Völler and Deschamps, reunion in an explosive context

Special correspondent in Dortmund

The handshake looks frank. And despite the tension around the German selection, restraint will be required. Even for a short while, before making way for serious things. Rudi Völler, appointed interim coach since the dismissal of Hansi Flick on Sunday and who gives the impression of having been sent to the fire without wanting to, will meet Didier Deschamps Tuesday evening (9 p.m.) at Signal Iduna Park. The two men like each other, even if they see each other little, since their joint victory in the Champions League on May 26, 1993, engraved in the memory of all French football.

We will try to disrupt the France team, but we will have to be 100%.

Rudi Völler

“I have a perfect relationship with Didierplants Völler, in his black outfit of the Mannschaft. The 1993 victory is a wonderful memory in my career, I was one of the oldest in the squad at the time (33 Years) and I can tell you that at the time, we had already noticed that Didier could become a coach. He already thought like a technician. And I knew that he would make a very good coach or coach in the future, I wasn’t too wrong.” Naturally quiet, like Didier Deschamps, the former “Renard des surfaces”, who stayed two years on the Canebière to leave magnificent memories there, did not reveal this part of his personality on Monday evening, in front of the audience. of media who came in large numbers to face the catastrophic situation of the selection. Faced with the emergency situation and the crisis in Germany, it is difficult for Völler to appear light and detached. “We will try to disrupt the French team, but we will have to be 100%he admits without really believing it. In any case, I can’t wait to see Didier on Tuesday before the match.”

Asked about the reunion a few minutes earlier in the ultra-modern press room of the old Westfalenstadion, the boss of the vice-world champions gave the same speech. “This is my youth (he was 24 years old in 1993), he smilesmuch lighter and more relaxed in front of the media than his counterpart. Rudi had this cheerful temperament and it was a great pleasure to meet him, since I haven’t seen him in thirty years. » Before the accolades, Deschamps opens the memory box: “He was a huge scorer, a fighter and he had this joy of living all the time. He came from AS Roma at the time and he brought the southern atmosphere to Marseille, he’s a roomer. We enjoyed having him in the locker room every day..”

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After OM’s legal setbacks and the descent into hell, the two men left Marseille in 1994 to pursue their careers elsewhere. Deschamps at Juventus Turin, Völler at Bayer Leverkusen. Before the latter, older, hung up his boots in 1996 to embrace a coaching career. In clubs (Bayer Leverkusen twice, AS Roma) and for four years at the head of the selection between 2000 and 2004.

Deschamps was world champion as a player and coach, what more can you say?

Rudi Völler

Aware of the pressure around the position of coach, the sports director of the German federation, forced to play the firefighter on duty for the duration of a meeting, takes a tip of the hat to Deschamps, who has been in the French team since 2012. “I’m impressed by its longevityhe admits, white hair and white beard, a sign of the ping of time. This position requires work and long-term results to deserve it. Otherwise you don’t stay. He has won club titles, now as a manager he handles pressure well. He was a world champion as a player and coach, what more can I say than that? Few people can boast of this in the world of football. But despite everything, we will try to shake him up tomorrow (Tuesday).”