303. Didier Deschamps

Didier Deschamps - 279.91 Performance Pts

Born: 15/10/1968    Bayonne, France                       

Position: Midfielder     Height: 1.74m    Weight: 71kg

Mario Zagallo, Franz Beckenbauer, and thanks to France's success under his management in 2018, Didier Deschamps. Men who've won the World Cup as a player, and a manager - a very select club. Deschamps' success as a player came at France 98, where he lifted the trophy as captain; he was also skipper when France won the Euros two years later. He retired from international duty straight after this second success, with a final tally of 103 caps. He was referred to as the 'water-carrier', to signify that he would do the fetching and carrying, the less glamorous side of the midfielder's role, to allow the likes of Zidane to flourish. His club career began with Nantes, starting out in 1985, before moving to Marseille 4 years later. His 5-year spell there yielded 2 Ligue Un titles, plus the 1993 Champions League, and included a loan spell with Bordeaux. His 1994 move to Juventus led to the most successful period of his career. Having won the first of his 3 Serie A titles in his first season, Juve went on to win the 1996 Champions League, and were runners-up in the competition for the next 2 years. Had Real Madrid not defeated Juventus in the 1998 final, Deschamps (along with club and international teammate Zidane) could have secured a treble that year, having been part of the Serie A winning side, prior to the French triumph at the World Cup. Latterly he spent a season each with Chelsea and Valencia, before retiring and embarking on his managerial career. He was close to early success in his first managerial post, reaching the 2004 Champions League final with Monaco. Since then, he's managed 2 of his former clubs - Juventus (winning promotion back to Serie A in 2007, following the Calciopoli scandal) and Marseille (winning Ligue Un in 2010 in his first season - their first title in 18 years). He's overseen the French national team since 2012. 



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