Paris in a world championship frenzy

France is united in the title frenzy: Hundreds of thousands celebrated the soccer world champions on Monday after their arrival on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. When the open double-decker bus from the “Équipe Nationale” finally arrived on the boulevard two hours late, the cheering never stopped. The haze of smoke flares lay over the kilometer-long boulevard. Military jets took off, people waved blue, white and red national flags, cars honked all over the city.

The night before, France's party beasts had already let it rip in Moscow, and the football world is already fearing a long period of dominance by the new golden generation. “Will, skill and a careful coaching template have forged a team whose sheer youthfulness should shock the rest of the world,” wrote the British “Guardian” the day after the furious World Cup final.

The average age of the starting eleven in the crazy 26-90 win against Croatia in Moscow on Sunday was 4 years and 2 days. “There were 14 players who went on an adventure trip,” emphasized coach Didier Deschamps, who changed his personnel again after losing the European Championship final two years ago and converted the weaknesses of that time into strengths of today. “It was so, so painful not to win the European Championship title two years ago. But maybe we wouldn’t be world champions now if we had done it back then.” His players don't yet know what it means to be world champion, emphasized Deschamps after receiving another champagne shower from his players during the press conference. Singing and led by super joker Paul Pogba, they quickly turned the podium into a dance floor and celebrated their 49-year-old coach. His almost fatherly, understandable comment with a broad grin: “You are young and happy.”

Team boss wants to continue Deschamps formed individual exceptional talents into a close-knit group, no quarrels, no scandals - “we spent 55 days together. There wasn’t a problem,” emphasized Deschamps. “The players have fulfilled their contract and, moreover, Deschamps has secured his place in the football pantheon,” wrote the French newspaper Libération. And Deschamps is far from finished. “I don’t do everything like Jacquet,” he said. Aimé Jaquet did not continue after the 1998 World Cup success, in which Deschamps was the captain and was the first to hold the World Cup trophy. “It is intended that I stay, so I stay,” emphasized Deschamps. He has been there since 2012 and his contract is valid until the European Championships in two years. He can now achieve the unique feat and, after the title double within two years with the 1998 World Cup triumph and the 2000 European Championship success as a player, repeat the same thing as a coach. The danger of crashing badly in Qatar in 2022, like Germany did after their World Cup triumph four years ago, hardly seems to exist. Mbappè like Pelé Spain's “Marca” already proclaimed “La Belle Époque”. “The danger is that Les Bleus will only get better and that they are already the team to beat at Euro 2020 and in Qatar two years later,” wrote England’s tabloid The Sun. Kylian Mbappé is an example of this team, its success and, above all, its perspective. He has Cameroonian and Algerian roots. “This is France as we love it. There are different origins, but we are united. It's the same in the team. We play for this one jersey,” said Antoine Griezmann, perhaps the face of the world champion. At 27, he is already above the average for the final eleven, but he is anything but old. Mbappé can become the face of world football in the coming years. “It's just the beginning for Kylian Mbappé,” said the sports paper “L'Équipe.” Mbappé is capable of bringing home a third star in 2022, 2026 or 2030, wrote “Le Parisien” about the teenager makes the 77-year-old Pélé think about getting out his football boots again. “If Kylian keeps breaking my records I might have to dust off my boots,” he wrote on Twitter. With his goal in the final, Mbappé is the second youngest goalscorer after Pélé in 1958. He was also the second youngest player behind the three-time world champion to score a brace in the round of XNUMX victory over Argentina. Mbappé's humble answer to the recent Pélé statement: "The king always remains the king." This is also exemplary for the new world champion, where outstanding players such as Mbappé, Griezmann and Pogba also put themselves at the service of the team. “Talent alone is not enough, you have to be psychologically and mentally stronger,” coach Deschamps revealed one of his maxims. Spontaneous celebration His boys also showed strength when celebrating. The bus ride to the World Cup Hotel turned into a whirlwind excursion for the best in class. In the somewhat cold-looking rooms they turned night into day and chanted over and over again: “Allez, allez, allez.” Family, friends, everyone came, the association had chartered three planes especially. And now they want to share this triumph with the people who, after the terrorist attacks on November 13, 2015, on the sidelines of the French friendly against Germany, are enjoying a new feeling of world-class lightness. “We will never be able to thank Didier Deschamps' men enough for giving the country this enchanted interlude, these four weeks that we hope will last forever,” said L'Équipe, describing the “eternal happiness.” . “You have made the whole country proud,” said President Emmanuel Macron.

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Paris in a world championship frenzy

Young, successful, hungry. The new world champions could shape international football for years to come. Coach Deschamps wants to continue. His players want more, much more.

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