Dongguan (China) (AFP)
Stade de France-1998, Twickenham-1999, Zagreb-2009 and now Dongguan-2019: the monumental feat of the French basketball players against the Americans in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in China is part of the pantheon of the greatest performances of collective sports French.
. Saint-Denis-1998: the most historic
And 1! And 2! And 3-0! July 12, 1998 remains the most memorable date of the French sport, the first coronation of Aimé Jacquet footballers at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, and a popular break on the Champs-Élysées that followed.
In "their" World Cup, the Blues led by Didier Deschamps do not arrive with the favor of predictions, criticized in the press after friendly matches unconvincing in the spring.
Expected by a whole people, however, the French cross the stages one after the other, the last before the final against Croatia on a doubled Lilian Thuram (2-1).
The dream finale against the Brazilians, world champions, favorites of the competition and led by Ronaldo, a real star planet, takes place, in the emblematic enclosure of French football, built for the event.
Zinédine Zidane's two impulses and Emmanuel Petit's fantastic ride put the meeting into the myth of French team sports.
. Twickenham-1999: the most stunning
In 1999, the rugby world rugby favorite was New Zealand, who was beaten four years earlier in the final by South Africa and has the impressive Jonah Lomu, unstoppable once thrown balloon in hand.
In the semifinal, France stands on the way of the All Blacks. A few weeks earlier, the French XV had been crushed 54 to 7 by New Zealand during his tour in the southern hemisphere.
If the start of the game turns to the advantage of teammates Fabien Galthié (10-6), New Zealanders restore the order of things very quickly and escape to the score with 14 points ahead of the second Lomu test (24-10).
But the French are clinging and gradually reversing the trend, on crazy races of Christophe Dominici on 50 meters or Philippe Bernat-Salles on more than 80 meters, and kicks of the metronome Christophe Lamaison.
In the end, the players of Jean-Claude Skrela win 43 to 31. A win without a future since in the final, the Blues make the weapons against Australia a week later at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff.
Eight years later, it is in this same Millenium Stadium that the French will inflict a new defeat to the All Blacks, in the quarterfinals of the 2007 World Cup this time.
Here again, a feat that will remain without tomorrow since they will give in half against the English rival, then against Argentina in the match for the 3rd place.
. Zagreb-2009: the most mastered
In January 2009, French handball players are still at the beginning of the exceptional epic of Experts, which will bring them to the top for many years (Olympic champions 2008 and 2012, world champions 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2017 , European champions 2010 and 2014).
Sacred under the Rings the year before in Beijing with Nikola Karabatic, Thierry Omeyer, Daniel Narcisse or Luc Abalo, they appear a few months later in Croatia, sacred land of handball.
Ivano Balic's teammates, Olympic champions in 2004, still keep the elimination in Beijing against France in the semifinals, and want their revenge at home.
In a hostile atmosphere, Claude Onesta's Blues remained in contact with the Croats for a whole part of the match, before accelerating in the middle of the second half to put out the 15,000 spectators at the Zagreb Arena.
This performance comes eight years after the masterpiece of the "Beef" for the last of Daniel Costantini, winners of Sweden Magnus Wislander and Stefan Lövgren, Paris-Bercy.
© 2019 AFP