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France eyeing history after strife: Lloris
PARIS: France want to write football “history” by winning the Euro 2016 final at home six years after a damaging player revolt and as the country recovers from the
PARIS: France want to write football “history” by winning the Euro 2016 final at home six years after a damaging player revolt and as the country recovers from the Paris attacks, captain Hugo Lloris said Saturday.
With Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal also riding a wave of national fervour ahead of Sunday’s final at the Stade France, the home team are suddenly national heroes after several years of scandal and disappointment.
Lloris told of the enormous effort made to lift the French team out of “crisis” and into contention for a potential title and also the impact of the November 13 attacks which left 130 dead.
“We have come through a crisis in French football,” the Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper told a press conference. “We have climbed back up the slope, we have done it step by step.
“But building a great team takes a lot of time. With the Germans and the Spanish, success was not created overnight. You cannot buy experience.
“Tomorrow we have the chance to go into French football history, it is a unique time in a player’s career,” said Lloris.
Lloris told how France’s run to the final had given the country “an escape” after the trauma of the November 13 attacks, which included suicide bombers trying to get into the national stadium as France played Germany.
