DESCHAMPS WILL STAY

The French national team manager Didier Deschamps set for an extended stay in his role as the national team manager after it was revealed that the French Football Federation (FFF) are close to offering him a new contract that would take him until 2016. France recently qualified for the World Cup 2014 in extraordinary fashion after coming very close to being knocked out. They were involved in a play-off round against Ukraine, but they were defeated 1-0 in the first leg. Despite this disadvantage, France managed to make it into the finals after the spectacular 3-0 win in the second leg.

This helped them qualify 3-2 on aggregate, which meant that Deschamps’ stock has risen massively in the last few hours. He was brought in as the replacement for Laurent Blanc, whose team did not do well at the European championships. There was a danger of Deschamps leaving his role as the national team manager had France failed to make it into the finals. Now that they have done so, Deschamps will remain in charge until the Euro 2016. France last lifted the World Cup back in 1998, but they are not one of the favourites to do so this time around due to the presence of teams like Spain, Brazil and Italy.

“Didier Deschamps will remain until 2016, it was bound to happen. It was a perfect night and I have never seen such a fiery stadium. The players showed a lot of courage and desire. It is a feat. It could be the start of something for us,” said FFF chairman Noel Le Graet after qualification was sealed by France. It is expected that Le Graet will be meeting with the national team manager in the next few days in order to discuss extending the deal, which would be significant in France’s recovery.