Ten Years Ago, 1998

July 19th, 2008 | by: Laurie |

First thing. If you haven’t seen the get-together of the France 1998 team in the charity match from last weekend, you need to download the game. Now. http://www.megaupload.com/?d=E1XNKRIJ. (Thanks, Sandrahn!!) Up towards the top right, it will give you a three-letter combination to input. Then click on “Download.” Once you do that, you’ll have to either fork over money or wait a little bit for the download to start. (I waited. It’s not a big deal.)

Once the download starts, it will take a few hours to complete (depending on you internet speed.)

But once it’s downloaded? Magic.

Zizou is still amazing. His every touch on the ball is startlingly good. Still.

And Barthez is a pleasant surprise. I mean… You know your eccentric cousin? The one who’s disappeared for the last year, and you figured he was a homeless drug addict somewhere? And then he shows up at the family reunion in a three-piece suit and gives you a business card that says he’s the marketing manager for a Fortune 500 company? That’s our Fabien. He’s still the same, and doing okay. And surprisingly still very good at what he does.

And young people everywhere are watching Bixente Lizarazu and saying, “You mean the TV guy played FOOTBALL?!?!”

And everybody else is just… Oh my. Trezeguet… Thuram… Desailly… Blanc… Still our guys. Just…older. (And aren’t we all.) Didier Deschamps goes in for a tackle, and I’m thinking, “Honey, you’re turning forty in a couple of months. That’s going to hurt tomorrow!!”

Yes, they’re older. They’re slower. They’re less precise. (Aren’t we all.)

And yet they’re still the same. If you’re a France fan, you need to watch the video.

And here are a few photos to whet your appetite.

The team

The memories

Still magic.

Aimé, the trophy still belongs to you

So many good years

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Jean Pierre

Omg Nice!!! Thanks so much its cool
outa control

wow, what a game!!!

some of these guys should still be playing. any one what happen to petit?
http://france.worldcupblog.org Laurie

Petit was apparently taking a stand against the overcommercialization of these types of events:

http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/breves2008/20080707_130601_france-98-sans-emmanuel-petit_Dev.html

L’absence de Petit n’est pas une surprise. Dans son autobiographie publiée il y a quelques semaines (A fleur de peau, éditions Prolongations), il expliquait avoir décidé de «tirer un trait définitif sur le football professionnel» et de rompre avec «l’hypocrisie d’un milieu où aucune vérité n’est bonne à dire».

And from the man himself:

http://www.myfreesport.fr/sports/football/equipe-de-france/0/france-98-petit-explique-son-absence-48907.html

La raison de son boycott: la tournure marketing prise par l’association France 98. …

“Au début, le but de l’association était simple, redonner de l’amour, aider des gens en détresse morale ou en souffrance physique, a-t-il expliqué. Il y a eu un impact conséquent, magnifique. Pour les sinistrés des inondations du Gard ou par rapport à AZF, par exemple. Et puis, ça s’est ensuite réduit à des matches ou tournois évènementiels sponsorisés par Orange et Canal +, qui a six champions du monde sous contrat. Ca permet à certains joueurs d’entretenir leur image, de gagner de l’argent. On a dévié de la trajectoire initiale. Il y a un mélange des genres, à la base, c’est une association à but non lucratif.”

So he’s upset with Orange and Canal+ using these things as an opportunity to burnish the image of the stars they have under contract, among other things. Or maybe he’s just upset that he’s not one of the six world champions under contract? Or perhaps a little of both?
glatisant

You know, from a certain perspective, it’s just a game. Overcommercialized and ultimately meaningless? From a certain perspective, sure.

This is the last time I’ll get to see Makélélé, Thuram, and Trezeguet in blue. That is the perspective I’m taking.
glatisant

You know, from a certain perspective, it’s just a game. Overcommercialized and ultimately meaningless? From a certain perspective, sure.

This is the last time I’ll ever get to see Makélélé, Thuram, and Trezeguet in blue. That is the perspective I’m taking.
glatisant

…stupid server.
http://france.worldcupblog.org Laurie
lefutur

Did they purposely want to make the opposing team look stupid in those jerseys?
outa control

i read the list of players from the link o your (laurie)comment but i did not see some of the players listed there i.e anelka, wiltord,viera ect..and on the other team, buffon, anderson etc…

and for petit, “fight the power” am all for solidarity.

thanks always for the info laurie and gang
sandrahn

Buffon and Anderson were not there. The only Italian who played was Zola. I loved watching this game.
Jean Pierre

Anyone knows the line-up of the opposing team?
Via

Henry was not there? Anyway, thanks very much – I’ll watch it for sure:)