There’s no need to ask the Montreal Impact’s coaching staff who they’ll be rooting for come Sunday’s World Cup final. All four were born in France and have ties that go way back to the French national team.
But even more important for head coach Rémi Garde is his personal connections with some of France’s players that were formed in Lyon’s Academy when he was still with the club. Samuel Umtiti for example, who scored the winner against Belgium during the semi-final, was one of Garde’s former students, having been brought up in Lyon’s academy.
“Seeing Umtiti score that goal truly warmed my heart,” said Rémi Garde. “To see Hugo (Lloris) make fantastic saves, to remember the goalie he was when he came to Lyon from Nice, and to see the goalie he’s become now, especially due to the work he did with Joël, is amazing. If we add (Corentin) Tolisso and (Nabil) Fekir as well, there’s a certain highlight on Lyon’s academy that’s nice to see.”
Garde played an essential role in forming these particular players, who were all trained at Lyon’s academy when Garde was in the thick of things with the club, from his time in charge of recruiting from 2007 to 2010, to being named head of the academy in 2010, and from his time as head coach, from 2011 to 2014.
“These were obviously very talented players, but quite honestly, they weren’t the ones with the most talent,” added Garde. “They were the ones who worked extremely hard, who had an enormous character, and who respected the nature of the job in training.”
Today, Samuel Umtiti is the starting centre back for FC Barcelona, playing next to Spaniard Gerard Piqué. Tolisso plays with German powerhouse Bayern Munich, Fekir is part of Lyon’s starting 11, while Hugo Lloris is one of the Premier League’s top goalies with Tottenham.
“They suffered and went through difficult moments, because there was a lot of competition when I was head coach,” said Garde. “But with a strong mentality, which is necessary to go through football’s many challenges today, they progressed. Needless to say, my colleagues and I are particularly happy and proud of them.”
It will all go down on Sunday. And if France was one of the top favourites before the tournament even started, the Croats will most certainly not be a pushover. It definitely makes for a fitting ending to what’s been an unforgettable tournament.
