Join The Club
France's 1998 World Cup win was a defining moment in the nation's footballing history, as Les Bleus won their first-ever major tournament and completed a major turnaround in their fortunes.
Four years earlier, a defeat at home to Bulgaria had meant that a talent-packed France team had failed to qualify for USA '94, missing out on the World Cup for a second consecutive time.
For a young Youri Djorkaeff, the disappointment was especially painful. The then-Monaco midfielder had just broken into the national team and quickly found himself witnessing the turmoil from inside the dressing room.
Djorkaeff on his French debut and missing out on USA '94
Gerard Houllier handed Djorkaeff his first taste of international football, as the 1994 qualification campaign was reaching its climax. For Djorkaeff, it was a life-changing opportunity.
"I was called up for the first time to play the last two qualifiers for the 1994 World Cup, against Israel and Bulgaria in Paris," Djorkaeff recalls to FourFourTwo.
"Gerard Houllier called me, and my first reaction was “wow!” It was my big chance to go to the USA – we only needed one point. When I arrived in the dressing room though, I quickly realised that the atmosphere was strange. There was tension between certain players."
The Parc des Princes defeat to Bulgaria has gone down as a low point in recent French football history. France needed only a draw to book their place at the tournament in that final qualifier, with Djorkaeff unable to make his mark on the match.
"Bulgaria equalised while I was warming up," he continues. "I was going to be the second sub, but while I was putting on my shirt, the Parc des Princes was chanting David Ginola’s name – he hadn’t even warmed up, but went on instead of me.
"It was a small disappointment, but qualification was the important thing. In the last minute, Emil Kostadinov scored to make it 2-1. A nightmare. We were crushed. There were even fights in the dressing room. It was one of the biggest disappointments in France’s football history. How could we not be at that World Cup?
"You can’t win without a good atmosphere in the dressing room. We weren’t united – that only came later, from 1995 onwards."
As he made his way into the France set-up in those early days, Djorkaeff did not have to look far for inspiration, as his father Jean won 48 caps for his country and proved to be a significant source of inspiration.
"Having a father who was a footballer was incredible, especially as he was also captain of the national team. I can remember going to watch him at the stadium. People would stop him in the street, they wanted to talk to him – they had so much respect for him.
"It wasn’t a normal childhood with my father being who he was, having played for Lyon, Marseille and PSG. He’s always been an inspiration to me."
