With these Manchester United and West Ham players starring, can France return to their peak?

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It has been 16 years since France last won a major tournament. Having become the first team to win the World cup (1998), and the European Championship (2000), in successive years, France has not since returned to those glorified years. While once, the famous Clairefontaine academy churned out a conveyor belt of players, and the golden generation of French football flooded the football stratosphere, there has been little heard since- aside from a headbutt. They made their last major final in the infamous 2006 World Cup, and have not yet reached another one. As we approach this year’s European championships, however, a return to prominence from Les Blues could well be on the cards.

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Copying the centralised youth academy set up of Lileshall, France set up eight elite academies throughout the country, one of which was the famous Clairefontaine academy. With this they created an emphasis on nurturing the technical ability at an early age, which would eventually help bring through Thierry Henry and Nicholas Anelka. As the system began to bare fruit, France were lifting both he World Cup and European championships with the likes of Viera, Thuram, Desially, Zidane and the aforementioned Henry at the forefront.

Following an era of the “golden generation”, France were lost in the wilderness. The national team was eliminated in the group stages of the 2002 and 2010 World cups, and the 2008 European Championship. During the period 2004-10 period, they were managed by Raymond Domenech, who helped guide them to this poor performances- although they did reach the 2006 World Cup final.

Under Didier Deschamps the whole scene has changed. The ex-French international has stabled the ship, but also refreshed the squad with an influx of fresh new talent. At the World Cup in Brazil- a match which should’ve been the final- France were more than a match for the eventual winners. The quarter-final was a tight game,as Deschamps said “there wasn’t much between the two sides”, something Joachim Loew also reiterated, “it was an incredibly exciting match but you can’t expect anything else at the World Cup. Both teams were equals. Our team had fought hard to the end”.

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When you look at the French team, it’s easy to understand why they show so much promise. The potential batch of players that Deschamps has to call on, is a “who’s who” of a European fantasy team. Indeed it is an embarrassment of riches, and arguably one of the best squads on the international stages.

Paul Pogba is fast becoming one of the most sought after players in Europe, and has been likened to Viera. The tall Frenchman has the potential to become the best player in the world, and as Deschamps recently claimed, he could walk into any team, “A great player can play where he wants, Italy, Spain, England”.

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Closer to our shores, N’Golo Kante and Dmitri Payet, have been revelations in the Premier League, and are in the running for the ‘Player of the Year Award’. Add to those three the likes of Blaise Matuidi, Laurent Koscielny, Raphael Varane, Antoine Griezmann, Bacary Sagna, Kingsley Coman, Antony Martial, and you finally understand the reason why most bookies have them as second favourites to win the Euros on their own soil.

Looking further ahead, it seems, that France already has even more talent to come. The Under-20 team won the 2013 World Cup, where Paul Pogba won the best player award, and more recently the Under-17s won the 2015 European Championship, the same tournament where Arsenal spotted the prodigious talent of Jeff Raine-Adelaide. Furthermore, the French Under-19 teams have won the 2010 European Championship, while also making the final in 2013, which included upcoming stars Aymeric Laporte, Adrien Rabiot and Anthony Martial.

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It seems after a period of barren tournament performances, Les Blues are primed to return to the pinnacle of world football. Although it is still too early to tell if the “Golden Generation” has been replaced, the current squad is saturated with talent. Moreover, the squad finally has a pragmatic manager, and not one who leans more towards performances than star signs. Gone are the days of revolts, now are the days of beating top teams like Portugal, Germany and Holland. Add the seemingly burgeoning youth prospects coming through, and France seem to have a system and a squad that will finally return them to the table of European elites, this Summer could well be the start of France replicating Spain’s and Germany’s past dominance.

Featured Image: All Rights Reserved by Al Kagou