Yahoo Sports France manager Didier Deschamps reduces boos to provincial rivalries
Playing at the Groupama Stadium, the home of Olympique Lyonnais, it didn’t always feel as though France were the home side as they took on Belgium in the UEFA Nations League.
Pre-match, the names of certain players were booed. Former Olympique de Marseille midfielder Mattéo Guendouzi was booed, for obvious reasons given his past as an OM player; as was captain Kylian Mbappé, criticised for comments made prior to the match against Italy. Former OL winger Bradley Barcola was also booed. He has not been forgiven for joining Paris Saint-Germain.
However, Didier Deschamps’ name was also booed pre-match. Whilst he led Les Bleus to glory in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, his popularity is not at an all-time high after an underwhelming Euro 2024 campaign, during which France’s play-style came in for wide-spread criticism.
However, speaking post-match, Deschamps stated that the boos, which he did not hear at the time as he was in the dressing room, may have been a reaction to something else entirely. “I won’t point my finger at one club more than another. It is the only regret when we go and play in the provinces (away from Paris) that there can be this type of reaction. I’m not worried about that even if I knew that, for different reasons, I don’t have a lot of unconditional supporters in Lyon,” said Deschamps.
The France manager is almost certainly, first and foremost, referring to his time spent as manager at arch-rivals Marseille – a role he occupied before taking the helm of the France set-up.
