EXCLUSIVE | Franck Leboeuf on winning the World Cup: ‘Every day French people come up to me and say “thank you”‘ | OneFootball

Ahead of France’s first appearance at the World Cup, Get French Football News spoke exclusively to World Cup winner Franck Leboeuf.

In this final part of a four-part interview, Franck talks about what it feels like to play in a World Cup final – and to be a world champion.

You are arguably the best example of what can happen when you set your ego aside and be a part of the squad – you end up playing in the 1998 World Cup final! What did that mean to you?

Well, I tell myself that I have amazing guardian angels up above who protect me!

I played in the last group match against Denmark and then did not expect to play again. But then unfortunately and unfairly Laurent Blanc was sent off [in the semi-final]. And I had to be ready and step up, that was my job. That is what Aimé Jacquet had asked of me.

And it’s funny – Jacquet didn’t speak to me in the three days between the semi-final and the final and I complained about it 10-15 years later and he told me “but I didn’t need to talk to you, I knew it was all fine”. He said “I had full confidence in you, I’d known you since 1992, I didn’t have any concerns. I made a choice, but I knew that from the moment you were on the pitch you would do the job”. And it’s true that that’s how it went.

And for me it is like a fairy tale because it’s not like it was a random World Cup match and I played OK. I had to deal with Ronaldo, and when it wasn’t him it was Rivaldo, and if not him then Bebeto – because they were all looking to target me. And, like all my friends, I had a great match.

It’s a matter of pride, a matter of ego but also one of humility because you know that you are going to play against great players who will make you work for it. So I played the match of my life – along with Cup finals and European finals with Chelsea – but for my country it was the match of my life and every day people speak to me about it. And the French people who speak to me, they don’t say “well played” – they say “thank you”.

I wish for other players that they experience that because it is an amazing feeling. For us it was so particular because it was our first time, it was in France, it was against Brazil, so that will never be equalled. But it’s true that every day I have “oh, Monsieur Leboeuf, world champions, thank you, it was amazing, what a party we had throughout the summer of 1998!” And it’s true – it was magnificent!

Franck Leboeuf was speaking exclusively to Get French Football News courtesy of Betinia

GFFN | Jeremy Smith