The late Barça godfather "Cruyff" once said in 1996: "In this world, it is difficult to find a defender who can stop Ronaldo, if I had to choose one, I would think of it as the Frenchman Thuram". At that time, Da Luo was 20 years old and Thuram was 24 years old, both of whom were at their peak. Thuram was able to persevere for many years in brutal Serie A and maintain a high standard of his psychological qualities are undoubtedly indestructible. Outside the stadium, Thuram has been active in society, speaking out for the black community, the poor...
"Slum Boy"
In 1972, a poor couple on the island of Guadeloupe gave birth to a boy named Lilian Thuram. Located in the middle of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, this small island belongs to a small French overseas territory, but this small island has produced two stars who shocked French football and even world football, "Henry and Thuram". Thuram's mother brought him to Paris when he was very young, and Thuram's mother wanted a better environment in Paris for her son to grow up. In 1991, they left the capital, Paris, for the tourist resort of Monaco, where they began their careers in the city of Ritturam. With excellent competitiveness and an innate ability to read matches, he defends like a tank in the back line...
In the 1994 World Cup qualifiers, France only needed to draw Bulgaria in the last match to qualify, but it was eliminated by Bulgaria, and the winner Bulgaria was also the dark horse of that World Cup, defeating Germany to advance to the quarterfinals. Failing to make it to the '94 World Cup, France felt it was time to give the youngsters a chance, and Thuram at that time was one of the future superstars of French football. So when Aimé Jacquet became the head coach of the French team, it was logical to call the young Thuram into the national team roster, and Jacquet's hand-picked Thuram became one of the best players in French history.
"I only scored two goals"
During the run-up to the 1998 World Cup in France, a Statement by a French official grabbed headlines and sparked a buzz in football circles: "I don't know this French team, there are too many blacks in the team. When Thuram heard this, he immediately fought back: "The French team chose Batez and Deschamps not because they were white, nor did they choose Thuram because I was black, they chose Batez and Thuram only because they were French."
After the start of the 1998 World Cup, although the Performance of the French Front was generally unsatisfactory, and the core Zidane also suffered two red card bans, the French team with luck and strong midfielder still reached the quarter-finals relatively smoothly. France, which lacked Zidane, could only beat the brave Chiravit (Paraguay) by Blank's golden ball in the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, the penalty shootout between France and Italy ended with both Albertini and Di Biagio losing to penalties in three consecutive World Cups. France are about to face Croatia, which beat the formidable Germany 3-0 in the quarter-finals, with Souk-led Croatia the biggest dark horse in the tournament...
Now comes the greatest moment of Thuram's career! In the first half, France and Croatia had a three-sided twist and turn, and after only one minute of the second half, after a clever over-the-top pick, Sukh found himself empty in front of him, facing the rapid batz, he calmly sent the ball into the goal, Croatia led!
( First goal of the match )
Through the lens, we can see that there is a clear vacuum in the French team's defense, and Thuram unfortunately dragged himself at the end of the French defense, resulting in the failure of the French offside. Sukh scored easily into a single knife, Croatian players celebrated wildly, Thuram stood in place and stared, he was about to enter attack mode ready to save his country...
Just one minute after the match, Thuram forcefully broke Boban's ball in front of the Croatian penalty area and quickly passed the ball back to Lizarazu, who was inserted in front of him. The latter first time he got the ball was to adjust the angle of the pass, and after avoiding an opponent's scramble, he tucked the ball straight into Thuram. Thuram rushed in front of the goalkeeper and deftly scored the ball, the ball was scored, the ball was scored, Thuram successfully pulled back the score, he completed his redemption...
(Thuram's right-footed goal equalised)
In the 69th minute, Thuram once again took advantage of Boban's mistake in taking the ball, launched his own attack on the spot and directly shot with his left foot, scoring the counter-attack goal twice, and France eliminated Croatia 2-1 to advance to the final. These two precious goals were the only two in Thuram's national team career.
(Thuram's violent left-footed shot, doubled)
This World Cup, France has only conceded two goals with Thuram in the back line and overall strength. Scoring three goals against Brazil in the final, France became the seventh team in history to win the World Cup.
At the end of the World Cup, Thuram, who returned to Parma, helped the team win the treble in the 98-99 season: the Coppa Italia, the Super Cup and the UEFA Cup, which was an unforgettable season for the club.
At Euro 2000, France performed well, Thuram still occupied the position of the main right-back, and he once again played a crucial role in France's victory! A year later, with parma's debt crisis, Thuram joined teammate Buffon to Juventus, the former making the world's most expensive defender at the time for £22 million.
In the 2002 World Cup and 2004 European Championship, France and Thuram performed poorly, and after euro 2004 Thuram announced his retirement from the national team. But two years later, when France was in a precarious situation in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, Zidane, who had decided to retire at the end of the season, resolutely announced his comeback for the national team, and then Makelele and Thuram quickly followed him back. Zidane's return to Vieira also gave up the captain's armband, in the black triple star and Zidane's re-cooperation final in the 06 World Cup, although the final regret missed the championship, but also with the champion team Italy to the last moment, Zidane and the black triple star story is also a good story...
"I want to change the world"
During the 2006 World Cup, Italy suffered a phone-gate incident in which Juve were sentenced to Serie B, and Thuram chose to leave for Barcelona, where his contract ended two years later. He returned to the national team for Euro 08, but France was unfortunately eliminated in the group stage. Thuram's national team career also came to an abrupt end in his 141st game.
On August 1, 2008, Thuram officially ended his career due to physical and family reasons. After retiring from the army, he expressed many opinions to France, often talking about racial discrimination. Thuram also organized the Lilian Thuram Foundation, hoping to solve racial discrimination through education and change the lives of more people, which in his view is more important than football.
Defending on the pitch is quite an artist, off the pitch Thuram is a polite reader, a defender who almost never scores, but has contributed the most important two in the national team, and I don't think there will be more legends like Thuram in football...
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