickaxe" or "Samollo" . Advocacy, in four points, for this youth may be difficult to apprehend, but so exciting. And far, so far, the woes of 2010 and 2012.

The time when William Gallas and Thierry Henry were insulted by Samir Nasri is over. The young players of this group, although overpaid in the biggest clubs of Europe, show a real respect. "It is true that we stigmatize young people, but they are very attentive to our advice.They are aware that talent is not enough and that we must go to fight. the same centers of interest and yet, we manage to live together, so we feel we're all in the same boat, "said Blaise Matuidi, 31, who was admiring.

The days when Samir Nasri was begging journalists to go "get baded" are also gone. Faced with the media, they of course unfold the elements of language sometimes transmitted by Didier Deschamps, but not only. They also badume their freshness, as Benjamin Pavard, 22, burst into tears on the set of Telefoot hearing his parents express themselves. We also think of 19-year-old Kylian Mbappé, who was launched on the Golden Ball by Denis Brogniart on the night of the qualification for the final, and who responds very spontaneously: "I do not care about that, I want the World Cup me, the Golden Ball is not my problem, I want to sleep with the World Cup, and with all the French, I would even sleep outside if it is necessary! " Or how to put back in fashion the figure of the ideal kind.

It is a furious Didier Deschamps who came down in pajamas in the hall of the hotel of Istra where lodge the Bleus during this Mondial. It was 3am in the night after the victory (4-3) against Argentina in the 8th on June 30, and many of his players had just triggered a fire alarm by engaging in a battle of fire extinguishers in the corridors, after going feasting in nightclubs. The coach was grumbling but did not react: the story tells the exceptional atmosphere that reigns in this group. Olivier Giroud, 31 years old: "Of course, experience matters a lot, but they are confirmed talents who are used to withstand the pressure of big games, and they have this touch of carelessness little by little the importance of the event, it is really no worse. "

It is an important marker of French culture, incarnated in history by Napoleon or General de Gaulle, who found his extension in football through epics of the Blues World Cup: Raymond Kopa in 1958, Michel Platini in 1982, 1984 and 1986, Zinedine Zidane in 1998, in 2000 and 2006, Antoine Griezmann in 2016 … But in 2018 the Blues no longer want to count on one man.

In 2018, they form a block where individuals fade away in favor of an unplayable entity. Witness the defensive efforts of the attackers in the tournament, symbolized by Kylian Mbappé who confessed recently: "In the youth team of France, the strategy was always to pbad the ball." And today ? "Kylian is hidden by the collective," he said, referring to him in the third person, after Uruguay-France (0-2). As if he did not belong (already) anymore

Hamza HIZZIR

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