FRANCE 98 – Aimé JACQUET, national team coach, comments on Lilian THURAM two gold goals

Statements from Clairefontaine, noon Thursday 9 July

Aimé JACQUET, national team coach from FRANCE

“The past two years have been great.” This morning, Aimé JACQUET is relishing a double victory: that of his team and that over his critics, fought with tenacity and determination. “I was so happy Wednesday night. We played well for the first twenty minutes. Then there was a rupture, then tension, followed by emotion, numbness, and then a great burst of excitement. We hadn’t realised we were in the World Cup final,” says the coach. “Our success is mainly the result of making the players believe in themselves and in their ability to win.”

The players were very calm after the match, and according to Aimé JACQUET, they were hiding something. But they were very happy! Happy thanks to the “black genie who came out of his magic lamp to score on two different occasions.” During training sessions, I always told Lilian THURAM (15): “You’ll never score a goal. Against CROATIA, he scored two,” exclaimed the coach.

The coach agrees that, since the World Cup began, the road to the final has been a difficult one for FRANCE, both physically and psychologically: suspensions of Zinédine ZIDANE (10) and Laurent BLANC (5), extra-time, penalty shootouts, golden goals… Now, Lilian THURAM’S goals will go down in football history.

Aimé JACQUET has much respect for CROATIA: “They’re a great, tactically intelligent squad with great individual players. I’ve already told Miroslav BLAZEVIC that.”

If the players from FRANCE “celebrated this victory with reservation it’s because they were thinking about Laurent BLANC (5) at that moment, who was unjustly sent off,” states the coach. “In the worst case scenario, he should have been booked.”

One journalist asked if it were great to meet BRAZIL in the final. “We’ve imagined this scenario for a long time, but it seemed like a dream or just unrealistic,” admits Aimé JACQUET, with a grin, confirming that he will resign as national team coach after the final in order to go out on top and with dignity.

Will the match against BRAZIL be a tactical one? “Not at all,” says Aimé JACQUET. “We will play our hearts out and base our game on solid defence to counter the talented Brazilian strikers.” Who will replace Laurent BLANC in this defence? Our course it will be Frank LEBOEUF (18), “already mentally prepared to take on this tough responsibility.”