Before France v England and the farewell of Didier Deschamps, how past France managers signed off | OneFootball

Didier Deschamps bows out on Saturday at 23:00, when France face England in the third-place play-off. L'Équipe revisits how his most storied predecessors signed off.

Michel Hidalgo left in 1984 on a high. Two years after the 1982 heartbreak, 3-3 then 4-5 on pens, France won Euro 1984, beating Spain 2-0 after Luis Arconada fumbled Michel Platini's free-kick.

Aimé Jacquet departed at the summit in 1998, delivering France's first World Cup with a 3-0 win over Brazil on home soil after years of criticism.

Roger Lemerre added Euro 2000, then fell in 2002. World and European holders, France failed to score in the groups, losing 1-0 to Senegal, drawing 0-0 with Uruguay, then 2-0 to Denmark.

Raymond Domenech's farewell was the bleakest. France crashed out of the 2010 groups amid the Knysna scandal, lost 2-0 to Mexico and 2-1 to South Africa, and he refused Carlos Alberto Parreira's handshake.

Gérard Houllier's end in 1993 was calamitous. Needing one point from two games for the 1994 World Cup, France lost 3-2 to Israel then 2-1 to Bulgaria, Emil Kostadinov scoring at the death.

Henri Michel's promising tenure soured. After Olympic gold in 1984 and a 1986 semi-final after beating Brazil, he left following a 1-1 draw with Cyprus early in 1990 qualifying, with Michel Platini taking over.

Jacques Santini's was the most unlikely. At Euro 2004, France were stunned 1-0 by Greece in the quarter-finals, after Santini had announced a post-tournament move to Tottenham with France among the favourites.

Source: L'Équipe