D idier Deschamps has become only the second man to both captain and coach a nation to World Cup glory. The France manager lifted the trophy as skipper in Paris 20 years ago, and got his hands on football's ultimate prize again as Les Bleus saw off Croatia in Moscow on Sunday. Only Franz Beckenbauer, captain of a triumphant West Germany in 1974 and then their coach in 1990, had achieved that feat before. Indeed, it is rare for any World Cup-winning players to repeat the trick as a coach. Mario Zagallo, who featured in Brazil's wins of 1958 and 1962 and was then in charge for another in 1970, is the only other man to have done so. Photo: AFP/Getty Images / AFP/Getty Images As a player, Deschamps, now 49, was one of the most decorated of his era. He won two French titles and the Champions League with Marseille before winning the European crown again, as well as Serie A three times, with Juventus. He wound his career down with Chelsea and Valencia before making a smooth transition into coaching and guiding Monaco to the Champions League final in 2004. His time in the principality turned sour but he went on to guide Juve back to the top flight after their match-fixing-related demotion and then won a Ligue 1 title as Marseille boss In Pictures | France vs Croatia World Cup Final | 15/07/2018 1 /101 In Pictures | France vs Croatia World Cup Final | 15/07/2018 REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS AP REUTERS PA REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS AP REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS Alexei Nikolsky/AP REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS AFP/Getty Images AP REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS AP REUTERS REUTERS EPA REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS AP REUTERS EPA AFP/Getty Images REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS AP REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS AP REUTERS AP REUTERS REUTERS AFP/Getty Images REUTERS REUTERS AFP/Getty Images AP REUTERS REUTERS AP REUTERS PA EPA EPA EPA EPA AP AP REUTERS AP REUTERS REUTERS AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS Will Kylian Mbappe make this a day to remember for France AFP/Getty Images Football friends AFP/Getty Images Olivier Giroud and France warm up AFP/Getty Images Argentinian referee Nestor Pitana (C) and his assistants warm up AFP/Getty Images The closing ceremony! AFP/Getty Images Nicky Jam performs during the closing ceremony REUTERS France fans in full voice AFP/Getty Images A huge day for France AFP/Getty Images Dejan Lovren deep in conversation AFP/Getty Images Half and half scarves are probably allowed today AFP/Getty Images Somebody's got World Cup fever REUTERS The Gallic rooster - an unofficial national symbol of France REUTERS The romance of the World Cup AFP/Getty Images Things could get hairy today REUTERS Somebody's backing France AFP/Getty Images Croatia fans gather in the center of Moscow EPA France fans pose near a statue of Soviet Union founder Vladimir Lenin AFP/Getty Images Getting ready for the final AFP/Getty Images Probably a French fan... AFP/Getty Images France supporters outside the stadium AFP/Getty Images France supporters outside the stadium AFP/Getty Images Croatia's coach Zlatko Dalic in the stadium AFP/Getty Images High hopes for Croatia AFP/Getty Images Croatia supporters make their way to the stadium EPA France supporters make their way to the stadium EPA France supporters make their way to the stadium EPA His national team, for whom he won 103 caps and also the European Championship as a player, then came calling in 2012. He steered France to the World Cup quarter-finals in 2014 and then the final of Euro 2016. His run in this summer's tournament has seen him become France's longest-serving manager, with the semi-final win over Belgium being his 82nd match in charge. Photo: AFP/Getty Images / AFP/Getty Images Before the final, Deschamps insisted that matching the achievement of 1998 was not his prime motivation. "The story is different now," he said. "You can't make comparisons, you can't talk about players from 20 years ago. I am here to write a new page in history, the most beautiful page. "I'm not saying I'm not proud of what we did 20 years ago but one must live in one's times."<doc-sep>Didier Deschamps has become the third man to win the World Cup as a player and manager. With France winning the World Cup final against Croatia on Sunday, manager Didier Deschamps became the third man to win the title as both a player and manager. Deschamps won the World Cup as a player in 1998, captaining France to the title on home soil. In 2018, he managed Les Blues to a 4-2 win over Croatia in the title match, after France had reached the final for the first time since 2006, where they finished as runner-up to Italy. Deschamps joins the elite company of Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer to win the final as a player and manager. Zagallo won the World Cup as a player twice with Brazil. In his first victory in 1958, Zagallo scored Brazil's fourth goal en route to a 5-2 win over Sweden. He played with the squad again in 1962, as it beat Czechoslovakia 3-1 to take home back-to-back championships. As a manager, Zagallo captured his third victory in 1970 over Italy. He led a squad stacked with top talent that included Pele, Jairzinho and Tostao. Four years later, Beckenbauer won the World Cup as a player for West Germany on home turf. Beckenbauer would return to the final as a manager in 1986, where West Germany lost to a Diego Maradona and Argentina. But Beckenbauer would claim the championship as a manager in 1990, when West Germany defeated Argentina 1-0.<doc-sep>Deschamps becomes third in history to win World Cup as player and coach France vs Croatia First since 1990 On Sunday, France lifted the World Cup trophy to put Didier Deschamps in a very elite club. With a winners' medal already in his trophy cabinet from Les Bleus' 1998 triumph, he becomes the third man to claim victory in the competition as a player and coach. The former midfielder joins Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer in achieving the feat. Brazilian icon Zagallo lifted the World Cup twice as a winger in his country's sides of 1958 and 1962, before coaching them to glory in 1970. Four years after that, Beckenbauer was central to West Germany's victory over the Netherlands in the 1974 final before he took charge of the 1990 winners.<doc-sep>
CROATIA coach Zlatko Dalic is eyeing a potential move to the Premier League. For now his focus remains on winning tomorrow's World Cup final against France. 4 Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic is open to a Premier League move Credit: Getty But the 51-year-old, who took charge of the Croatia team in October last year, has refused to rule out a possible stint on these shores. Dalic worked his way up the ranks in the Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabian professional leagues and is in his 13th season as a manager after making his name as a defensive midfielder in his playing days. Asked about a switch to the Prem, he said: "I can't really think about that now because it may give the wrong message to some Croatian people when we are about to try to become to the best team in the world. "But maybe. Now we have to try to do something big." Coach Zlatko Dalic says that it is a miracle that Croatia have reached the World Cup final against France 4 England went out of the World Cup after losing to Croatia in extra-time Credit: EPA 4 Zlatko Dalic has a strong desire to prove himself on the biggest stages Credit: EPA Latest World Cup news UP FOR THE CUP World Cup could be held every TWO years after Fifa backs controversial plans EURO BLOW Southgate fears Super League will hurt England plans with players facing BANS BEST OF REST Messi & Ronaldo among European Super League best XI facing BAN from World Cup EUR OUT European Super League players could be BANNED from World Cups and national teams FOOTIE FEST Eden Park to stage 2023 Women’s World Cup opener with final set for Australia YOUR TIMO'S UP Watch Chelsea’s Werner miss SITTER in shock Germany loss to North Macedonia And the Daily Mail highlight Dalic's desire to prove himself and be respected by the game's elite. That longing is something gained through grit and trophies in other parts of the world. He said: "Throughout my career and my life I've always taken the hardest path and had to fight. "I didn't want to stay in Croatia, be a middling coach and live off handouts. So I went abroad. Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic says World Cup star Luka Modric deserves to win Ballon D’or 4 The coach is becoming a household name after guiding Croatia to the World Cup final Credit: AP:Associated Press "We are not respected in Europe, even though Croatian coaches like Slaven Bilic and Niko Kovac [manager of Bayern Munich] have great results. "I started at the bottom of the ladders and in a year I was the best coach in Asia. "I managed the best club in Asia. I reached the final of the Champions League in Asia. You cannot sneeze at that. That brought me huge experience. "I was there seven years and it was a hard path but I believed in myself."