Tuesday, January 10, 2023
The Beautiful Sleeping Athlete, Part 2
Jean-Pierre Adams' first appearance in a France shirt was, ironically enough, against an African XI in Brazil's Taça Independencia of 1972. This bizarre, unwieldy and largely forgotten event was chiefly a propaganda vehicle for Brazil's military dictatorship, and its competitive value was dubious at best. Adams, significantly, came on as a substitute for the man with whom his name was to be associated for years to come - Marius Trésor, the elegant, resourceful defender who played such a major role in French football's resurgence in the late seventies.
Performing well enough to impress the France coach Georges Boulogne in Brazil, Adams kept his place in the side for the more serious business of World Cup qualification. The favourites in their group were the Soviets, finalists in the Nations Cup of 1972 and always a formidable proposition in the lead-up to a World Cup; dead rubbers aside, they had not lost a qualifying match since 1957. And they were France's first opponents, in a home tie in Paris.
For this game, Adams played not in defence, but in central midfield. Boulogne fielded a youthful team in a 4-2-4 formation, with St. Etienne regulars Hervé Revelli and Jean-Michel Larqué in the key attacking roles.
In the first half, France played with fluency but not much penetration; there was almost a hint of deference about their approach. Adams played as he so often did: unspectacularly but well, making the most of his physical power and aerial ability. Although he rarely advanced into the final third, he often posed danger when he did so, once having a very good penalty claim denied after a brisk one-two with Revelli. It was these one-twos around the edge of the area, very much in the style of the great French side of 1958, that constituted France's chief tactic.
At half-time, the commentators were nervous. The Soviets were renowned for their fitness and stamina, and they seemed to have played within themselves up to that point. "I worry about the last 20 minutes," remarked one of the 1958 heroes, Roger Piantoni.
As it happened, it was the final 20 minutes which were the most heartening of all for the French fans. On the hour they went ahead when Larqué touched off a free kick to the left-winger Georges Bereta, who sent a powerful low shot into the Soviet goal. Liberated, the French now attacked with renewed verve; Trésor even executed one of his trademark runs out of defence and shot against the post, while Bereta almost gave a repeat performance eight minutes from the end, this time bringing a fine save out of the Russian keeper Yevhen Rudakov.
By the end of the game, Revelli, Larqué, Bereta and the young right-winger Serge Chiesa were combining and switching in the best traditions of Fontaine, Kopa and Piantoni. Behind them, Adams and his midfield partner Henri Michel had been quietly effective. It was a significant victory, and French football seemed to be on the upturn.
It was to be a flash in the pan. Taking just one point from their two games against the other team in the group, Ireland, France needed to pull off the unlikely feat of defeating the Russians in Moscow in May 1973 if they were to retain any hope of qualifying. Succumbing to two late goals, they even finished bottom of the group.
But the campaign had cemented the position in the team of the two young defenders, Trésor and Adams, who had received plenty of plaudits. And Adams was soon on the move at club level, where another significant match awaited. To be continued in Part 3.
