Football us life said:

Le Deuxième Étoile – The Second Star and the cultural reckoning of France's 2018 World Cup win...

La Deuxième Étoile: The Second Star

La Deuxième Étoile: The Second Star – France 2018 and the Joy That Learned to Be Quiet A story of a second star and a silent gen...

footballuslife.blogspot.com

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HonestSpursFan said:

Just a quick correction, étoile is a feminine noun, so it should be la, not le. The general rule with gender is that words ending with an “e” are feminine while others are masculine, with numerous exceptions (e.g. le livre = the book).

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Pasquali said:

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Football us life said:

Jules Rimet, whose dream of universalism, working-class inclusion, and peace through sport became football’s global empire.

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HonestSpursFan said:

It’s interesting that football remained a working-class sport in France for much longer than in other countries like Germany, Spain or the UK.

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How France became world football’s dominant power

Nation benefits from a street football scene, embrace of immigrants and topflight opportunities for young players
France

Tom Allnutt


Ousmane Dembélé felt the Paraguayan boot between his feet and smiled. As the chosen protector of the spot while Kylian Mbappé prepared to take a penalty for France last weekend, Dembélé might have felt aggrieved that Gustavo Velázquez, Paraguay’s gnarly right back, had snuck in behind him and given the spot a good quarrying with his right foot.

Instead, Dembélé could not have looked less bothered. He grinned at Velázquez and handed the ball to Mbappé, who duly drove the penalty in to send France into the World Cup quarter-finals. When the two players later watched a clip of Velázquez’s attempted sabotage, they laughed.

“They’ve seen a lot worse,” said an official close to the team. Or as Dembélé said to Mbappé: “Do they not know where we’ve come from?”

Mbappé is from Bondy in the suburbs of northeastern Paris, a banlieue town in Seine-Saint-Denis, which is the poorest area in France and so synonymous with crime that it is often referred to simply by its department number, “le 93”, like shorthand for a place with a troubled history. Dembélé grew up in Vernon in Normandy but still visits family back in Waly Diantang, a village in Mauritania in West Africa, one of the poorest countries in the world, which his mother, Fatimata, left for France three decades ago in search of a better life.

Mbappé and Dembélé have 13 goals between them at this World Cup — Mbappé eight, Dembélé five — as they spearhead a France that many have long believed is the outstanding team of the tournament. Whatever happens, this has been another chapter in what can now be considered a golden age of French football. France are in sight of a third World Cup win in eight tournaments, during a period that has also included winning the Euros in 2000 and finishing runners-up on home soil in 2016.

As an era, it rivals even the most storied national teams, given France have reached four of the past seven World Cup finals and hope to make it five out of eight this week. For comparison, the Pelé-powered Brazil side made four finals and won three, while the great

West Germany side that followed reached five finals over a longer period and won two.

The French va-va-boom certainly has a wider sociological context because the country has benefited hugely from its diversity, with the United Nations estimating in 2024 that 9.2 million immigrants live in France, representing 14 per cent of the population, the second highest in Europe. In the French squad, 20 players have at least one parent with non- French heritage and the majority would have been eligible to play for at least one other country. Family members have: Brice Samba’s father played for DR Congo and Jules Koundé’s uncle for Togo. Désiré Doué’s brother, Guéla, has played for the Ivory Coast at this World Cup.

The advantage for a French squad with links to the likes of Senegal, Cameroon, Algeria, Congo, Martinique, Mali, Italy and England (Michael Olise was born in London) is that it boasts a more eclectic mix of skills, drawn from a wider variety of physiology and football experience. It means that shared limitations are reduced, and French coaches say that the main attribute gained has been creativity.

“Different backgrounds and cultures bring different football influences, mentalities and styles of play,” says Frédéric Pereira, president of Paris 13 Atletico, formerly FC Gobelins, one of the most respected clubs in Paris.

“That contributes to the development of exceptional players.”

But France are not the only country enjoying the benefits of an immigrants’ World Cup, given 23.6 per cent of players overall are playing for a country different to the one of their birth, up from 9.6 per cent in 2006. In fact, 12 countries other than France have used some of the 99 French-born players at this tournament, with France directly facing 16 of them, including ten representing Senegal and six Morocco. Spain’s Aymeric Laporte, born in Agen, will likely be the 17th against Spain this Tuesday.

The French connection with immigrants is not new. Arsène Wenger pointed out last week that France’s first ever Ballon d’Or winner, Raymond Kopa, had Polish roots, while their second, Michel Platini, had grandparents who came from Italy. “If you look at the history of French football, it is very closely linked to immigration,” Wenger said.

Dotted around Paris, particularly across the outer arrondissements, lie around 200 five-a-side pitches, which may not look like the talent factories of a dominant football nation. This is a different world to the manicured training grounds of clubs in the Premier League and unrecognisable even from the most respected academies in France. Owned by the councils and paid for by the French football federation, these City Stades are just small courts of concrete or, at best, wornout astroturf. They are encircled by metal fences but the gate is always open. They are free, available and, as a result, very rarely empty.

These cage-pitches, without rules, referees or adults, form part of the daily life in the poorest communities of France’s major football cities, from Marseille to Lyon to Toulouse. But the City Stades are the nerve centre of talent development in the Paris region, which has become the beating heart of French success. Players born around Paris alone account for 57 representatives in this competition.

“ The prevalence of street football culture in France appears to be a game-changer

The prevalence of street football culture in France, and particularly Paris, at a time when most major football nations are relying more on highly conditioned academy systems appears to be a game-changer. “It’s not unusual, it’s unique,” says Damien Comolli, the French former Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur sporting director, who also scouted Thierry Henry for Arsenal. “Among the big football countries, France is the only place where kids play football all day long in the streets. Think about how the big cities are set up in France, with some of the poorest neighbourhoods in Europe. No social mix. Nothing to do. When I see Mbappé or Dembélé or Doué, I don’t see African heritage players, I see street players.”

Mbappé, Dembélé, Doué, Olise, Bradley Barcola, Rayan Cherki — what the fabulous French attackers have in common is those street-football instincts, developed in games of 3v3 or 5v5, against players of all ages, build and ability. They have speed and skill but also vision, spontaneity, an ability to navigate tight spaces and to make good decisions quickly.

Mbappé’s penalty against Paraguay was the perfect example, won after a dance by Doué, who tamed an awkward ball before skipping past four defenders and drawing the foul. “I needed someone they couldn’t stop,” France coach Didier Deschamps said.

From the City Stades to the French academies, the best young players are signed up to the regional Centres de Formation, the most prestigious of which is Clairefontaine in the Rambouillet forest, which houses the gems of the Île-de-France region. A two-year programme is designed to prepare young teenagers for football at professional clubs but also life as a professional player.

The real differentiators, though, seem to be the two phases either side of the excellent academy training.

The magic formula is about the raw talent, drawn from a rich diversity of backgrounds and honed by a culture of street football, which is then given the chance to mature earlier and more regularly in Ligue 1 than in any other major league.

Mbappé was 16 when he first played for Monaco and 18 when he first won the French league. Doué made his Ligue 1 debut for Stade Rennais at 17, at the start of a debut season which included 34 senior appearances.

Incredibly, more minutes were played by native players aged 18 and under in Ligue 1 (11,432) last season than in the Premier League, Bundesliga, and Serie A (11,287) combined.

It means the flaws of Ligue 1, competitively and financially, have become a source of strength for the France national team. “They go through the academies and then they get opportunities to play in a very physical league, where they have to think quickly if they want to survive,” Comolli says. That’s what gives France the head start over the rest of the world. That’s the golden ticket.”

Additional reporting: Oliver Povey

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"I'm not someone who types a lot"
For his first interview as LOSC coach, Davide Ancelotti opens up about his human-centered management, in line with that of his father, Carlo, whose legacy he assumes while wanting to chart his own path.

NATHAN GOURDOL

CAMPHIN-EN-PÉVÈLE (NORTH) - While he will lead today (17 hours) his second friendly against the Saint-Gilloise Union in Ostend, the new LOSC coach, Davide Ancelotti, received The Team yesterday in his office on the Luchin Estate, where the book The Coach's Guide to Teaching by Doug Lemov – "on manuel" – rubs shoulders with a quote by Nietzsche and a figurine by Ted Lasso. Arrived on July 7 in Lille, the day after Brazil's elimination at the World Cup, where he was his father's assistant, Carlo, the technician, who turned 37 on Wednesday, detailed his method for an hour and in French, which he masters almost perfectly.

"Did you hesitate when accepting the LOSC proposal?

From the first exchanges, Olivier (Létang) transmitted very clear principles to me: I am there to win, organize the team, think about training, develop the players, and the club takes care of everything else, because it is strong on discipline and work culture. So there are fewer things to manage than elsewhere. It was great to have this opportunity with a team that is growing, playing in the Champions League, has quality players and has a very clear identity. Of course, there is pressure, but it is a privilege for me. As an assistant, I have always worked in places where it was a tragedy not to win, so I know.

How will you manage your relationship with President Létang, whose role is very broad?

We're forming a team. I really respect his role and that of the coach. Olivier is not my partner, he does not make tactical choices (laughs). We have clearly defined things, we have a human relationship that allows us to exchange on many things. Even thought we were going to have difficult moments, because this is football. The president is number 1, he will be able to speak with the players, but on one condition: prevent me. One day, at half-time, in Botafogo, a sports director started talking in the locker room, and I didn't like it at all. Olivier has the ability to be convincing, persuasive, and if he needs to talk, it can help us.
“I have the ambition to take a new step, with an organized offensive football, a team that knows how to adapt to the opponent

It seems that it is also your father who taught you the interest of Lille…

Yes, he called me one day at two in the morning, because Olivier had asked him for my number. He told me that a team was interested in me. I told him: ”Don't tell me who, just tell me if I have to go or not,“ and he replied: "Of course.”After, of course, we talked. Olivier has been talking regularly with my father for years. I remember that in Madrid, this was the case, because we were interested in Leny Yoro.

Have you been able to speak with your predecessor, Bruno Genesio, who is also a great admirer of your father, and how do you envisage his succession?

We didn't have the opportunity, alas, but everyone here has a very positive opinion of Bruno. A lot of things were done well, I don't want to change everything. There is a defensive organization, a strong team. I have the ambition to take a new step, with an organized offensive football, a team that knows how to adapt to the opponent too. If he wants to give you a high pressure or a numerical tie, have mechanisms to come out and to have control of the ball. I want a dynamic football, with energy, attacking spaces, betting on technical players in midfield. Here I am lucky enough to have a lot of them, and that is crucial in modern football. In Madrid, we had Kroos and Modric, and we won a lot, we saw it more recently with PSG, Spain or Argentina…

You won 19 trophies as your father's deputy. Why didn't you stay in this role?

It is the natural evolution of Macarrière to become no 1. At the end of the last four-year stage in Madrid (2021-2025), I already felt ready. First of all, because I don't want to be a deputy to someone other than my father. He decided to start a life as a coach, we had the goal of making the World Cup together, but I don't think he's going to coach clubs after Brazil. I don't know, but I think that then he will stop. The elimination at the World Cup (in the knockout stages against Norway, 1-2, on July 5th) was Macarrière's biggest disappointment, because it was surely the last competition together with my father, and in Brazil, the World Cup is life. But coming here right after, it helped me a lot, I moved on.

Your first number 1 experience in Botafogo lasted only five months…

Five months there is like two in Europe! People didn't understand if I was fired or not. But in fact, after five months, there was no longer a president because John Textor was leaving. I had no more indication of what to do next, so I decided to resign. They didn't fire me, since there wasn't even a president to do it (laughs). The experience was good, because despite all the difficulties, departures, injuries, we had good results. But the expectations were too great compared to the framework that had totally changed. John Textor trusted me, and I will always thank him, but then there were a lot of conflicts and I was too lonely.

When you are an assistant, you have a closeness with the players, but head coach is also having the wrong role sometimes. How are you managing this transition?

I don't want to change the relationship with the players. Of course, there is this distance which is a little greater because now I make decisions, but communication, the human relationship, is my functioning. I said it from the very beginning here, I'm human, I can get it wrong, I'm going to be responsible for my mistakes, but I have to decide for the good of the club.

This closeness is your father's trademark…

I have a character very similar to his. I saw the way he manages humans. It's very important to be empathetic, because you have to understand everyone's emotions, but without showing too much of yours. Football is an amplifier of emotions, but I always try to control them so as not to disturb my choices. I had this education. The staff helps me with this, I ask them to let me know when it's time to type because I'm not someone who types a lot. With my children, it's the same, I don't get very upset.
“My name is not a weight, I am the one who decided to be a coach, it is my responsibility. If I were a lawyer, I wouldn't be told about it.

To develop your slides with players, you sometimes offer them books…

I'm a fan of Hemingway, Steinbeck and Scorsese's cinema, but I have a reference in the way people are managed, it's Phil Jackson (legendary coach of the Bulls and Lakers). I like everything he said or wrote. And as him, I believe that the coach must teach, leave something, in the game as in the human relationship. Of course, the goal is to win, but why am I coaching? Because I like to see people evolve, not just to win.

Why did you stop your playing career at the age of 20?

Because I was no good! I was far from the level of Milan (he played a friendly match with Alexandre Pato in particular), I played in the Fifth Division, I could make a career at that level. But I was already thinking about my future, and I saw 34-year-old teammates who had nothing in their hands. So I decided to quit to go to university, already with the idea of becoming a coach. I had the example of Jose Mourinho, who had studied physical preparation, so I did the samechoseand today when I speak with the head of the perf (Benoît Delaval), I have knowledge about physiology, the methodology of training.

How did you manage to get accepted in the big locker rooms that you worked alongside?

At first, it was complicated because I was the coach's son. Today I am still Ancelotti's son. But I have fourteen years of experience, I was lucky enough to win a lot, to know the greatest players, so it's a little simpler. But I still want to show that I have the skills. You gain trust with the requirement that you have. Some players can't understand that being very close to them doesn't mean that I'm not demanding. My father had the sameproblemin his career. But everyone should know that there is a red line that should not be crossed.

The comparison with your father, she will always pursue you?

I live with that. I am very glad that I learned with the best. My name is not a weight, it's me who decided to be a coach, it's my responsibility. If I were a lawyer, I wouldn't be told about it. If there are things that I don't know how to do, I will ask him, because he will have necessarily experienced this situation. I had other influences. Klopp, Guardiola, DeZerbi, Emery, for me one of the number 1, Luis Enrique ... In rugby, I admire Rassie Erasmus a lot.""I have known Zizou since I was 8 years old, because he was my father's player at Juve," recalls Davide Ancelotti, who then saw him again when ZZ was his father's assistant at Real Madrid (2013-2014). "You could already see that the players had a lot of respect for him. He is a very humble person, who doesn't talk much, but whenever he speaks, everyone listens to him. He has a lot of aura, charisma. After Deschamps, he is the best successor that the French team could dream of having," notes the technician, who could soon exchange with him about the Blues.


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LFC said:

wish you had another countries passion instead of the french.
For I enjoy to read your scribes/blurbs but I can only take so much of the french haha

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