A quarter of a century ago, on July 12, 1998, France rocked in a moment of joy, Zinédine Zidane scored twice in the World Cup final against Brazil (3-0). On Wednesday July 12, the former tricolor international (108 caps, 31 goals) gathered some of his former teammates in Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône) to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first planetary coronation of French football. For this occasion, we had to settle for the “Z5”, the five-a-side football site that “Zizou” owns in the city, instead of the emblematic Stade de France.
Quadruple winner of the Champions League as coach of Real Madrid (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018), Zinedine Zidane announced in June his intention to organize this commemoration. Victory in the final against Brazil “united France and days like this make it possible to mark the occasion. We also know that it continues to inspire other generations and Didier [Deschamps] was also the relay of the star in 2018, ”assured the former number 10 of the Blues on Wednesday.
On the program: a football tournament, a few games of padel between world champions, a paying gala dinner and a concert. Some 250 spectators paid the forty euros necessary to attend the event, far from the 80,000 present on July 12, 1998.
Each team benefited from the services of a 1998 world champion drawn by lot from among those present – Bernard Diomède, Lionel Charbonnier, Christian Karembeu, Fabien Barthez, Sabri Lamouchi (present in Jacquet’s extended list in 1998), Bixente Lizarazu and Alain Boghossian. And Zidane took the opportunity to gratify the spectators with a few technical gestures hardly erased by the years: acceleration, sombrero, chest drop, volley and goal.
“It’s still a fabulous emotion”
While the announcer confused Charbonnier and Boghossian, blaming the passage of time – “You guys all have the same haircut now!” –, the fair atmosphere, under the raw heat, masked the small enmities, which could divide some of the “1998”. “We are a family,” insisted Bernard Diomede. “We never left each other,” added Fabien Barthez. Cold for years, coach Didier Deschamps and former striker – and consultant – Christophe Dugarry “played padel together this morning”, we are assured in the entourage of the champions.
Former coach Aimé Jacquet, who had made the trip for the 20th anniversary of the coronation, in June 2018, was absent but his deputy, Roger Lemerre, was present in the stands. On the other hand, Youri Djorkaeff, decisive passer in the final on Zidane’s second goal from a corner shortly before half-time, was also called upon. The director general of the FIFA Foundation was in Geneva on Wednesday to meet Gianni Infantino, ahead of the Women’s World Cup in Australia (July 20-August 20).
Busy preparing for the 2018 World Cup with his players during the twenty years of the coronation, Didier Deschamps this time responded favorably to the invitation, despite his competitive relationship with Zinedine Zidane. The former playmaker aspired to the post of coach of the France team at the end of 2022. But the 2018 world champion finally returned to the head of the Blues until 2026. And on Wednesday, the atmosphere was festive.
“We keep coming across people saying ‘ah, July 12, 98, I was there!’ It remains a fabulous emotion, “savored the coach of the France team and captain of the world champions in 1998. Even twenty-five years later, even with less hair and more difficulty in chaining races, the actors of the first coronation of the Blues of football are aware of having marked history. As Zinedine Zidane summed it up: “We’re not going to talk to each other all the time about 1998. But hey, we did it and it was good. »
