France players take part in a training session at the Santa Cruz stadium in Ribeirao Preto; (inset) France coach Didier Deschamps. (AFP)
Seven months after they stood on the precipice of yet another failure following a painful defeat to Ukraine, France are now World Cup contenders thanks to a brilliant transformation engineered by coach Didier Deschamps.
The man who captained France to their 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 titles took over from Laurent Blanc two years ago and after a lacklustre start, Deschamps has built a harmonious squad focused on matters on the pitch and not drama off of it.
Four years after Les Bleus’s World Cup was marred by a strike and an embarrassing first-round exit and two years after off-pitch problems made the headlines again, France are a team reborn in the hard-working, no-nonsense image of their coach.
In Brazil, France have eased into the knockout stage undefeated after three Group E matches but it has not all been plain sailing to get where they are.
After France lost 2-0 in the first leg of a qualifying playoff against Ukraine in Kiev last November, very few were backing them to overturn the deficit.
Deschamps rang the changes for the second leg, leaving out Loic Remy, Laurent Koscielny, Eric Abidal and Samir Nasri - with the latter two not even selected for the finals squad.
In came Mamadou Sakho, Yohan Cabaye, Raphael Varane and Karim Benzema, France eased to a 3-0 win in Paris and the quartet have gone on to become first-team regulars in Brazil.
“Deschamps perfectly controls his squad. Before the second (group) game, he gave the players the starting eleven (for the 5-2 win over Switzerland) and it was never leaked,” says Cyril Haddouche, sports reporter at French daily Le Figaro.
“Deschamps controls everything,” says Christian Frichet, sports editor at French daily L’Est Republicain.
“The players know that if they go off the path, they will be punished. For now it works, on and off the pitch. There is a collective impetus although we will have to see how it goes when things become tougher further into the competition.”
Nasri is the finest example of Deschamps’s intransigence as the Manchester City midfielder, despite a brilliant Premier League season, was left out of the squad due to his history of behavioural issues.
At Euro 2012, Nasri caused a stir when he insulted a reporter after the team’s 2-0 quarter-final defeat to Spain.
Unlike then coach Laurent Blanc, or predecessor Raymond Domenech, Deschamps would never let such outbursts happen, even though he has kept faith in Patrice Evra, who was France captain for the ill-fated and tempestuous 2010 World Cup campaign.
Evra has a special place - although not preferential treatment - in Deschamps’s setup since the former international midfielder coached him at Monaco from 2002-06.
Deschamps trusted the left-back despite the South Africa debacle and he appeared to be right once again as Evra, although not playing that day, helped France overturn a one-goal deficit in a key World Cup qualifier in Belarus last September.
“Pat gave a great speech that did us a lot of good. It gave us courage and determination because we were really down at the interval,” said winger Franck Ribery.
The rehabilitation was complete last week at the World Cup when Evra held his first France news conference in almost two years.
He delivered comedic barbs in a light-hearted media-friendly performance, showing the mindset of the squad had changed, although nothing is left to chance.
“Les Bleus make efforts to open up to reporters but in reality everything is locked. Just like under (1998 World Cup winning coach) Aime Jacquet, the squad is totally protected from outside turbulence,” Haddouche added.
On the pitch, France have also been transformed by Deschamps, who has been building on the “Ukraine spirit”.
“The French team has a proper manager. His experience is huge. The team spirit did not change by chance. It’s one of Deschamps’s most notable achievements so far,” former France international Eric Carriere told France Football.
Les Bleus have played some breath-taking soccer in Brazil, hammering Honduras 3-0 and Switzerland 5-2 before sealing top spot in the group with a 0-0 draw against Ecuador on Wednesday.
They rely on an impressive midfield with Cabaye in front of the defence, and Paul Pogba and Blaise Matuidi bringing the ball forward at pace.
Benzema is finally hitting his stride with Les Bleus, while the diminutive yet tricky attacking midfielder Mathieu Valbuena poses a threat to any defence.
He, like Cabaye, did not play against Ecuador and it showed as Les Bleus, with more than half of the team changed, lacked creativity despite registering 13 shots on target.
Deschamps, who is not easily pleased, was all smiles after the game.
“We linked up very well but we were not clinical,” he said.
The result raised questions about France’s lack in depth , but with six changes made at once, any team would struggle.
The changes, however, have allowed key players such as Valbuena and Cabaye to be fresh to face Nigeria in the last 16 on Monday as France savour the midday heat of their first early kickoff (1600 GMT) in the competition.