France team: Raphael Varane ends his international career
Never two without three! The parable refers to the news of the French team. After Hugo Lloris and Steve Mandanda, another 2018 world champion has gone. And neither: Raphaël Varane. The latter, who has been wondering about the future of his adventure with the Blues, which began against Georgia on March 22, 2013 for several weeks, made the news official on Instagram on Thursday afternoon, as reported by France’s Le Parisien-Aujourd’hui. .
He wrote on the social network: “Representing our great country for ten years has been one of the greatest honors of my life. Every time I put on this special blue jersey, I felt a great sense of pride. The duty to give it my all, play with my heart and win every time I step on the field. I have been thinking about this for a few months now and have decided that the time is right for me to retire from international football. »
In recent days, Raphaël Varane was still thinking about the pros and cons, but the idea of stopping prevailed. His 93rd selection against Argentina in the World Cup final, which went down in history on December 18 and played until the 113th minute, will remain his last. Such a choice, when it concerns a player who is not yet 30 years old (he will be on April 25), creates surprises, even difficulties.
Spend more time with your family
In fact, the tricolor defensive manager begins to experience some form of physical and psychological wear and tear. He also tries to spend more time with his family. In his opinion, he made this final against Messi’s Albiceleste the pinnacle of his international career. The bitter disappointment of losing on penalties must have fed his thinking.
Trained in Lens and turned pro in 2010, has gained a wealth of experience since then. He collected trophies at the club, Real Madrid, as well as with the French team, notably the World Cup and four Champions Leagues (he did not play in the final in 2016). Moreover, the Mancunian has not escaped physical problems in recent years. To protect his knee, he claims he now benefits from longer recovery periods in the season. As he missed Euro 2016 due to a thigh problem, as we recall, his participation in the 2022 World Cup has long been suspended following the thigh injury he suffered against Chelsea on October 22nd.
We still remember how he left the square in tears on October 22. At that time, he imagined that he would have to give up Qatar’s history. Through his hard work and determination, he was able to offer enough assurance to the squad to be retained on the 25-man roster announced on November 9. On the bench for the first match against Australia, he worked hard in training to get back into the starting line-up against Denmark and never left it afterwards. Throughout the competition, he was impeccable in his position as he asserted his leadership with the group. Although he did not have the reputation of a vocal leader, his words carried more weight.
His rant in uninterrupted France-Poland
In their last 16 semi-final against Poland, the vice-captain thus reminded his partners that they were “living a dream” but “that dream could end at any moment”, especially if France did not show a better face. the second half. The message was heard (3-1). The respect that Varane inspires in everyone within the collective, from the youngest to the most experienced, is immense. After the withdrawal of Hugo Lloris, everyone agreed to promise him the captaincy. The decision of the latter, with whom he was very close, to bow in Mavi also weighed on Varan’s introspection.
Of course, the prospect of being invested with the armband has not made Varane indifferent to his commitment to the French team and the quality of his relationship with Didier Deschamps and his staff. He welcomes this as a sign of unwavering confidence. Euro 2024, the only major competition not on the CV, represents an exciting target. The 2026 World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, on the other hand, seems a distant horizon to him.
“We have talented young players”
But in light of the World Cup’s progress, vice-captain Upamekano was able to convince of the quality of the next generation embodied by Konate (who replaced him in the final) and even Disasi. The emergence of these young talents, he believes, will make his succession less problematic. Throughout the competition, he also became aware of the beginnings of a generational gap. Now feeling a little less connected to Giroud, the youngest and without Lloris and perhaps too soon, left rather uncertain about his future in selection, he decided that perhaps future meetings would be a little longer.
“I will definitely miss those moments with you, but it’s time for a new generation to take over. We have a group of talented young players who are ready to take over, deserve a chance and need you,” he said on Instagram.
For all these reasons and other reasons related to the intimate area, which he will explain shortly, Varan bows. With his departure, in any case, many more beautiful pages of the blues will be closed.
