France faces weight of history in bid to retain World Cup
French football has had a bad reputation in the past after the loss of its most treasured trophy.
But a new challenge is now at hand as the country, and football fans in particular, face the prospect of a second World Cup finals in three years as it prepares to face the United States in Moscow next year.
Despite recent success, France is no longer the invincible nation it once was. It is not even the same team as three years ago, having been relegated to the second tier of European football for the first time in its history.
And, as the country faces a significant economic crisis and a general feeling of gloom in Europe following the recent deaths of popular rocker Johnny Hallyday, former president of France’s football federation, and philosopher and politician Jean-Claude Letterman, it is in danger of losing its reputation for sporting invincibility.
“In the past, the French always won the World Cup,” former French captain and France coach Henri Michel told Associated Press. “We have to recover our place in the history of football and we do it with sports like football and cycling.”
A new challenge
The new challenge facing France, a nation that has never been to the World Cup’s elite stage, is to regain its place in history.
“One of the first and most important things is to recover our dignity,” Michel said. “At the moment, one thing doesn’t exist: our national team is not being recognized globally as a football team.
“The new challenge is to recover our dignity and to be recognized on an international level.”
If France fails in this mission, it will end up in a similar position to that of the 1970s team that lost its chance of gaining a third World Cup since 1998, losing to eventual champions Argentina in the semi-final.
France, in the 1970s, lost its second World Cup in four years and was then humiliated by Australia in the quarterfinals. The 1978 team lost to Uruguay in the quarterfinals and was also humiliated by Argentina in the semi-finals.
But, after being eliminated in the second round by Brazil, the two teams’ failures at the 1966 and 1982 World Cups were largely forgotten, something Michel believes France’s current squad must avoid.
“In the last 20
