To erase the memories of the last ten years
The last time the French national football team was really world class was when Zidane head-butted Marco Materazzi in that World Cup final in 2006. What followed was one of the darkest periods in France’s rich footballing history.
With Zidane retiring, they lost one of the greatest players to grace the football field and descended into chaos. Raymond Domenech led them to rock bottom, as they finished bottom of their group at both Euro 2008, and the 2010 World Cup. The in-fighting and disharmony was just the icing on a terrible cake.
While things did improve in the following two tournaments – Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup – after Domenech’s dismissal, France failed to hit the heights of the 1998 World Cup, and Euro 2000. This is the perfect opportunity to exorcise the demons which have been haunting them for ten long years.
