The World Is Round, So Is Football

Even as the migration crisis continues unabated in Europe, the spine of many teams at Russia 2018 was made up of players with an immigrant background

- Antony John/ Moscow And St Petersburg

At the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow, Emmanuel Macron kicked propriety out of the window on July 16 evening. The French president did not get a yellow card for jumping on to the desk to celebrate his country’s victory in Russia 2018. Instead, the world, used to petty presidents and nasty rulers, looked on admiringly. Soon after, the heavens opened up, washing down the tears of joy on French faces and those of dejection on the Croatian faces.

Macron was 21 when the French last kissed the trophy, thanks to the heroics of Zinedine Zidane, of Algerian descent. Zidane went on to achieve great heights for France, before bowing out in the final of Germany 2006, after head-butting Italian defender Marco Materazzi. The immigrant story did not begin with Zidane, nor does it end with him. France’s great run in the 2018 edition, which saw traditional powerhouses falling by the wayside, was powered by children of immigrants, mostly of African origin. The youngest of them, 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe, won the FIFA Young Player Award.

Twenty years ago, when I landed in Paris in the summer of 1998 to cover the World Cup, France had not won the hearts of the football world like they have done this time round. They were waiting for the world with a smile, and a “bienvenue” (welcome) on their lips. They were the only ones who believed their Les Blues had a chance of winning the Cup. Their star player was midfielder Zidane, whom they described as the son of Algerian immigrants. A boy who grew up in the slums of Marseille. The conservative French saw him as a foreigner till the country entered the final.