While the outside world buzzed with talk of the World Cup schedule and the results were pouring in from every match, another piece of news broke that turned more than a few French and Spanish fans' heads.
June 24th.
Spain's Marca was the first to report it: Zinedine Zidane would take charge as head coach of Real Madrid's B team, Castilla.
Zidane had already had club staff searching for a house for him locally—he would lead the team into battle in the Segunda División next season.
Real Madrid's official website soon confirmed the decision.
There had been earlier reports that Zidane would return to France to become head coach of Bordeaux.
Bordeaux was where Zidane's professional football career had begun, and he held a special affection for the club.
Zidane had played for Bordeaux from 1992 to 1996. Though he never led the team to a Ligue 1 title, in 1996 Zidane did take Bordeaux to the UEFA Cup final, where they finished runners-up.
His success at Bordeaux was what carried him to Juventus in Serie A and from there, he became the No. 1 name in world football.
As for the French clubs, they wanted Zidane badly. They were willing to offer anything.
Ligue 1 clubs couldn't match Real Madrid financially, but for Zidane, they were prepared to offer an enormous salary. But Zidane turned down Bordeaux's goodwill.
His reasoning was simple; he wanted to stay at Real Madrid.
Just a few weeks earlier, Zidane had publicly said he would honour his contract with Real Madrid next season and continue serving as Ancelotti's assistant.
Florentino Pérez knew that Zidane longed to become a head coach in his own right, and Florentino wanted him to stay at Real Madrid too.
So, he handed Zidane the reins at Castilla, Real Madrid's B side.
That way, not only would Zidane stay at the club, but he'd also get to fulfill his ambition of managing—it was the best of both worlds.
But Zidane's ambitions didn't stop at simply becoming a head coach.
What he truly wanted was to manage Real Madrid itself.
With Ancelotti still in the post, and with no coaching experience of his own to point to, that ambition had never had a chance to materialize.
The experience he'd gain at Castilla would no doubt lay the groundwork for him to one day take charge of the first team.
And as for all of this, Zidane had already spoken about it with Julien, sometime before.
In fact, Zidane had once asked him directly: "If I ended up managing Real Madrid, would you come and join?"
Julien's answer this time was no longer as vague as it used to be.
Instead, it was firm and clear: "Sorry, Zizou—I won't be joining Real Madrid. I want to stay at Liverpool."
It was the first time he had ever formally turned down a move to Madrid.
As far as he was concerned, there was no longer any need to leave.
At Liverpool, he could have everything he wanted—there was no need to join Real Madrid on top of that.
As for Zidane, sure, he was a fine elder statesman of the game.
But Klopp was no less than that.
And most important of all—Liverpool could be his Liverpool. Real Madrid never would be.
Of course, none of this had any influence on Julien's own rhythm of preparation for the World Cup.
That same day, the 24th, the entire French squad flew out to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Their final group-stage match would be played there, at the Maracanã.
In the hotel conference room, Deschamps, never one for PowerPoint, used a whiteboard instead as his tactics board, with the formation sketched out on it.
He pointed to Ecuador's formation on the board and said, "Tomorrow we're up against Ecuador. Don't get complacent just because we blew out our first two opponents.
They're good on the flanks, quick on the counter, and their midfield can intercept better than you'd think—especially their forward, who's sharp at exploiting gaps in a defence. So our first priority tomorrow is to shore things up at the back and not give them too many chances to hit us on the break."
As he spoke, he marked up the defensive priorities on the board with a marker pen, then went on,
"Going forward, there's no need to rush into an all-out attack. Keep the tempo normal, manage our energy sensibly, use short passes to string things together and stretch their defensive line. Strike decisively when the chance is there—and if it isn't, be patient and keep the ball moving.
Don't waste energy for no reason. I want everyone staying focused out there, smooth in the transitions between attack and defence, no needless mistakes. Protect our clean sheet."
With the tactical briefing finished, Deschamps set down the marker, his eyes were sweeping slowly over each player. "As for the lineup for this match, I'll tell you plainly—there are going to be sweeping changes.
A lot of the players who started the first two games will be on the bench this time.
Resting up.
I'm bringing other players in, so everyone gets a run-out, and so everyone can bank enough energy in reserve."
The words fell, and the players all nodded in agreement.
They understood exactly what Deschamps was getting at.
The first two matches had been high-intensity, and the core players needed rest to avoid injury.
Meanwhile, the substitutes needed match time of their own too, to acclimate to the rhythm of a World Cup and stockpile strength for the knockout rounds ahead.
Julien sat among the group, and didn't react much either way.
Deschamps had already asked him before making the call—whether he wanted to keep chasing the record.
And Julien's answer had been that he just wanted the trophy. The record was a bonus that would take care of itself.
So, Deschamps simply left Julien out of the starting eleven altogether, only naming him among the substitutes—whether he'd play at all wasn't even settled.
Deschamps watched the players' reactions and went on, "For this last group match, our goal is clear—any point at all counts as a win.
We've built up such a lead in the first two games that whatever the result here, we're finishing top of the group.
Still, we should try to take points where we can.
Make sure our spot at the top of the group stays locked down.
And at the same time, keep the core players from getting injured—do that, and this match has served its purpose.
We don't need to run ourselves into the ground chasing a blowout. The real test, after all, is still ahead of us in the knockout rounds.
After tomorrow's match, for the next several days, the most important job for all of you is to rest properly, get your bodies and your heads back in order, stay sharp, and don't overtrain. Recover well, build your reserves, and save your best form for the knockouts.
Our goal isn't just to get out of the group—it's to march toward that World Cup trophy!"
Crack, crack, crack!
At that, the whole French squad broke into applause and cheering.
Morale soared!
At that moment, Deschamps pressed his hands down and smiled again. "I know you're all in great form right now, morale's high but the higher it is, the more we need to keep a clear head.
Rotation isn't an excuse to ease off. Whoever gets on the pitch needs to give it everything and value the chance. Whoever doesn't needs to watch closely, get ready, and be on call at any moment.
A team's victory doesn't happen without everyone pulling their weight. We stay united, we prepare fully, and we meet every challenge still ahead of us."
"Yes!"
The players all answered in kind.
The next day.
Rio de Janeiro.
Five in the afternoon.
The final round of Group E fixtures at the Brazil World Cup—France against Ecuador was about to kick off!
The two sides had met only once before at full international level.
On May 27, 2008, France beat Ecuador 2-0 at the Stade de France, with Gomis scoring a brace.
And over their last six meetings with South American sides, France had gone three wins and three draws unbeaten.
In this match, a draw alone would be enough for France to lock up first place in the group.
Ecuador, meanwhile, would need to beat France and even then, they'd still be watching the result of Switzerland vs. Honduras.
Compared to their previous starting lineups, both sides made changes to their first eleven.
Ecuador made just one change, at centre-forward, with Felipe Caicedo giving way to Enner Valencia in the starting lineup.
France, on the other hand, made seven changes.
A comprehensive rotation, in other words.
Through the first half, France held the run of play for the full 45 minutes, but with so many first-choice players rested, their combination play up front wasn't especially sharp.
Pinned back under France's pressure, Ecuador still found a few good chances on the counter, but Lloris was in fine form and kept his goal intact.
In the first 45 minutes, Giroud didn't get many chances of his own. With Julien rested, Giroud spent most of his time linking play higher up the pitch acting as the pivot point at the edge of the box, laying the ball off for others.
There were no chances to score of his own, but his contribution to the team's overall attack was substantial.
Across the whole first half, France pinned Ecuador's shape deep in their own third and although Ecuador's few counters never produced a goal, France's own overcommitment up top cost them space in the final third as well.
As for Ecuador, though, with the first half ending 0-0, their window to chase three points was closing fast.
At halftime, Deschamps still said nothing about substitutions for the second half—only that they should keep up the pressure.
On the other side, Ecuador needed to come out swinging!
Trying to force a turnaround, chasing any chance to advance.
And yet, not long after the second half began—in just the 49th minute, Manchester United's Antonio Valencia planted a boot square into Sagna's midsection!
The referee showed no mercy either.
Out came the red card, on the spot!
With Ecuador needing to push forward as fast as possible, going down to ten men only made a hard situation harder.
The two flanks were Ecuador's calling card.
But Valencia's red card threw manager Reinaldo Rueda's whole setup into disarray.
For France, a single point would do just fine.
But for Ecuador, they urgently needed all three and they simply didn't have the tools to get them.
Still, Deschamps had no strong appetite for a goal either.
He brought on neither a forward-thinking creator like Pogba or Griezmann, nor an ace like Julien.
He only sent on Kanté and Cabaye, to keep shoring up the defence.
In the end, France didn't score.
But Ecuador didn't conjure up a miracle either—they shook hands with France on a 0-0 draw, and were eliminated.
Elsewhere, the Switzerland–Honduras match, kicking off at the same time, had also come to an end.
Switzerland, who beat Honduras 3-0, had the last laugh.
They advanced to the knockout stage alongside France.
As the final whistle blew, French commentator Alphonse remarked, "Full time! 0-0—France and Ecuador shake hands on a draw. For France, that's a result they can happily live with—you could even say it was exactly what everyone expected.
Just as Deschamps had set things up beforehand, France fielded a squad heavy with substitutes and fringe players today.
Julien, Paul, Antoine—the core players who lit up the first two games spent the whole match resting on the bench.
Clearly, Deschamps's aim was plain to see: preserve his key players' energy, avoid injuries, and get ready for the knockout rounds ahead.
Meanwhile, the other match in the same group had also wrapped up. Switzerland, powered by a hat-trick from young Xherdan Shaqiri, thrashed Honduras 3-0. With that win, Switzerland sat on six points and advanced to the knockout stage as Group E runners-up.
Ecuador and Honduras, both let down by an inferior points tally, have no way through to the next round.
They're out of the World Cup early.
While we're at it, let's also look at the Group F fixtures that wrapped up four hours earlier—both matches turned into genuine goal-fests: Argentina edged past Nigeria 3-2, and Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Iran 3-1.
Those results settled the qualification and standings for Group F: Argentina finished top of the group, while Nigeria took second on goal difference.
Group E's winners, France, will face Group F's runners-up, Nigeria, in the knockouts; while Group E's runners-up, Switzerland, will take on Group F's winners, Argentina..."
Afterward, despite advancing without trouble, the 0-0 draw with Ecuador still left Deschamps with a certain amount of regret.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Deschamps said frankly: "It's baffling—we really did have no shortage of chances to score today, but our finishing wasn't sharp enough."
Still, he also added, "There are a few things to work on, but finishing top of the group is still a very solid result for us."
When he was asked about their upcoming knockout opponent by a reporter, Deschamps said, "Nigeria are a strong side. We've got five days until the next match, and we'll work hard to be ready for them."
That evening, the major French media outlets ran their own coverage of the match.
On the draw and France's path through the group, AFP noted:
"For Deschamps, this result will no doubt be disappointing—but finishing top of the group, and so dodging the dangerous Argentina, still makes for a happy ending all around."
AFP also noted that, compared to the hot form of the first two matches with eleven goals scored between them—France's firepower went completely quiet this time.
With their star striker Julien absent from the pitch, that was undoubtedly a major reason for the team's blunted attack; without his finishing and his ability to link the play, the team's attacking efficiency dropped off noticeably, which became the key factor in their failure to secure the win.
The coverage also touched on the state of the South American sides.
The article pointed out that, after a run of victories that had South America singing throughout this tournament, the region had finally seen its first team go out.
Though Ecuador had thrown everything they had into the match and managed to hold the powerful French side to a draw, their fate had already been sealed by their results in the first two rounds—there was no escaping elimination, and they walked out of the tournament with regret.
Of course, AFP also had a word to spare for Switzerland: "It took Switzerland just twenty minutes to kill off any suspense in the match, and Shaqiri's performance was about as close to perfect as it gets—his hat-trick washed away the sting of their heavy defeat to France last time out."
The article also suggested that if Shaqiri could carry this kind of form forward, then their knockout clash with title favourites Argentina was anyone's game.
Argentina, for all we know, might just be the ones to slip up.
The next day, as France began preparing for the knockout rounds, the last four group-stage matches of the day also got underway.
With those four matches finished, the group stage of the Brazil World Cup had come to a complete close.
The teams advancing to the round of 16 had all now been decided!
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