Twenty-four hours out of time, without a ball or a press conference. This Wednesday, the players of the French team were able to take advantage of a first day in “off” mode in this Euro to get out of the washing machine, clear their heads, while keeping in mind that a new competition starts and they will have to fight hard, stay united and determined, to go to the end. A good number of relatives, women and children, had already traveled for the first two matches.
But on Tuesday, an even larger delegation of around a hundred parents or friends of the Blues (140 to 180) landed in Dortmund on a plane chartered from Paris to come, on the one hand, to attend the meeting which took place ended in a draw against Poland, but also accompanied them to Bad Lippspringe where rooms had been “booked” so that families, parents and young children could sleep there.
Usually very calm, quiet, in the middle of not much, the base camp of the vice-world champions took on a slightly more eventful appearance upon returning from Signal Iduna Park. A timely agitation for the members of the French delegation and the players, some of whom are starting to find it long after a fortnight staying in Germany. If in Doha, a “welcome committee” systematically awaited the Blues on their return to the hotel, the atmosphere is much less festive in the spa town of North Rhine where the players are the only ones able to host the evenings in their privatized establishment.
Deschamps at work in the video room
The arrival of the families cheered everyone up and provided an enchanted break on a sunny day, far from the gray and cool winds at the start of the tournament. This Wednesday lunchtime, the players and staff, accompanied by their loved ones, ate outside for the first time, at the foot of the hotel restaurant, digging into the dishes prepared by the chef: raw vegetables, a meat dish , fish, pasta, rice. A makeup workshop and some games were also set up for the children, making the day feel like a fair.
However, there is no question of forgetting the competition. Shortly before 6 p.m., Didier Deschamps and his deputies Guy Stéphan, Cyril Moine and Franck Raviot, isolated themselves in the video room to watch the Ukraine-Belgium and Slovakia-Romania matches which would decide the French team’s next opponent in the round of 16.
It will be the Belgians, therefore, for a rematch of the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup. A shock, a real one, between two big footballing nations. In the meantime, the players and staff of the French team were able to extend the family fun for one last evening around a barbecue, without fuss or excess, before the departure of their guests this Thursday morning.
