Former Chelsea midfielder and current Marseille manager Didier Deschamps has taken over as the next French national team manager from Laurent Blanc, who decided to step down from his position after not renewing his contract. The former Bordeaux manager whose contract was coming to an end after the Euro 2012 decided not to extend his contract with the national team, but instead choosing to go for a club team. He was linked with the vacant Tottenham managerial positions, which has now been filled by former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas. Didier Deschamps has said that he knows the importance of the work that needs to be done in order to make France competitive once again.

Despite having a very talented squad, the French were not able to get past the quarter-final stage of the Euro 2012, although it was still a much better finish to the campaign than in the previous two major tournaments. A lot of indiscipline and infighting within the squad has been the reasons for France not performing well at the international level. Didier Deschamps has said that his main priority will be to clean up the disciplinary problems within the squad. France will be hosting the Euro 2020.

“I’m something of a perfectionist. I’m not here to threaten people or what have you, I am trusting, but today the situation in French football is such that the players can no longer make mistakes. Given the history that dates back to 2010, professional football players who wear the team jersey of France have very important duties. Today, players cannot afford the slightest deviation. I will not analyse what happened in Ukraine. I will take time to reflect, to have a deep think as I always do, while awaiting the decision of the Disciplinary Committee,” said Deschamps at his announcement as the next national team manager.