Hatem Ben Arfa, French midfielder, asked Didier Deschamps to resign in France in order to avoid perpetuating the team's "poor and ugly" style of play during the 2018 World Cup. He also believes it could prevent the "Bleus" from qualifying for the next Euro Cup.
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In an article published today by the magazine "France Football", the player, who has a contract with Paris Saint-Germain despite not being part of their coaching staff or owners' plans, admits to being the "party pooper" of the celebrations, but believes it is necessary to look beyond the victory in Russia.
"It would be dangerous to hide behind the second star to turn French football into a global reference (...) The style and ultra-poor identity of the French team is quite ugly," said Hatem Ben Arfa.
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He also stated that he would not want that way of understanding football to become fashionable in training centers.
According to Ben Arfa, the French players behaved during the World Cup as "speculators who were mostly betting on the mistakes of their opponents", a tactic that "is not spectacular but very effective".
But he warns that with this strategy they are not safe from a bad surprise in the qualifying phase for the next Euro Cup, as they will face many opponents who will wait for them defensively to "set the same trap".
Furthermore, he believes that France cannot be content with winning that way when they have talents like Griezmann, Fekir, Mbappé, or Dembelé, and considers it a waste when they could be "more daring".
In contact with some members of the team, Ben Arfa stated that "they are not against an evolution of the game" to propose something more offensive.
In light of this, Ben Arfa concludes that Deschamps should leave at the peak with this good result, just as Zinedine Zidane did as the coach of Real Madrid after winning the third Champions League.
"His successor should take advantage of the technical potential to 'free' the talent and create a beautiful French style of play, like the Brazilians have. And not just enjoy the results," he said.
Source: EFE