Marcel Desailly Quotes

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Marcel Desailly

Profession : Footballer

Birth : September 7, 1968

Didier was always mature for his age. You might find it hard to believe now because he is not the biggest guy around, but when he was a young teenager he was actually physically ahead of most of his generation. We caught up with him, of course, and then most of us overtook him.

Marcel Desailly

Didier was always a leader but a leader through the collective. He has always known how to gee his teammates up and help get the best out of them.

Marcel Desailly

Playing against your club team-mate for an international match, or vice versa, is a rather strange situation to find yourself in.

Marcel Desailly

By leading Les Bleus to a second triumph, 20 years after being our captain when we won the World Cup in France, Didier became only the third man to have won the competition as both player and manager.

Marcel Desailly

One thing's for sure - Africa needs to have its best teams at the World Cup.

Marcel Desailly

Any team that wins a competition will celebrate, of course, there's nothing more normal.

Marcel Desailly

It's much easier to fight for your teammates when you get on well with them, when there is harmony in the squad.

Marcel Desailly

At the same age, I would say Thierry did not have the same ability as Mbappe but he had intelligence, brain and the desire to become the best.

Marcel Desailly

I remember Henry left Monaco for Juventus and that it didn't really work out for him. He made the right choice to join Arsenal and find a manager who would help bring out the best in him. That's why choices are so important.

Marcel Desailly

Mbappe needs time and we mustn't rush him. But I have great faith in his ability to succeed because I can see the work he puts in for the collective. He offers solutions with his runs, his willingness to make himself available and even take knocks for the team.

Marcel Desailly

One of Didier's great qualities is the way he controls his squad. He's the boss.

Marcel Desailly

I'm a great believer in sport as a vector for change.

Marcel Desailly

Mbappe and Dembele have shown they are ready to perform for their nation.

Marcel Desailly

Any France midfield would not be complete without the magician, Zinedine Zidane.

Marcel Desailly

His control, the ability to change the tempo of a game, his eye for a pass - Zidane had it all. He created space, for himself and particularly for his team-mates. His technique was unparalleled, exceptional. It's very simple - if you wanted a show, Zidane was your man.

Marcel Desailly

Maxime Bossis was the complete defender. Great agility, and with his long legs he was speedy, very quick. Strong physically when he needed to be, he also knew how to step up, bring the ball forward, even though he never had the midfield background like Laurent Blanc. I was lucky enough to play alongside Max at Nantes for a year.

Marcel Desailly

To compete with Spain and France you have to copy the model that we have established in the clubs. You have to start from the beginning, by creating the infrastructure. You have to have good coaches who enable youth players to understand and read the game.

Marcel Desailly

Spain, with their player development model, has been able to sustain a league that keeps all their players in the system and thus the national team is benefiting.

Marcel Desailly

In France, we lose all our players to other leagues and our own league cannot benefit from the talent we produce.

Marcel Desailly

In '98, we were not the best team. But after that, we had the anger to prove to the whole world we were the best. From '99 to '01, we were No 1. With that there is stress, pressure, and we did not handle it when the World Cup came in 2002.

Marcel Desailly