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French hopeful of 1986 deja vu
Posted: Thursday July 02, 1998 12:49 PM
Special from L'Equipe, the French sports daily
PARIS (L'Equipe) -- "If one can say of a match that it was perfect, it's
that one," Patrick Battiston said. Like all those who played against Italy on June 17,
1986 in Mexico,
Battiston still thinks this World Cup match, which they won on two goals
from Michel Platini and Yannick Stopyra, was the best they ever played.
"There was so much serenity, so much control, so much rigor, such defensive
strength in the team, we tried so hard to keep the same organization, that
we all had the impression that nothing could happen to us. Everybody was
wide awake all the time, we stayed grouped together. As a matter of fact,
we never had a doubt about the end result," Battiston added.
The traps laid out by the World Champion Squadra Azzurra for the French
team were the same then as those awaiting Aimé Jacquet's Friday.
There is the one-on-one defense, Giuseppe Baresi, then De Napoli's, on
Michel Platini in 1986, Dino Baggio's on Zinedine Zidane Friday.
Then there is the distinct, defensive Italian style of play, the duels, the
counter-attacks, led by Alessandro Altobelli in 1986, Christian Vieri
Friday, and the lost balls.
"We knew we shouldn't make any mistake and that we'd have to be very
efficient in everything we did, up front and behind. We had analyzed their
game, we knew their strengths and we acted accordingly.
"Maxime Bossis watched over Altobelli very closely with me covering very
close behind, but we never changed our tactical organization. In other
words, we never touched our strengths.
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Already in the quarterfinals, France is hoping to repeat the success of the 1986 World Cup (AP) |
"The most important thing was for us to act upon our individual and
collective qualities, to stay faithful to our usual principles, to pose the
Italians problems and to play in a relaxed frame of mind," the former
sweeper remembered. "It was essential for us not to doubt, not to fear."
The essential reason for that success resides in the "block-team" notion
that Jacquet and captain Didier Deschamps keep talking about.
"That day, our lines were very close, we got back into place perfectly, the
defense played very high, there was a permanent harassment of the player
who had the ball, Jean Tigana and Luis Fernandez were extraordinary, so
that we left the Italians practically no room. And when one of us was in
difficulty, he still did everything he could to make the adversary make a
mistake, or to allow one of his teammates to get the ball back easily,"
Battiston said. But he also added that "we were lucky enough because
Platini scored in the first 15 minutes."
There are a lot of conditions for this year's team to achieve the same
result. It has to play with the same frame of mind, with the same ambition;
with the same defensive rigor and concentration. Marcel Desailly, for
instance, has to be as efficient as Bossis was in Mexico.
The team also has to have rested well enough from the long match against Paraguay.
They also need to make the Italians doubt by not sacrificing a forward for
an extra defensive midfielder.
"The defensive solidity of this team is impressive, the midfield is very
active and is able to get the ball back, to give the game direction, to get
the ball to the forwards. Zidane, just like Platini, who moved a lot, that
day, knows how to get rid of defenders, to make it possible to outnumber
the other team," Battiston said. "It will all depend on the forwards. Will
they be able to push and press hard enough?
"That's a different story... But from what I've seen, Italy's defense, at
times, has given the impression of doubting or being disturbed. We'll have
to take advantage of that."
Copyright 1998, L'Equipe
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