“At least he’s not tired,” Didier Deschamps observed sardonically. It was September and Antoine Griezmann was in the latest circle of a recurring nightmare. Back at Atlético Madrid on loan after a gruesome two seasons at Barcelona, Griezmann found himself in the surreal position of being allowed to play only 30 minutes per game, lest an automatic buy clause in his deal be triggered. And so for several weeks, despite being fully fit, Griezmann would watch from the bench, before being wheeled out as a substitute on the hour mark.
Still, you could rely on the France manager to put a positive spin on things. Of all the stalwarts of the Deschamps era, it is Griezmann with whom he seems to have the closest bond of all, an almost paternal connection that has held firm through the toughest of times. Even as Griezmann withered away at Barcelona, even as he languished on the bench in Madrid, even when it seemed as though the peak years of this extraordinary footballer were winnowing away, Deschamps’ faith in his talismanic forward never wavered. Now, in their third World Cup together, we are seeing the results.
