France’s players returned to their clubs in the small hours of Wednesday emotionally drained by the events of the last few days, but with messages of thanks to their English hosts for a show of solidarity and support offered up at Wembley.
Didier Deschamps’ players, with the bereaved Lassana Diarra in their number, were afforded a rapturous reception by a crowd of more than 71,000 as they took to the pitch just four days after the terror attacks in Paris in which 132 people lost their lives. The stadium united in a rendition of La Marseillaise and observed an immaculate minute’s silence in tribute to those who died in the French capital, with Diarra’s introduction off the bench for the last 33 minutes a particularly poignant moment.
The Marseille midfielder lost his cousin Asta Diakité on Friday, though all France’s players – whose friendly against Germany at the Stade de France was targeted by suicide bombers – were profoundly affected by the events of last week. “The welcome given to us by the English, by the fans when we came out on to the pitch, through the anthems, then joining with the England players pre-match in the centre circle and, of course, the minute’s silence … all those things came together for a moment of huge emotion,” said Bacary Sagna. “I had tears in my eyes, as did my team-mates. Inevitably. Everyone did.
“I am French. And when something happens to the French people, it happens to me. Everything that happened on Friday will stay with us for a long time. Tomorrow, a week’s time, a year’s time … we will never forget what happened last Friday. This match had another side to it. It wasn’t just an ordinary game. But, as French, we wanted to fight. To compete. To show that we remained strong and united.”
There had been some initial trepidation within Deschamps’ squad over whether this game should proceed. “We have to thank the English for the reception they gave us, for their support over the last few days,” said the France captain, Hugo Lloris. “What they did for us was very strong, very moving. It was big of them. We’re in a privileged position in sport, and above all in football. We have a platform.
“We could send out a message through our solidarity with the English. That message was very strong, very emotional. We’ve thought a lot about the victims over the last few days – they have been in our thoughts throughout – and it was a good decision to play the game. You saw the pride to play for France, the pride we have to represent our country, the pride we have to be French, even if we’d have preferred a different result, a different performance.”
Lloris, like Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny, admitted the visitors had “lacked energy” as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat, with their preparations so utterly overshadowed by the sense of shock which lingers after Friday’s attacks. The players returned to Clairefontaine from the friendly against Germany at 4am on Saturday morning, and remained in lockdown at their training base over the weekend attempting to come to terms with what had happened.
“We are only human,” said the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Blaise Matuidi. “In our heads we wanted to perform, but not in our legs. There was nothing we could do. But at least we showed what real life is like: being united despite differences in nationality, differences in religion.”
“We all had trouble sleeping over the weekend, trouble concentrating,” added Sagna.
“We struggled to focus and the intensity just wasn’t there. But, by playing, we were sending out a bigger message. Football is a big part of all our lives, and part of our society, but there are far more important things in life than football. On Friday, people lost their lives.
“Again, I repeat: I am French and when something affects the French people, it affects me as well. Although we can’t put a smile back on the faces of the French people, this was the least we could do: to try and give all we could in support of the families of the victims.
“Lass [Diarra] has kept his head up through all of this. He has kept a smile on his face, and tried to speak with us all, stay involved with us all. I’ve lost people close to me in my family in the past, and it’s never easy.
“But he responded like the true professional he is. This was a difficult night but all of us, and not just the players involved, will have this game in our minds for a long time to come.”
