Laporte is the one who knows France best…

FRancia and Spain meet in the semi-finals. A match that every professional wants to play, but which has a special meaning for some players: this is a case Theo, Le Normand (disqualified) or Laporte. All three defend specific colours, although there could well have been others, between the red of Spain and the blue of France.

Aymeric Laporte’s case began back in September 2016, when Deschamps called him up for two 2018 World Cup qualifiers. “I called him up for the game. He will play. I knew he could be called up to Spain.” – the coach noted. But this was not done, despite the fact that he was called up three times, and that is why the defender was able, taking into account the regulations, to move to La Roja.

Laporte has yet to make his debut for Deschamps after 51 games in the youth ranks of Les Bleus. He will therefore be meeting with his old colleagues from Clairefontaine, in particular Dembele, Rabiot, Coman, Pavard, Maignan and Areola

All of them at that time were in residence on the outskirts of Paris in search of a dream: to achieve the absolute.

In 2019, after the disappointment of the World Cup, Laporte decided to choose Spain. Luis Enrique I was betting on him. Lopetegui He had already followed him when he was a coach. What happened next has already been told. Laporte always said that Deschamps did not answer his messages, the coach replied that this was not true, but the central defender already considers this stage closed. Laporte has already faced France in the 2021 Nations League final after his debut with Luis Enrique on June 4 this year in a friendly against Portugal before the European Championship.

The question MARCA asks Some French media, concentrated in Paderborn, are reporting in France the opinion about Laporte and whether he could play with Les Bleus. It is true that the coach does not have a left-footed defender in his squad at the moment. There is no clear opinion, for some it was a loss, for others there was not enough patience, and there are those who believe that this never happened and that they were also right to choose Spain.

“With the exception of the French youth team, where he was always called up and where he always played, Aymeric Laporte never got the recognition he deserved in France. He was also unlucky. It all started very early, when he had two trials in Marseille. OM wanted him, but he lived too far from Marseille and was too young (15) to be recruited. “First failure for France.” comments Fabrice Lamperti, journalist for the Marseille newspaper La Provence.

“I deserved a place in the French team, especially because he has an unusual profile: an athletic left-footed centre-back. But he didn’t have the patience. If I hadn’t blackmailed Deschamps, I’m sure he would have ended up playing for France, like Theo Hernandez.“Since Umtiti and even Kimpembe, the French team has not had a good left-footed central defender. It is a pity that he did not show more patience,” the journalist adds.

“He’s a great central defender.”

“For me, Laporte is a great defender. Solid, reads the game well, is intelligent, plays well with his feet, but he did not belong in France. Central defense is the most complete playing area in France. There are at least 10 high-level players who went well to Spain. If Deschamps does not have the opportunity, he will be the fifth or sixth option. Will he have a place in France? To mention Hernandez, Fofana… “Laporte made the right decision,” comments Baptiste Despres of Le Figaro.

“He didn’t have enough patience and I didn’t like his attitude.”

“In France, we see him as a great central defender who could have a place in the French national team. But he lacked patience. Deschamps called him up a few times, but he didn’t make him play much, and Laporte didn’t like that. He made that clear with his attitude towards the group, which the coaching staff at Les Bleus didn’t find very positive. In addition, they’ve always had very good central defenders (Varane, Kimpembe, Umtiti, Upamecano…), so Laporte couldn’t just force himself on them.” says Damien Legor from the newspaper L’Equipe.