At the Stade de France on July 12, 1998, Didier Deschamps, Zinedine Zidane and their teammates defeated Brazil 3-0 and became world champions. Several months later, on December 20, 1998, a future football star by the name of Kylian Mbappe was born.
By
SINDHUNATA
·5 minutes read
AFP PHOTO / FRANCK FIFE
Kylian Mbappe
At the Stade de France on July 12, 1998, Didier Deschamps, Zinedine Zidane and their teammates defeated Brazil 3-0 and became world champions. Several months later, on December 20, 1998, a future football star by the name of Kylian Mbappe was born. In this year’s World Cup in Russia, Mbappe is France’s ultimate weapon in its hunt for world championship.
As such, can we all agree that 1998 was a year of double blessings for France? Deschamps, currently France’s team manager, joyfully said, “I am glad that Kylian Mbappe was born a Frenchman. The year 1998 was a good year for Mbappe’s birth despite him not possibly knowing about the World Cup by then.” Mbappe grinned at the statement and said, “People tend to remember more about our success in the World Cup than my birth.”
When France defeated Argentina 4-3, Mbappe played spectacularly. He moved swiftly and briskly, like a gazelle. He was also strong, like a buffalo. FIFA records say that he ran at 32.4 kilometers per hour. Another record says that he reached 38 km per hour. This means that Mbappe equals the average speed of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who broke world records at the World Athletics Championship in Berlin in 2009.
AFP PHOTO/FRANCK FIFE
Coach Didier Deschamps (third left) of the French national team speaks with midfielder Corentin Tolisso (center) as they take to the pitch during a practice session at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium in Russia on July 5, the eve of the France-Uruguay quarterfinals of the 2018 World Cup.
Mbappe showcased his speed at the 11th minute of the match against Argentina. The ball ricocheted from the leg of Argentinean central midfielder Ever Banega. Mbappe quickly snatched the ball and ran away with it. Banega could not keep up and Mbappe ran even faster. Central defender Javier Mascherano tried to chase him to no avail. It was defender Marcos Rojo who finally stopped him – by committing a foul.
“It’s easy to make analyses on paper or while speaking on a microphone. However, Mbappé was difficult to control for us,” said Argentinean coach Jorge Sampaoli. “We talked about every single thing that could happen beforehand. But football is about more than just watching a video. On the pitch, things can look a little different.”
Deschamps said that Mbappe was still at the beginning of his career. He is a teenager, not yet 20 years old. Deschamps said that he was glad that such a young player could harmonize his playing style with others on the team. Deschamps has always emphasized harmony in training his players.
AP PHOTO/DAVID VINCENT
France\'s Kylian Mbappe (right) jogs during practice on July 4 at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Glebovets, Russia.
The French national football team can be easily swayed by disharmony. It has plenty of superstars. A little disharmony may tear everything apart. For Deschamps, players who cannot maintain the team’s solidity should not play. This is why striker Karim Benzema is not on the French squad. Benzema may be a shining star in the Spanish La Liga and the UEFA Champions League. However, he is a bringer of disharmony to his teams.
Harmony is at the core of Deschamps’ vision in building the French team toward énergie collective et qualité individuelle (collective energy and individual quality). The quality of individuals on the French team should not be doubted. However, its collective energy must be continuously perfected. Deschamps said that he was sure France could nurture its collective energy and reap benefits from it in this year’s World Cup.
Uruguayan nationalism
France’s harmony will be tested again in the match against Uruguay tonight, Jakarta time. It will not be easy to defeat the South American team. Apart from top-notch players that include Jose Gimenez, Diego Godin, Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, Uruguay has an unparalleled spirit of nationalism. This was visible, for instance, when team manager Oscar Tabarez played a YouTube video from their home country. In the video, classes at a local school were dismissed so teachers and students could watch the match between Uruguay and Egypt together.
AFP PHOTO/SAEED KHAN AND PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU
This composite image created on July 4 shows Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani in Sochi (left) and France\'s Kylian Mbappe in Kazan, both taken on June 30. France will play Uruguay on July 6 in their 2018 World Cup quarterfinal match at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium in Russia.
They turned the school’s main hall into a small stadium. When Uruguay scored a goal, the kids danced, jumped and hugged one another, just like the Uruguayan fans at the stadium.
“They will never forget the game and may one day tell stories about it to their children and grandchildren,” Tabarez said.
Such tales of childhood joy are close to Cavani’s heart. In this year’s World Cup, he wrote a letter for his 9-year-old self. At that age, he was very proud of his national team. These days, whenever he is playing on the field, he closes his eyes and imagines that he is still that small boy, playing soccer on the streets of his hometown Salto.
“I will carry this feeling in me all my life as I am a Latin American, from Uruguay, from Salto,” Cavani said.
AFP PHOTO/DIMITAR DILKOFF
A woman advertises a basket of goods on July 3 in downtown Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, in front of a souvenir shop decorated with the national flags of Uruguay and France. The two teams will meet on July 6 in their quarterfinal match of the 2018 World Cup.
Cavani’s and his friends’ nationalism will be a weapon for Uruguay in facing France. Mbappe and his teammates need to be aware that France, which struggles to build a sense of collectivity on top of its multicultural reality, lacks such a weapon. They should realize that Uruguay’s weapon may spell trouble for them.
In facing Uruguay, France will put its hope in Mbappe, the teenaged wunderkind. Even legendary football star Pele acknowledges his skills. “At such a young age, you have scored two goals in the World Cup. Go forward and be successful, except when you have to face Brazil,” Pele said.
Tonight, it will be good for Mbappe to remember French philosopher Albert Camus’ words: “The ball never comes to you from where you are expecting it”. Mbappe should not be certain that he will have the liberty to master the ball with his greatness. Such certainty will only spell doom for the Gallic roosters.
