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No more suits!
French players plea for the real fans to stand up
Posted: Friday July 10, 1998 10:47 AM
Special from L'Equipe, the French sports daily
PARIS (L'Equipe) -- Forget the technical blurb, all the "Bleus" wanted to
discuss Thursday morning was the fans' lack of reaction inside the Stade de
France when
they came on the pitch.
They're sad, disappointed. "People come to the park like it's a play, it
annoys me. When we came on the field, we saw people wearing dark suits, as
if they'd come to a funeral. That is not in the World Cup's spirit. I don't
know that we'll be able to loosen them up," team captain Didier Deschamps
said.
Marcel Desailly, who's used to Italian fans, is just asking for a little
effort. "I know there are boxes for companies, but those who take place in
them could avoid wearing suits. They should prove they're capable of being
fans. I don't ask them to wear France's jersey, but a blue polo shirt would
be nice," the Milan AC player said.
Chelsea player Frank Leboeuf, who knows about dressing up because he has
friends in London's most select circles, is idealistically asking for suits
and ties, which he called "an insult to soccer," to be forbidden.
It's kind of radical, but the fans' passivity is largely due to a mistake
by the French soccer federation, which only satisfied itself with creating
an official fan club for the national team.
The ticket prices and the ticket system have forced the real fans out of
the stadiums and into the streets. "People who love soccer, you find them
outside the stadium," coach Aimé Jacquet noted. That's where "the
real 12th man awaits us, not the one with a tight ass," Deschamps
added.
Stéphane Guivarch was surprised to have had to wait until the team
bus reached Paris to see people in a frenzy, standing on cars. "It's sad
that the people inside the stadium are not warm, and don't support France
100 percent," he said. "The numerous guests at the Stade de France don't
have the same reflexes as classical fans, whom you meet outside the
stadium. It's pathetic," Desailly added.
French players suggest that fans drop the suit and wear jeans, sneakers and a blue polo (AP) | |
The players and the 80,000 spectators obviously don't get along together.
"The blue-collar worker who thinks blue, white, red, from dusk till dawn is
not there, " Deschamps regretted. " There is no communion with these
people. With a 2-1 lead against Croatia and a
man out, I never felt any support. It's easy to do a wave when you score a
goal."
Fabien Barthez felt just the same. "It's easy to whistle at Croatian fans
in the middle of their chants. We felt like the French were telling them
'Shut up, there's a match going on, we can't hear the ball, we're going to
miss a key.' My buddy Dodo, he got yelled at because he stood up. It's not
a classical music concert with flutes, there should have been 80,000 people
standing up, they should let themselves go. It's the VIP's World Cup, while
the real fans are the French league's," the goalie said.
The players want to give the spectators a last chance, for the final.
Lionel Charbonnier even got a jersey with number 12 and "public" written on
it. "I hope people will wake up, Sunday. I don't feel like hearing samba
music for an hour and a half," Deschamps said, getting carried away.
To Lilian Thuram, it all depends on the kind of game they play and how
things turn out. "People were so tense, during the semifinal, that they
lived the match like we did. During the final, these people will be there
to make us believe in it, to carry us along," he said.
Will Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who was given a jersey by Christian
Karembeu, and President Jacques Chirac, who wore Robert Pires' jersey in
the locker room to celebrate the qualification for the final, set an
example? "The president should wear the French jersey, Nelson Mandela did
it," Leboeuf said.
"They should hand out flags and noisemakers to people, they should all drop
the tie, wear jeans and sneakers," Barthez added.
Copyright 1998, L'Equipe
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