The coach of the Blues explained the absence in Blue of Olivier Giroud since the last Euro. For him, a player crowned world champion as a holder could not bear to take on a role as a substitute.
What led you to recall Olivier Giroud? And what should he do to hope to stay in the France team?
DIDIER DESCHAMPS: The most important thing for me is to be consistent and fair in relation to the discourse I can have with the players. In this case it is. He was part of this very successful French team. But she was also without him. Olivier won’t have to do more or less, and I don’t have to pay more attention to Olivier than to another player. As I have always told you, he is a player who has remained selectable. He is here today, it is linked to the injury of Karim Benzema, and he is part of the 23 for these two games. For his future, don’t ask me, I don’t know.
Does Karim Benzema’s withdrawal and Olivier Giroud’s recall mean that you can no longer call them up at the same time?
It’s not Karim or Olivier. It goes further than that. Historically when a player loses his status in Blue, and he remains in selection, it is very difficult for him to live if not impossible. It is not specific to Olivier because there have been other players before him in the same situation. When you have an asset in Blue, it is humanly very complicated not to have it anymore.
By summoning him, you wanted to know if he can stick to another role within the team and that there is doubt about what happened at Euro 2021?
No (Editor’s note: his summons) it’s for the collective good. It’s not “you will have 30 or 40% (Editor’s note: playing time) and I’ll watch how you react”. I repeat myself. A player who has status needs to have an important role to play, I am convinced of that. Otherwise it has psychological repercussions on himself and on the group. Because whoever the player is, he has created affinities in the team.
Does this mean that Olivier Giroud no longer enjoys the same status in Blue?
He had this status for many years. But I can still summon him. Again this is not specific to Olivier Giroud. It has to do with his use and his playing time, and the choices I make offensively.
The absence of Karim Benzema and the return of Olivier Giroud change your approach to this meeting from a tactical point of view. You said last Thursday that the idea was to continue working on the 3-5-2 scheme.
The fact of having recalled Olivier does not change anything. There are no worries about the role of each other. I leave with an idea, and I stick to what I told you last Thursday.
After Jonathan Clauss, you called William Saliba to replace Benjamin Pavard. Does this mean that there are places to defend?
Seats to take no. It’s the circumstances that do that. For Benjamin Pavard (Editor’s note: who contracted the Covid last Thursday), between the protocol and the deadlines, there was not enough margin knowing that you never know what can happen.
Why did you choose William Saliba?
We’ve been following him for a while. There is what he achieves with the Espoirs and his club, in a role he knows well and in a system (Editor’s note: with three central defenders) similar to the one we use. He is a good defender in duels, fast, good with his head. He exudes a lot of serenity and tranquility, even if sometimes there are small excesses in the raises with the ball.