When the big competition came round, the French had no trouble negotiating their way through the group stage, sweeping aside South Africa (3-0), Saudi Arabia (4-0) and Denmark (2-1). The records may show that they only squeezed past Paraguay in the second round thanks to a Laurent Blanc¡¯s golden goal (sealing a 1-0 win), but the fact is that the hosts controlled the match from start to finish and would have won far more comfortably had their finishing been better. The French steamroller then carried on relentlessly, overcoming Italy (0-0, 4-3 on pens) and Croatia (2-1) to set up a final match showdown with Brazil.

Once there, Les Bleus could not have dreamed of a better outcome, and while it is true that the Sele?ao may have been knocked out of their stride by the mysterious affliction that struck Ronaldo on the morning of the game, France's emphatic 3-0 victory came courtesy of the most complete 90 minutes of football of the Jacquet era.

By guiding his homeland to the top of the world, Jacquet sent all of France into a month-long celebration and then, ever the quiet man, returned to his beloved DTN satisfied with the knowledge that he had achieved what he had set out to do. Without ever shedding his dignity, he had served up the perfect answer to all those who had been so acerbic in their criticisms over the previous years. His finest achievement, however, was to have succeeded in unifying not just a team, but an entire country.

Tactics

By France 98 Jacquet had honed his innovative 4-2-1-3 system into one of the most solid in the history of the French national team. In front of goalkeeper Fabien Barthez stood a fantastic four-man defence consisting of Lilian Thuram, Marcel Desailly, Laurent Blanc and Bixente Lizarazu. These ¡®four musketeers¡¯ deployed a zone-marking method, with Blanc operating as an old-fashioned sweeper. Sitting in front of this four-man blockade were Didier Deschamps and Emmanuel Petit, who mopped up incalculable amounts of possession before knocking the ball to the team's one central playmaker, Zin¨¦dine Zidane. The three attackers consisted of one centre-forward (St¨¦phane Guivarc'h or David Tr¨¦z¨¦guet) and two wide men (Thierry Henry and Youri Djorkaeff). Jacquet controlled Italy and Brazil in the finals by reverting to the same system he used at the European Championships in 1996 -- three ball-winners (Christian Karembeu, Petit and Deschamps) across the midfield.

Did You Know?

Jacquet came perilously close to missing out on his gilded destiny. Had it not been for the help of a friend who agreed to stand in for him in the factory where he worked, Jacquet would not have been able to go to training with the small club of Sail-sous-Couzan and therefore would never have been spotted by AS Saint-Etienne, the team that offered him his first professional football contract.

Like many other great managers, Jacquet only had a very brief international career as a player, winning just two caps for France.

Throughout France 98, Jacquet was hardly ever seen without his precious black copybook. There was all manner of speculation as to what it contained, and after his side lifted the trophy, he finally revealed all: "When you're sitting in the dug-out, you're caught up in the moment, you're aware of all the external pressure from the fans and even from the players - sometimes you can simply lose sight of the basics. For a long time now, I've taken to noting down some thoughts on a copybook so I don't forget them in the heat of the action. I just jot down some clear ideas, nothing too elaborate. Then I dip into them as necessary during the game."

Jacquet's record from 16 February 1994 to 12 July 1998 is one of the most impressive ever for a French manager. In 53 matches, the coach recorded 34 wins, 16 draws and just three defeats -- with 93 goals scored and 27 conceded.

One of the real keys to Jacquet's success is that he knew how to take advantage of ¡°the major strength of the French system¡± -- i.e. the 12 installed coaches at the National Technical Training Centre (DTN). "When I was manager, I had twelve pairs of eyes in addition to my own,¡± he later said. ¡°That is a tremendous asset for any manager and means that you avoid any risk of getting locked into any tunnel-vision. All the coaches pool their reports; you learn a lot from that approach."

Jacquet was always one to shun the limelight, so how would he like to be remembered? He answers that question in his memoirs, where he writes: ¡°I would like to be remembered as an honest man."

Management

Career

National team

1992 - 1993 France (assistant to Houllier)

1993 - 1998 France

1998 - present France (Directeur Technique National)

International honours

1998 FIFA World Cup France? Champion

1996 European Championship semi-finalist

Club

1976 - 1980 Olympique Lyonnais

1980 - 1989 Girondins de Bordeaux

1989 - 1990 Montpellier H¨¦rault Sport Club

1990 - 1991 AS Nancy-Lorraine

Club honours:

1984, 1985, 1987 French League Champion

1986, 1987 French Cup Champion

1985 Semi-finalist of the European Champions Cup

Playing Career

International career:

2 International appearances

Clubs

1961 - 1973 AS Saint-Etienne

1973 - 1976 Olympique Lyonnais

Club honours:

1964, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970 French League Champion

1962, 1968, 1970 French Cup Champion