Deschamps agrees to take France reins
Sunday, July 8, 2012
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Former Olympique de Marseille coach Didier Deschamps has taken charge of France's national team after agreeing to succeed his old international team-mate Laurent Blanc.
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Didier Deschamps has been unveiled as the new France coach by the French Football Federation (FFF) after Laurent Blanc stepped down following the side's quarter-final exit at UEFA EURO 2012.
The former Les Bleus midfielder left his post as coach of Olympique de Marseille on Monday after leading the Mediterranean club to the Ligue 1 title in 2009/10 and a trio of League Cup wins. "Noël Le Graët, the president of the FFF, and Didier Deschamps have finalised their discussions and reached an agreement for Mr Deschamps to take over as coach of the France team," read a statement from the FFF.
No details have yet been released as to the length of Deschamps's contract, but his first mission will be to lead Les Bleus through qualifying to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The former AS Monaco FC and Juventus coach appeared 103 times for France as a holding midfielder and captained the team to their triumphs at the 1998 World Cup and UEFA EURO 2000.
On the club stage, the 43-year-old began his career with FC Nantes and won the UEFA Champions League with Marseille in 1992/93, before again reaching the summit of the European game with Juventus in 1995/96. He enjoyed a successful five-year spell in Italy before spending a season with Chelsea FC and ending his playing career at Valencia CF.