“For the trip to Metz in June (1st or 2), we will go by train. It is settled and recorded. » In a long interview with Le Figaro published on Thursday, Philippe Diallo had a smile when announcing this information. After setting a roadmap for all selections last October, insisting in particular on making all trips of less than three hours by train and not by plane, the president of the FFF had to review his plans for the A’s streak in March. This Friday, Didier Deschamps’ French team will travel to Lyon by plane, the same situation for Marseille on Monday. A disavowal that the former CEO of the 3F wanted to sweep away.
“Today, 85% of the trips of our national teams are made by train,” says the boss of the FFF, “as was the case for the Espoirs or even the women in their last matches. The movement initiated is underway in a major way. On the A, I wanted the French team to travel in this way for journeys of less than three hours. Two criteria were important: player recovery and security. We have done the studies, no attack has been made against the SNCF which has worked well, and I noticed that everything was not in place for this international sequence. So I decided not to do it. What seems surprising for the common man, to say within one or two hours it’s the same thing, for very high level players it’s not the same.
According to our information, several reasons explain this refusal. When consulted, the executives of the French team did not wish, given the limited time between the Lyon and Marseille meetings, with the backdrop of the desire for maximum recovery in an overloaded club calendar with the European Cups, respond favorably in March. “I take all responsibility, it’s my decision,” assumes Philippe Diallo, who consulted all the parties concerned, Didier Deschamps and his staff, as well as the players, without forgetting security and the SNCF. These discussions are carried out and no one is closed. The proof, for the trip to Metz in June. The conditions are met. »
Why Metz rather than Lyon and Marseille? And why not Bordeaux too with a meeting scheduled for June 9? “We are doing Metz and not Lyon or Marseille, for questions of timetables, security, recovery, more favorable timetable,” deciphers the president of the FFF, without specifying whether the train will be entirely privatized for the French team or no, discretion requires. For Lyon, we studied the idea of taking a private train, on Paris-Lyon, there is so much traffic that it is not possible. And the times did not suit us for recovering the players. Things are progressing and our France A team will be on the train soon. I’m trying to push for action, it takes time, things are going on the right track. » To be confirmed in time.
