Antoine Griezmann’s career seemed to have ended in a dead end. But at the World Cup, the once successful striker experienced an amazing renaissance – in a completely new role. At first he didn’t want to make friends with her.
Striker Antoine Griezmann has had good times. At the home European Championship six years ago, no footballer scored more goals than he did. And when he won the World Cup in Russia four years ago, he also did an outstanding job as the tournament’s top scorer. So one could have assumed that he would also play a prominent role in the French offensive in Qatar. And yes, he does, but in a different way than you would expect from a man who has scored 42 times (in 116 games) for his country.
Griezmann is as conspicuous in the days of Qatar, as present as it has been for a long time. He breaks out of the dead end of his career with force and pushes himself back onto the world stage as the protagonist. In the semi-final win against Morocco (2-0), the now 31-year-old was voted player of the game. Although there is still no goal in his specifications, that is no longer his job. Griezmann is the developer and no longer the fitter. As a laboring ten or a creative eight, he is the heart of coach Didier Deschamps’ team. It’s a running miracle, a space compressor, a pressing machine. A bit like Thomas Müller at his best – and yet somehow very different.
The plan to withdraw Griezmann from the outstandingly occupied offensive and train him again on foreign territory apparently matured three years ago. At a dinner in Iceland – France had celebrated a disdainful work victory there – Deschamps is said to have revealed to his favorite student that he sees him as “a very good defensive midfielder”. Griezmann is said to have been surprised and just smiled tiredly. But the idea was no joke, it matured and matured and grew into a world-class idea. If France fights against Argentina to defend their title this Sunday, then too, with and above all because of Griezmann.
Kylian Mbappé, Olivier Giroud – for the former star striker Diego Forlán, Griezmann is “France’s key player” because he “perfectly combines midfield and attack”. That’s how Deschamps sees it, who can already be celebrated for his next coup. “Antoine interprets his role very intelligently and strikes a balance.” With the attacking Malocher (or laboring striker) at heart, France maneuvered their way through the tournament, not spectacularly – which the sum of the individual players might promise – but very efficiently and very robustly. The Moroccans felt it too, who, like England before them in the quarter-finals, were by no means the worse team, just the less effective ones.
This is how cover stories and hero stories are written. And in this case with a special protagonist that many experts and fans had long since written off. In the new system of the French, which Deschamps had to (or wanted to) switch from a 3-4-1-2 to 4-2-3-1 because of the bitter absences of his key players N’Golo Kanté and Paul Pogba, Griezmann gives one hybrid eights or tens. Atlético Madrid’s little man pushes up and tirelessly works against the ball – a leader, omnipresent on the pitch, uncatchable by the opponent.
Now it’s not as if Griezmann had to reinvent himself. He learned the skills for his role at the heart of the system from the rojiblancos. In the summer of 2014, he was drawn to Madrid, to Diego Simeone, the international master of ceremonies for tough, disciplined and perfect defensive work. Gone is the free-spirited loafing that Griezmann has earned his reputation at Real Sociedad San Sebastián. His perceived physical inferiority became a real weapon in the Basque Country. His game is Spanish intelligent, South American – strongly influenced by several teammates – hard. And under Simeone even harder. Griezmann is ground to first defender. He attacks his opponents with brutal power, keeps the pressing pressure high and always remains dangerous. Simeone torments the once unappreciated in youth football to the world class.
Things are taking their course: Griezmann is getting better and better. More important and more important and wins the world title in 2018, at that time it was worth 150 million euros. A summer later he is drawn to FC Barcelona – a plan that doesn’t work out and fails with a bang. He flees back to Atlético, where his playing time is limited by a loan contract. “I had to make myself small,” he said. For Deschamps, he remains big. Griezmann has been on the field in each (!) of the last 72 international matches, and he accepts his new role without complaint. “I give everything for the jersey, for France – and for him,” he says of Deschamps: “Every game, every action is a thank you to him.”
And so Griezmann shines with the most tackles won and balls won (against Denmark), with the longest running distance (against Poland) or the most tackles (against England). “I’m asking other things from him now,” says Deschamps, “but it’s not like we sacrificed him.” Griezmann has three goals – more than any other player represented in the semifinals. With his two assists against England, he surpassed the French record holders Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry. He hasn’t scored himself yet. “I don’t worry about the goal,” he says selflessly: “The team needs me at the heart of the game.”