Jacques Santini Quotations

There is a lot of fatigue, so we need to take things step by step, ... There is a lot of physical and psychological pressure when you play every few days.

We have had them (Greece) observed by a member of our technical staff,

It is important for the players to relax physically and also psychologically,

Players of that standard are always asking themselves questions, ... This is because they want to be excellent all the time.

Some people are expecting us to win all our matches by two or three goals because we are the title holders. This cannot happen.

Marcel needs maybe two or three training sessions to be operational for 90 minutes, but he has not abandoned the idea of playing (in the competition).

We'll be playing quite a few important (friendly) matches such as Belgium, Holland and perhaps Brazil so we can prepare for the championships as best as possible.

We are the favorites, so there can not be much more pressure, ... Am I preoccupied by England? No. There is also pressure on them, they know what they have to do.

We have a lot of respect for England,

We have the feeling that a wide gap has been opened up between us and you during this first round,

We have a strong spirit and humility in the team.

We did not wait until he went to Manchester United to have an eye on him, ... He and Peguy can seize the opportunity to show they are more than replacement solutions...

We are only concerned with what we have to do,

The players always respond present at big matches, that is a positive sign.

We had several video sessions when we were preparing for the match,

Croatia is very strong. Technically they are good, ... But we can always give that something extra to find a solution no matter the opponent.

England gave us a very difficult match and at halftime I told the players we had a big job to do. France started the second half well but I have to say that penalty save from Fabien boosted us. That was a big psychological blow in our favor.

I sensed there was a lack of confidence, they were tense,

Thierry is playing well, he did some nice things against England, ... I did not sense a worried player. He is a leader, although maybe he puts added pressure on himself.

The team is coming together now. We showed how far we have come against Lyon.

Of course we were disappointed because we were planning to rest some of our players for the third match,

There will always be leaders in this team to show us the way.

There were recruitment problems. Perhaps it had not been thought through at the start who was going to deal with recruitment. I thought it was me.

This match will help me as a reference for the future, ... To play a match of this caliber, the fact that Eriksson trusted him for the match and thinks he is god enough, shows he can play at the top level.

It's exactly what he did yesterday and Fabien was ready for it,

It was a strange game, all the best chances came from similar situations and all the goals came from set pieces. We got the victory and I congratulate my players. But it took two teams to make it a great match.

Does he need to score a hat-trick in every match? ... Does he need to get the ball from the half-way line and dribble past everyone?

They will be just as hard to play as the English, ... Our players have a big respect for Croatia. They are technically refined and able to make the difference with an individual gesture.

Not many people expected this match, ... But it will be difficult anyway. We have our destiny in our own hands.

I hope this result will help the team to wake up,

If you look at the others you would see that we are not in such a bad situation,

Claude suffered a knock on the shoulder, but it's not serious,

And in the first four minutes of the second-half, he created a lot of opportunities for himself.

The French group is caught up in these contradictory opinions, some of them surprising as they come from the inside, and has been weakened before this exciting and crucial competition -- Euro 2004,

The first few minutes of tomorrow's game are crucial, ... The decision is based on a couple of training sessions, looking at vivacity and speed.