The World Cup final may be expecting more Argentina supporters, but make no mistakes, Les Bleus will be in good company. As reported by RMC, the FFF has decided to invite the 1984 European champions and the 1998 world champions to the finals.
Former Monaco and Arsenal legend – Emmanuel Petit spoke about the Les Bleus reunion stating, “This morning, the players of France 98 received a phone call from Henri Emile (former intendant of the FFF). The Federation invites us, us and the 1984 European champions, to come for the final. I want to thank the FFF, it’s the first time in my life that I’ve done it.”
Some of the French Alumni are already in Qatar, such as Bixente Lizarazu and Marcel Desailly, Youri Djorkaeff (Fifa ambassador), and the head coach Didier Deschamps. While there was no list of confirmed players there is one big name we may certainly miss out on. 3 time Ballon d’Or winner Michel Platini stated before the start of the tournament he would be “watching from his television.” This was due to his alleged involvement with the selection of Qatar as the host country for the World Cup. However, it would be a shame to not have the top scorer of the 1984 UEFA European Championship at such a prestigious gathering.
This lineage of French football’s past to present is linked together by Didier Deschamps. Even the French coach’s methodology comes from his experience with the national team further linking the current team to the past champions. There is a certain responsibility to compete when it is in front of your alumni and idols that may give Les Bleus an extra boost to cross the finish line.
GFFN | Tony DesRois
