Deschamps, Keller, Platini: Noël Le Graët talks about his succession to the FFF

INTERVIEW

Noël Le Graët will he be back for a new term?

The president of the French Football Federation, at the head of the institution since 2011, has still not announced whether or not he will stand for re-election or not in the next elections next year.

"For the moment I have not made a decision. I will take the decision during the assembly in December, since the election will take place in March", confirmed Noël Le Graët, in the program Face to listeners from Europe 1.

The 78-year-old president of the FFF still agreed to discuss his succession.

And among the potential heirs, he mentioned the cases of Didier Deschamps, Marc Keller (current president of RC Strasbourg) and… Michel Platini.

>> The entire interview with Noël Le Graët "Facing the listeners of Europe 1" can be heard on Saturday evening from 8 pm to 9 pm

"I told Didier Deschamps that he should go one day"

Noël Le Graët repeated it: Didier Deschamps has everything, according to him, to make a perfect president of the FFF.

"I told Didier Deschamps that he should go there one day. He has of course the knowledge of football, he knows how to count and that you know it well, I know it too. He also knows how to deal with sponsors and he is very good at communication ", assured the former president of Guingamp.

Except that the coach of the Blues does not seem to be excited about the job, at least in the short term.

"I tease him often but a little less at the moment because I feel that it will be difficult (that he is a candidate) in the next two years", admitted Noël Le Graët, while the Blues will play this summer l 'Euro, postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Marc Keller, "someone remarkable"

The president of the FFF said to look for his succession "rather in the presidents of Ligue 1".

"But the difficulty for them is that you have to leave the club, and that's hard," he warned.

"Some would like it, like Jean-Michel Aulas", added Noël Le Graët.

The boss of Olympique Lyonnais did not hide his intention to one day run for the presidency of the FFF, but he remains a divisive figure.

Noël Le Graët mentioned another track: the one leading to Marc Keller, the current president of the Strasbourg Racing club, who brought the Alsatian club back to Ligue 1 in a few years.

"There is also my friend from Strasbourg, someone remarkable and younger," said Le Graët, referring to the former attacking midfielder.

Michel Platini?

"I lost sight of him"

And what about Michel Platini?

"I don't know if he wants to, but I don't think so. I don't mean that he wouldn't make a great president, he has had functions that allow him to lead a federation without a problem. 've lost sight of it a bit so I do not know what his intentions are, "commented Noël Le Graët of the former UEFA president, now on the sidelines of the football world since his conviction in the "Fifagate" case.  

"A former player can run the Federation perfectly well, but…"

Noël Le Graët also slipped a (small) tackle to Luis Fernandez, who is trying to mobilize a competing list for the presidency of the FFF with the help of former glories of the France team.

"A former player can perfectly manage the federation, provided he knows how to surround himself. At the federation there is certainly football, the France team, but also the commercial side and the sponsors. He also has relations with the State, with FIFA, with UEFA ”, warned the boss of the FFF.  

"You have to find someone younger and more competent, whether a player or not. The possibility is always open to those who want to, provided they win the election. It is not enough to say ' I want to go ', but we have to win, ”added Le Graët.

"Then you have to have a good team around you. It's like a football team, you can't work alone."