Ammon News - Didier Deschamps, the longest-serving France manager, ended his 14-year spell in the role after Les Bleus were beaten 6-4 by England in the third-place match at the World Cup on Saturday.

France lost 2-0 to Spain in the semi-finals on Tuesday.

Following are facts about Deschamps' playing and coaching career:
Born: October 15, ​1968, in Bayonne, France.

PLAYING CAREER
* Deschamps, a midfielder, made his Ligue 1 debut for Nantes in September 1985 before leaving ‌to join Olympique de Marseille four years later.

* Won the first of his 103 caps in 1989 as a substitute in a World Cup qualifier at home to Yugoslavia.

* After a brief stint at Girondins de Bordeaux he returned to Marseille, helping them clinch the league championship in 1990 and 1992 before achieving Champions League glory in ​1993.

MOVE TO ITALY
* Moved to Juventus in 1994 and won three Serie A titles plus the Champions League again in 1996.

WORLD CUP
* ​Captained France to a World Cup triumph on home soil in 1998 and followed that with Euro 2000 ⁠success before retiring from international football.

* In between the World Cup and Euro triumphs, Deschamps moved to Chelsea but left after a disappointing season ​to join Valencia, where he also played one term before retiring in 2001.

MANAGEMENT
* In 2001 became manager of AS Monaco and won the 2003 French ​League Cup before leading them to the 2004 Champions League final which they lost 3-0 to Porto.
* Resigned in September 2005 after a bad start to the season.

* Appointed Juventus coach in July 2006 following their demotion from Serie A due to a match-fixing scandal. After persuading several top players to stay, led the team straight back ​to the top flight despite a nine-point deduction.

* Resigned a week after Juve clinched promotion amid disagreements with club officials over the way ​forward in Serie A.

MARSEILLE RETURN
* Appointed successor to Eric Gerets as manager of Marseille for the 2009-10 season.

* Won French title in first season back at Marseille and ‌led theme ⁠to runners-up spot in 2011. Also won three successive League Cups from 2010 to 2012.

FRANCE
* Named France coach in July 2012 to succeed former national teammate Laurent Blanc who decided not to renew his contract after the country's quarter-final exit at Euro 2012.

* Qualified for the 2014 World Cup, losing to eventual champions Germany in the quarter-finals.

* France hosted Euro 2016, and Deschamps' side reached the final which they lost to Portugal after extra ​time.

* Won the 2018 World Cup ​in Russia, defeating Croatia 4-2 in ⁠the final.

* Deschamps became the third man after Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer to win the World Cup as player and manager.

* France won the 2020-21 Nations League, defeating Spain 2-1 in the final.

* Led France to ​a second successive World Cup final in Qatar in 2022, losing on penalties to Argentina following a ​3-3 draw after extra ⁠time.

* At Euro 2024, France finished second in their group behind Austria and went out in the quarter-finals after a penalty shootout defeat by Portugal following a 0-0 draw after extra time.

* In January 2025, the French soccer federation told Reuters that Deschamps, France's longest serving national team coach, would not seek to ⁠renew his ​contract, which expires in 2026. Deschamps confirmed the news.

* France topped their group in ​the 2024-25 Nations League, ahead of Italy and Belgium and beat Croatia in quarter-finals before losing 5-4 to Spain in the semis.
* Deschamps' men faced another semi-final loss to Spain at ​the World Cup on Tuesday, going down 2-0.

* Deschamps has a record 20 World Cup victories as coach.


Reuters