Didier Deschamps

We arrived at the 2002 World Cup with two titles, very calm, well organised, maybe missing a bit of concentration. But the only truth is on the pitch. The dangers are there.

When there are hard times, the trend is to question yourself and to dig deep but when things go well you shouldn't relax and think things come easy or you need to put in less effort.

Look, I was a water carrier, I don't reject my image. I didn't have the pretension to think that I could change a match by myself.

Players like me, we did something of a thankless job. You don't show a hard tackle or stripping someone of possession in slow motion on the big screen. But if you add it all up, I was always the one that the coaches wrote down automatically on the lineup card.

I've always hated to lose and I continue to hate it. But I've been obliged to accept it because I also have had some crushing defeats.

My players need to have the feeling that they've pushed themselves to their limits.

When you go to a club abroad and play against one from your own country, you are part of the enemy.

It's not just about the words you use, but the way you use them, and the message that puts over. Also your face too and the way you project your message. If you're telling the group to stay calm, be good, and you have beads of sweat dripping down your forehead, you're in trouble.

The key thing is knowing how to adapt. Adapting to the group that you have at your disposal; adapting to the place where you're working; adapting to the local environment. This is crucial: adaptability.

You can't wake up one morning and say, 'Right, now I'm going to be a leader.' I think it is something that's in you, that you're born with, and which develops. Some people have that character, that personality and it comes naturally. You can't force it. It has to be authentic and natural. Innate.

I don't think you just become a leader.

People always want the same thing: to carry on winning.

The biggest victories can lead to the greatest foolishness.

Football is my passion.

When you make your final list for the World Cup or European Championship you don't take the 23 best players, that is for sure.

There is no worse situation to enter competition than losing the home opener.

There is no better lawyer than Cristiano Ronaldo.

To score three goals and not concede any is always interesting for a coach.

What interests me principally are points.

Creativity is making a good pass at the right time... but it can also come from deeper, there should always be a balance.

Either a player accepts competition or they say they absolutely need to play. For a player to have an open door, I have to have, at the same position, an element that is just as good or even better.

You need to have discussions and make sure you guide players towards the collective spirit. It can't be done overnight.

One of the main tasks of a manager is psychology.

Nobody knows what will happen in the future.

Nothing is impossible. Lassana Diarra did not play for France for five years and then returned.

While there is life, there is hope.

For me, the goal is to make the most of each player, play them in the position they feel best in. And then repeat, repeat, repeat.

It's hard to evolve when you only have fifteen days or three weeks to practice and correct and change tactics.

At the highest level, if you don't have a solid defensive base, you can't get by. In one match, yes. But over a whole competition? No.

In football, you don't hold on to the ball just to hold on to the ball. When you have it you need to be dangerous, create opportunities and score goals. And when you don't, you make sure the opposition doesn't.

We can't really look back and see what is in the rear-view mirror. This is not how you are going to move forward.

What I can say is that I feel very good as the national team coach. I really enjoy it.

He might not be very tall, but he's very useful. Kante wins balls, has great transition play, can be found everywhere, and always has solutions.

Sport represents a union of diversity.

Sport is a way of uniting people.

Continuity is very important for national teams.

It is up to the players and their advisers to see what is best for the player.

Each member of the team must feel important - everyone must make my life and choices difficult.

I always ask myself if a decision is in the team's best interest.

Those friendly games are not pointless. They enable us to go forward.

We want to be the best we can.

That's what international football is all about - be able to bounce after a bad performance.

You can always criticise people, the players are aware we can improve in a number of areas.

You have to live in your times.

We can always play better.

All are welcome in sport.

I am not a very good dancer.

There are a lot of things you can practise to unsettle teams that defend deep.

My past as a player is strongly linked to the red, white and blue France shirt.

You can't win anything more special than a World Cup.