Vincent Candela
A member of both historic squads, Vincent Candela also enjoyed success with Toulouse, AS Roma and Guingamp. Indeed, although he is remembered for his senior international exploits, he also enjoyed the fruits of his labour at underage level, too as he won the U21 Euros in 1996. A Serie A title and Supercoppa Italiano are two of his club highlights, but now that he is retired he is an entrepreneur who dabbles in wine, charity events as well as youth football. Most importantly, he is still vocal in the football community, often offering his opinions on former clubs in the news.
Laurent Blanc –
Undoubtedly the most familiar name on our list so far, Laurent Blanc was, of course, one of the most accomplished and well-respected defenders in the French game on his day and is rightly remembered as a true great both inside and outside the confines of L’Hexagone. Nowadays, of course, he is heavily involved in the world of football management and has so far managed to carve out quite a prosperous path for himself. Speculation reigns about his future at Paris Saint-Germain but it’s clear that even if he does get the chop, he will land on his feet somewhere else.
Marcel Desailly
A real legend, he reached the pinnacles of the international game with France on two occasions but also saw the good times roll with the likes of Marseille, AC Milan and Chelsea. Today, he is hugely involved with the sport still as a pundit and analyst (he recently covered Euro 2016 alongside Arsene Wenger for TV), but has been happy to move on, citing “freedom” in an interview with the Guardian Sport Network as one of the key aspects of his new life ever since leaving football: “Freedom: that word, that aspect, means a lot to me. I’ve been involved in the game, available for everyone. Now I want to be myself and travel around the world, meet people, and do my charity work.”
Lilian Thuram
These days, Lilian Thuram is as well known for his outspoken political activism end engrossing intellect as he is for the days when he used to be one of the most feared and celebrated of footballers. He won club titles in four countries, including the UEFA Cup and Serie A and was included in both teams of the tournament in ‘98 and ‘00 for his phenomenal efforts. He was a footballer who came from nothing and earned it all and deserves to be remembered for that as well as the way he has reinvented himself since the curtain came down on his playing days.
Frank Leboeuf
A pundit for TV, Frank Leboeuf works for ESPN these days, using his great insight on football to carve out a living for himself ever since he hung up his boots back in 2005. However, it’s not just the small screen which plays host to his great talent because as an actor, he also appears regularly on the silver screen. Much like his compatriot Eric Cantona, Leboeuf has enjoyed some real success and was even involved in a film that received an Academy Award nomination a few years back. Bravo.
Bizente Lizarazu –
Ask people today what they know about Bixente Lizarazu and most will tell you that he helped France win two major tournaments, including the European championship. Of course, they’d be right, but most probably wouldn’t know that the retired tricky midfielder has also experienced victory at the highest levels in another sport – Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. That’s right, Lizarazu became a Euro champ in 2009 in the blue belt category. How’s that for a career change?
