On RMC, after the Blues' 2-0 victory against Ireland on Thursday in the Euro qualifiers, editorialist Daniel Riolo praised Antoine Griezmann, to the point of putting him in the Pantheon of the French team, and even very high among the tricolor legends. The debate ignited social networks. Raymond Kopa, Just Fontaine, Michel Platini, Thierry Henry and Zinédine Zidane… And Grizou?
“He’s the best player in a Euro, a world champion, a major player,” analyzes Daniel Riolo. Another World Cup [2022] where he is a major player in the team, apart from the final where he is not good, but throughout the rest of the tournament he is perfect. He is pretty much good all the time. It's very rare for matches where Griezmann is not good. The French team is at the top with him. In the top 3, for me, he has already overtaken Henry. And if we remove aesthetic symbolism, there is a match with Zidane, but aesthetic symbolism in football is very important. »
���� Always a pleasure to have Antoine Griezmann at a press conference. The Olympics, the Rugby World Cup, its transfer window and Atlético... Best Of. pic.twitter.com/or0aIx6YRk
The question therefore deserves to be asked: where exactly should the Atlético de Madrid player be located in the rich history of the Blues? If each generation has had its hero, Kopa, Platini then Zidane, that of Griezmann seems to collide with the meteorite Kylian Mbappé. However, the number 7 of the France team remains the best player of the Deschamps era, for almost a good decade.
Since his first selection in March 2014 against the Netherlands, Griezmann has continued to evolve and change his status. Initially a pure winger as he was trained at Real Sociedad, the native of Macon then moved closer to the center by being a center forward, but also number 10. More recently, he was moved back into the midfield to bring his inspiration but also his anger to a sector deprived for several months of Pogba and Kanté. Scorer, passer, creator, tackler: we have never seen a player in this selection perform so well in so many different roles.
It’s not just its use on the field that has evolved: its status too. A dizzying figure: counting the match against Ireland, Griezmann played in the Blues' last 79 matches. Very rarely injured, simply indispensable, the former Barça player was even in the running to inherit the captain's armband following the retirement of Lloris after the last World Cup, but Mbappé's notoriety made the difference.
Finally, on a statistical level, he is currently in third place in the ranking of scorers, and above all at the top of the ranking of the best passers of the Blues. The 32-year-old therefore brings together several essential criteria to claim the title of greatest player in the history of the French team: the track record, with a World Cup and a Nations League to his credit, astonishing longevity, and an indisputable sympathy rating. From there, the question is worth asking.
