Despite approaching his 56th year, Didier Deschamps still performs an extraordinary daily feat many of the players in his France squad would find impossible.
The World Cup winning player and manager watched his side claim a hard-fought 1-0 win over Austria in their Euro 2024 opener on Monday night. A first-half own goal from Maximilian Wober was enough for Les Blues to get past Ralf Rangnick’s stubborn side.
Unfortunately for the European giants, victory came at a cost as their captain and star man Kylian Mbappe was forced off after sustaining a broken nose. It has since been reported that the 25-year-old will miss the remainder of the group stage.
With more downtime on his hands than he anticipated coming into the tournament, the superstar striker may want to pick up a little tricks from his manager, who regularly puts his body through physical exercises most of his squad would be incapable of.
Ahead of the Qatar World Cup, Deschamps revealed that he holds the plank position for one hour every day.
Didier Deschamps saw his side claim a hard-fought 1-0 win over Austria on Monday night
The two-time World Cup winner claimed to do the plank for an hour every single day
Deschamps puts his body through through activities many of his players would fit impossible. Pictured: The French boss alongside a friend and son Dylan Deschamps (right)
‘I do a daily plank support for hours every day. I’m even a little sick in this aspect.’ He told French outlet RMC Sport. ‘I won’t have any rest during this period.
‘I will do it while listening to music, which helps me relax, because [normally] there are too many people in my head, and I talk to them often (laughs).
‘I think over and over again, and now I am used to this kind of practice. In fact, this kind of practice is a bit extreme. My wife always tells people: “When he (Deschamps) does certain things, he is always a bit extreme.” But this way of mine has exercised both my body and mind.
‘My players praise me too? I’m not too sure. I need to ask them. When I was a player, I couldn’t complete the exercises I do now. I had requirements for other aspects of my body.
‘Now this type of training is more of a challenge and enjoyment. If it was merely to torture myself, I would definitely not do it.’
