France coach Didier Deschamps is on the verge of making history after guiding Les Bleus to the World Cup final.
Deschamps, if France beat Argentina in the final, the former Marseille coach will become the first man ever to win the World Cup twice as the coach and once as a player.
The stocky midfielder in his playing days, helped France to their first World Cup title in 1998 on home soil, where they started the tournament by crushing Bafana Bafana 3-0 in the opening group stage match in Marseille.
France, who had missed the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, went on to beat defending champions Brazil 3-0 in the final and Deschamps as the captain lifted the cup aloft.
He was then given the France job in July 2012 after a disappointing European Championship in the same year, replacing his 1998 World Cup teammate Laurent Blanc.
However, while he improved France by taking them to the Euro final on home soil in 2016, losing to Portugal, signs were clear that France were on the right path under the former combative midfielder.
Two years later in Russia, things came together for France and Deschamps was able to glee, as Les Bleus beat Croatia 4-2 in the final. It meant Deschamps became just the third man to win the competition as a player and coach – following Brazil’s Mario Zagallo and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer.
As France won 4-2, they became the first team to score four goals in a World Cup final since Brazil beat Italy 4-1 in 1970, the game Zagallo was the coach of Selecao.
Zagallo, as a player, had won the World Cup with Brazil in 1958, scoring in the 5-2 victory over Sweden with the great Pele also on the score sheet.
He repeated the trick as a player in 1962 as Brazil defeated Czechoslovakia 3-1 in Chile before leading Brazil as a coach four years later to the title against the Azzurri.
Beckenbauer was part of the West Germany side that succeeded Brazil in 1974, winning 3-0 against a Netherlands side packed with star names such as Johan Neeskens, Ruud Krol and Johan Cruijff in the final, with Berti Vogts, Paul Bretner and Gert Muller scoring the goals.
Then the 77-year-old led West Germany in their World Cup triumph in 1990, as the coach when they beat defending champions and Diego Maradona’s side Argentina in Rome.
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While Zagallo and Beckenbauer have achieved a rare feat with Deschamps, the Frenchman is on the verge of the coronation of his own.
If France beat Argentina at Lusail Iconic Stadium on Sunday in Qatar (17:00), he will make history to be the first to win the World Cup once as a player and twice as a coach.
If France also beat Argentina, Deschamps will become the second man to win the World Cup twice as a coach, after the late Vittorio Pozzo won two with Italy in 1934 and 1938.
