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[dissonance]
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A NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY
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[ominous music]
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[crowd roars]
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[Nicolas]
Everything I've done, don't do it.
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Everyone will turn on you.
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[crowd roars]
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Will you overcome your difficulties?
I don't know.
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Are you mentally strong? I don't know.
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You wanna be like me?
It's pointless. You're not me.
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And if you really wanna be like me
and do what I've done...
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get ready.
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[electronic music]
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I think if Nico wanted to make a film,
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there would be more parts
than Harry Potter.
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He could also do it like Star Wars,
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where the end is the beginning,
but the beginning isn't really the end.
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-[fast-paced music]
-[cheering]
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[commentator] He scored again!
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Anelka's made it two!
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[in French] The Che.
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[both in French] The Che.
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[Patrice] He's a guy
who doesn't pull punches.
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He's a guy I'd trust my life to.
He's a guy you can count on.
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[journalist] Here's the 17-year-old
who is shaking up football.
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I think Nicolas Anelka is almost
the forgotten footballer.
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[man] Nico is a person that stands out.
You either love him or hate him.
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Nico is no angel
when he doesn't feel like being an angel.
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[commentator]
An unsporting gesture from Anelka.
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[journalist] He said earlier today:
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"He'll have to get down on his knees
for me to come back on the French team."
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Nico doesn't know
how to be politically correct.
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[journalist] Nicolas Anelka expelled
from France's national team.
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If these events are accurate,
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they are unacceptable.
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When you look at everything
they've accused him of,
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when you know him,
it makes it even more infuriating
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because what they tell you is
the opposite of who he is.
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Champions League? Here you are.
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Nico is like a big brother.
He always gave me advice.
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[F. Hollande] It's all the excesses
of our society: money, individualism...
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In my view...
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we're talking about one
of the greatest strikers in history.
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[commentator] He's done well here.
Got away, put a shot...
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What a goal that is!
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[sighs] Oh, Nico, fuck...
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[ominous music]
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DUBAI
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
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[silence]
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[Nicolas] You OK, son? It's time.
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-[soft music]
-It's time to go to school.
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It's time...
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Well done!
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Very good.
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[soft music continues]
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Kais, it's time.
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It's time.
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Hey.
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I never said that I was retiring...
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because I don't care.
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It's not important.
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[Nicolas] Twenty years of football.
It was time.
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[in French] There you go!
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[Nicolas] I had the opportunity
to continue playing,
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but it would have meant leaving again,
being away from my family.
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I just reached a point where I said
to myself: "I'm happy like this.
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[hip-hop]
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Life's beautiful.
My family's here, my kids are here."
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I wanted to see them grow up
and live a quiet life.
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Nico had always said to me:
"The day I stop playing,
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I'd like us to go and live in Dubai
because I feel good there.
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It's sunny. The people are cool."
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[chatter]
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[Barbara] We love the time
when we're at home with our kids,
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as a family.
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[in French] There you go.
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-[Nicolas] It's time.
-[Barbara in French] Let's go.
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[Nicolas] It's at the end of your career
that you look back at things you've done,
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and you're either proud
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or you think: "I was a victim
that got pushed around for 20 years."
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And I didn't want to think that myself.
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[Nicolas] Didn't want to do that.
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[melancholy music]
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[hip-hop]
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[Nicolas] My parents were civil servants.
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Mum worked at Rambouillet High School,
Dad for the Board of Education.
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We didn't have it very hard,
but we weren't well off either.
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My parents had to work hard, but...
honestly, I had a wonderful childhood.
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I'm proud to be from the suburbs.
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We all lived together. Outside, inside.
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There was school, too. Films, music.
There were football games.
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[Nicolas] We were so close.
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I'd pick him up and we'd walk to school
together. We were both in the same year.
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[soft music]
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[Nicolas] Here's the promenade.
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That's it, there.
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[Omar] It was a stretch of grass
where there was always games going on.
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It was our Parc des Princes.
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[Sami] I remember nights
when the promenade was frozen.
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We'd say: "That's enough.
Come on, we're going home."
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You couldn't play on it.
It was unplayable, but he kept going.
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[Sami] He wanted to play and play.
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[Omar] On the promenade,
big kids played, little kids played.
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And Nico played with everyone.
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NICOLAS ANELKA PLAYS FOR TRAPPES FC.
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[Nicolas] I started football
when I was eight.
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-[shouting]
-I was with Karim and Sami.
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We were walking home when I said:
"I don't wanna be just a footballer."
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I wanna be a star.
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[chatter]
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[Karim D.] It was excessive.
It was too much.
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He even dressed up
for carnival as a footballer.
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You see what I mean?
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So, I say: "You got to come back
in a costume. You got to open up."
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No. Footballer.
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I couldn't show up as Zorro.
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I wanted to follow in the footsteps
of my big brother, Claude.
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He was my role model: I followed his lead
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and I really wanted to do
what he'd done at my age.
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I don't know if his love
of football came from me,
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but what I wanted to do was
allow him to progress,
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to evolve as a player, a very good player.
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He really wanted it, had talent,
but he didn't get the break that I got,
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being able to try out at Clairefontaine.
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[silence]
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[Nicolas] I left home at 13.
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You're ten, nearly 11.
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Let's say, in two and a half years,
you leave home.
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You don't sleep here anymore.
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[Nicolas] I left for Clairefontaine.
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-Who did you live with?
-I lived in a... [he laughs]
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It was a training centre. Just a building.
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There were lots of other 13-year-olds,
who were with me.
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[ominous music]
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[Nicolas] The INF was top-notch.
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Back then, it was
the number-one football academy.
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You'd have maybe 500 lads
who wanna get a place there.
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If you're one of the 23 chosen,
you've got talent.
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[woman in French] Come on!
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[Olivier] They put 20 kids in there.
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They tell them they're going
to be professional football players.
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Except that out of those 20,
there are maybe one, two or three.
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So, you're already on the job market.
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When you're in a training centre,
sorry to say it, but it's war.
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[Robert] The competition is ruthless,
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so you've got to beat your mates
who want the same thing you do.
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If you're not ready for that
when you're 14, 15, 16...
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then you can't... you can't make it.
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[cheering]
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[woman in French] Go help him... Yes!
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[applause]
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I was in my second year, he was starting
his first at Clairefontaine.
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[Thierry] When you eat in the cafeteria,
everyone's talking.
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"That young guy in the first year,
he's good!"
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[Thierry] Nico was so advanced
I didn't see him as a little brother,
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and he didn't see me as a big brother.
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It was more like we tried
to compete against each other.
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[Thierry] He was the most talented one.
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The most talented. He had a gift.
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[Thierry] Hey! Careful...
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You've got to be up to the challenge.
That's hard when you're 13.
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[cheering]
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What impressed me was the transformation:
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not seeing him anymore,
then seeing him come back.
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We saw him grow up,
turn into a top athlete.
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AT 16,
NICOLAS ANELKA JOINS PSG'S PRO SQUAD.
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[Nicolas] While I was playing
on the reserves,
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I joined in with the pros.
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I wasn't pro,
but I often trained with them.
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There was George Weah, Ginola,
Bravo, Bernard Lama...
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PSG greats.
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[Joachim] He got into a club
that won the European Cup.
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Often, young players like him are sent out
to toughen up a bit in second-rate clubs,
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but in his case,
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he immediately got into
a top-notch European club.
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[Nicolas] I still didn't know football
at that level. You learn on the job.
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I got a lot of help from Samir Amirèche.
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He practised with the pros like he would
practise with his mates outside his house.
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He was relaxed,
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but he had a gift for intercepting
and running with the ball.
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[Nicolas] When you play
with the pros, you go for it.
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It's motivating, at each other's throats.
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They're 23, 24, 25, 26, 27.
Up against the big boys.
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If you want to succeed,
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you should never think
that some guy is better than you.
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[Nicolas] But sometimes,
I hear young lads saying:
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"That guy, he's amazing! He's too good!"
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I always think they're crazy.
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They'll never make it
if they think like that.
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Never in my life would I say:
"That guy is better than me."
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Even if he is. It's impossible.
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[commentator] With 20 minutes to go,
Anelka is sent on to replace Loko.
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So, why should we pay attention to him?
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Because PSG says he's tomorrow's big star.
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There's lots of pressure when you're
with the pros. Everyone's watching.
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All your mates are watching.
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[cheering]
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[crowd roars]
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[Karim D.] My kid's 16.
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Same age Nico got on the pitch
at Parc des Princes.
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Hit like a bomb. We were so proud.
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1ST PROFESSIONAL GOAL
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[Didier D.] At the time,
he's the new talent at PSG.
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I'm watching in admiration.
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I see this guy who's sharp, fast, agile.
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[cheering]
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[Omar] What struck me, personally,
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was to see my mate
actually playing at pro level.
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He's playing with the old pros...
and he's right at their level.
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[crowd roars]
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A player like that,
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who bursts onto the scene
and has that maturity so young...
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Obviously, the football world
is talking about him.
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[upbeat music]
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I sent my recruiters to see him play.
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He was like players who switch
between the juniors and pros.
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Maybe he didn't feel
like he was fully appreciated.
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He was disappointed.
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I brought him in for the first time
and I said:
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"Do you want to come to Arsenal?"
He said to me: "Yes."
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Football and the Anelka affair.
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[journalist 1] This is the 17-year-old
who is shaking up French football.
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[journalist 2] He's just signed
with the English club Arsenal.
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[journalist 1] Without knowing it,
Anelka's in the middle of a legal battle.
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[journalist 2] Under French football
regulations, the 17-year-old player
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has to sign his first contract
with the club that trained him, PSG,
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but the player's inner circle
and Arsenal contend
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that the Bosman ruling
on free movement of players in Europe
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exempts them from that obligation.
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We were a little bit worried
because we were the first ones to...
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I guess you could say
defy the French football system.
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[journalist 2]
French football is sticking together.
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Its entire training policy is at stake.
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The case is being resolved
by the League and UEFA,
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which means that the Anelka affair
won't happen twice.
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We've got to quickly get this in hand
and find the laws and legislative means
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to keep junior players
at least until they're 22 or 23.
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[Selim] Paris wasn't letting him play.
239
00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:30,040
He said: "I deserve to play.
I'm qualified to play."
240
00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:33,080
He's the first player actually who,
at a certain point,
241
00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:35,120
knew when to tell PSG to go to hell.
242
00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:38,120
[Karim N.]
It's all anyone was talking about.
243
00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:42,120
The star who embodied
PSG's youth was walking out.
244
00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:45,720
But you had to realise something.
He symbolised the Bosman ruling.
245
00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:48,320
That's the free movement
of players and individuals.
246
00:13:49,680 --> 00:13:52,360
He opened the door for all kids
at all training centres.
247
00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:54,200
So, yes, they made him pay.
248
00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:58,520
He was the first to say: "I do what I want
and I play by European rules."
249
00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,920
[Nicolas] In my head, I'm already
at Arsenal. Especially as I just signed.
250
00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,520
I definitely wanted to leave PSG.
That's for sure.
251
00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:07,360
ANELKA LEAVES FOR ARSENAL
252
00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:12,000
Only real geniuses believe in themselves.
It's like Van Gogh.
253
00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:15,960
[Karim N.] If a genius doesn't believe
in himself, he can't express his art.
254
00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:19,480
And that leads to an attitude
that can seem arrogant
255
00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:22,600
because you're going to impose your art.
256
00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:25,680
Individuals like Thierry Henry,
257
00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:28,280
they were raised in such a way
that they were never satisfied.
258
00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:33,000
It also shows strength of character
to be like: "OK, so you're leaving me out?
259
00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,480
Well, then, look what I'm going to do.
I'm capable of leaving for England.
260
00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:38,280
I'm young, but it doesn't scare me."
261
00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:41,320
I was gonna be on equal footing
with the other strikers...
262
00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:43,320
so I went for it.
263
00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:47,360
LONDON
ENGLAND
264
00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:50,640
[journalist] After lengthy negotiations,
17-year-old Nicolas Anelka
265
00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:53,680
transferred last night
to English club Arsenal.
266
00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:55,840
[Nicolas] I remember I took the Eurostar.
267
00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:58,040
It wasn't easy, it was...
268
00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,640
But it's the choice I made.
I had to own it.
269
00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:05,160
I made the choice to come to England
and I couldn't go back.
270
00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:06,920
Well, when he arrived at Arsenal,
271
00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:10,120
he was with a very charismatic
group of players,
272
00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:13,960
whether it was the old-school like
Ian Wright, Ray Parlour and Tony Adams.
273
00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:17,600
This is the Arsenal,
this is one of, you know,
274
00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:20,000
the founding, driving forces of the game,
275
00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:22,520
woven into the tapestry
of English football,
276
00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:26,240
with fans who are just totally passionate,
who live all around the ground,
277
00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:27,600
who live all over the world.
278
00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:29,320
[ominous music]
279
00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:32,800
The beginning wasn't easy
280
00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:36,000
because keep in mind
he's a real Parisian kid,
281
00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:39,600
suddenly thrown headlong
into the English world.
282
00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:43,800
[Nicolas] Everything was new:
new teammates, new language...
283
00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:47,200
But luckily, Pat was there at the time.
Pat Vieira.
284
00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:53,200
He didn't have his driver's licence
back then, so I'd go and pick him up.
285
00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:56,400
We'd go to practice together.
Afterwards, I'd drop him off at home.
286
00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:58,800
I tried to become friends with him
287
00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:02,000
because when you leave France
to go play in a foreign country,
288
00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:04,160
you feel a little disorientated.
289
00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:08,800
[Nicolas] It's a different kind
of football from what we had in France.
290
00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:11,240
A lot of commitment, a lot of contact.
291
00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:13,600
So, I had to adapt.
I had to change up my game.
292
00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:15,880
I wasn't ready for battle yet.
293
00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:18,880
So, I had to go and train
with the reserves.
294
00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,560
[Arsène] He came in with the idea
that he was a great player.
295
00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:24,200
That's common when you're young.
296
00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:26,120
But for me,
he lacked maturity, physically.
297
00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:30,600
He lost the ball too much.
He was a little careless in his game.
298
00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:36,400
[Nicolas] I don't play much at first.
Just 10-15 minutes in a few games.
299
00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:37,960
Not great.
300
00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:41,440
You wonder if you made
the right choice or not.
301
00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:44,600
DERBY
ENGLAND
302
00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:47,080
[Nicolas] The last match
of the championship
303
00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:49,280
was an away game at Derby County.
304
00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,560
Everyone was sitting in the bus.
No Nicolas Anelka.
305
00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:55,960
[Nicolas] Coach is waiting for me.
Comes to get me.
306
00:16:57,120 --> 00:17:02,760
I knock on the door, he lets me in
and I see he's packing his bags.
307
00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:06,920
I say: "What are you doing?"
He says to me...
308
00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:08,080
I don't wanna come.
309
00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:10,520
[ominous music]
310
00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:14,200
The coach talks to me and says:
311
00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:17,360
"Make an effort.
You'll see, it will pay off."
312
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:22,400
And after 20 minutes, half hour,
I manage to convince him.
313
00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:24,000
[chanting]
314
00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:25,600
[Nicolas] The match starts.
315
00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:30,240
After five or ten minutes of play,
Paul Merson gets injured.
316
00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:35,640
[Nicolas] So, the coach turns to me
and says: "Go on, get in there."
317
00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:37,560
[cheering and chanting]
318
00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:39,920
-[commentator] Bergkamp.
-[Nicolas] I set up two goals.
319
00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:41,880
[commentator]
Lovely little touch. Ball through.
320
00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,200
-And that's gonna be number three!
-[cheering]
321
00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:46,160
He played a fantastic game.
322
00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:49,160
[Nicolas] I ended up Man of the Match.
323
00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:51,640
We win the game,
324
00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:56,440
he takes his shower and,
unlike the day before, he's smiling.
325
00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:57,920
That's when everything clicked.
326
00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:02,160
[Nicolas] You need that when you're
a striker, even if you're strong.
327
00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:05,560
You need to feel the coach
is there for you when things are tough.
328
00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:08,280
That he'll be there
and put you back on again,
329
00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:10,800
even if you're mediocre in the last match.
330
00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:12,880
[Nicolas] I felt Arsène was there for me.
331
00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:15,920
Knowing that, you give it your all
and usually you succeed
332
00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,280
because, mentally, it changes things.
333
00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:21,600
-[commentator] Anelka...
-[cheering]
334
00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:26,320
Oh, what a goal!
Nicolas Anelka's first for the club!
335
00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:28,760
Anelka against Jaap Stam...
336
00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:31,920
-Still Anelka! Three-nil!
-[cheering]
337
00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:35,520
He was replacing, um, Ian Wright,
338
00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:39,320
who is embedded not simply
in the fabric of Arsenal football club,
339
00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:41,000
but in the hearts of every Arsenal fan.
340
00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:42,080
[cheering]
341
00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:44,480
[commentator] Anelka...
Oh, that's a great goal!
342
00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:49,120
We were 13 points
behind Manchester United.
343
00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:52,160
No one thought
we'd be able to pull it back.
344
00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:55,720
[commentator] Petit...
Batty trying to stem the flow...
345
00:18:56,360 --> 00:18:58,280
Nicolas Anelka and he's done it!
346
00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:01,280
He went through a transformation
in six months that was incredible.
347
00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:04,120
[Emmanuel] It was at Blackburn.
348
00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:05,680
He gets in front of the keeper,
349
00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:09,440
he does that famous fake shot
where he almost bends his back knee.
350
00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:11,920
And then he does a step over.
The keeper is stunned.
351
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,160
You get the feeling
the keeper was invisible.
352
00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:16,480
He's like a cat.
353
00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:19,560
[Arsène] The guy had strength
as well as flexibility.
354
00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:21,280
[commentator] It's still Anelka.
355
00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:23,480
I'll never forget the match
against Manchester.
356
00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,760
[commentator] Arsenal arrive here
with a record of just one defeat
357
00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:29,480
in 18 games in all competitions.
358
00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:32,880
[Nicolas] It was a close game.
We had to win.
359
00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:35,120
I head the ball in front of Marc Overmars.
360
00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:37,760
-[commentator] Oh, it's Overmars!
-[cheering]
361
00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:38,920
He's done it this time!
362
00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:42,440
We beat Manchester 1-0 in Manchester.
363
00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:46,640
[commentator] The championship race
still very much open.
364
00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:50,560
The situation ended
driving Arsenal back into it
365
00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:52,720
against a very good Manchester United side
366
00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:57,440
purely because of his self-belief,
because he just didn't feel pressure.
367
00:19:57,520 --> 00:19:58,600
[cheering]
368
00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:01,280
[Nicolas] The crowning glory was
the match at Highbury.
369
00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:02,360
[commentator] Adams!
370
00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:04,640
[Nicolas] Tony Adams scores
the winning goal.
371
00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:08,040
-[commentator] Would you believe it?
-[crowd roars]
372
00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:09,440
[commentator] Final whistle!
373
00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:12,760
-[epic music]
-[commentator] Arsenal are the champions!
374
00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:14,520
It was something special.
375
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:18,800
But the truth is, when you're 19,
you don't understand.
376
00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:20,880
Fully understand what's going on.
377
00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:25,120
The classic double is to win the League
and to win the Cup.
378
00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:27,080
For an English fan, for an English player,
379
00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:30,480
for anyone growing up
with any understanding of English sport,
380
00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,480
that is the bar,
that is absolutely the pinnacle.
381
00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:35,840
[epic music]
382
00:20:38,360 --> 00:20:39,360
FA CUP FINAL
383
00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:40,760
[commentator] Vieira...
384
00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:43,720
Anelka... Onside...
385
00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:46,160
Anelka's away... Good strike!
386
00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:48,600
[crowd roars]
387
00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:51,120
[epic music]
388
00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:53,160
[cheering]
389
00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:57,680
[Nicolas] We were champions.
I scored in the Cup Final.
390
00:20:58,160 --> 00:20:59,680
It was the ultimate dream.
391
00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:04,800
I felt I had a good chance
of playing in the World Cup.
392
00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:06,720
[cheering]
393
00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:15,000
Six too many.
We were expecting 22 players.
394
00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:16,080
Aimé Jacquet announced
395
00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:19,200
a list of 28 names
for the World Cup in early June.
396
00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:21,640
[newscaster]
He's gonna have to cut it back.
397
00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:24,080
FRANCE HOSTS THE 1998 WORLD CUP.
398
00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:26,760
NICOLAS ANELKA IS ONE
OF THE 28 PLAYERS SHORTLISTED,
399
00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:29,000
BUT MANAGER AIMÉ JACQUET
STILL HAS TO CUT 6.
400
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:33,160
We knew that there'd be players
who'd be out of selection
401
00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:35,640
because Aimé had said so.
402
00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:37,080
He'd announced it.
403
00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:39,200
He'd selected six extra players,
404
00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:41,360
but at some point,
he had to make a final list.
405
00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:45,080
[journalist] Jacquet experienced
one of the longest days of his life.
406
00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:47,680
When practice was over,
he paced the pitch alone.
407
00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:49,320
But not entirely.
408
00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,320
Facing him,
over 20 players awaited his decision.
409
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:57,800
It's great at the age of 19
to be on the French team,
410
00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:01,880
but I'd be disappointed to miss out
on an event like the World Cup.
411
00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:05,480
It was an honour to wear
the France shirt, yeah.
412
00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:09,360
But there was always a "but".
413
00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:12,280
I could tell that something
wasn't quite right.
414
00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:15,120
[birds chirping]
415
00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:20,480
[Nicolas] The day the list went up,
I was with Thierry.
416
00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:23,120
The phone rings
and they ask me to come down.
417
00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:26,000
So, I go downstairs,
get to the coach's room.
418
00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:30,040
I was the second or third one there.
We were lined up.
419
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:33,920
He explains to each one why.
420
00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:36,800
Why he hadn't picked them
421
00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:39,120
and why they won't be part
of the World Cup.
422
00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:44,160
And when he gets to me,
he says: "You, it's normal."
423
00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:46,000
"You, it's normal."
424
00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:48,400
Then he moves on.
425
00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:52,600
Of course, it's a harsh decision.
It's even very cruel.
426
00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:55,400
But we live in a cruel world.
427
00:22:57,120 --> 00:23:01,880
I don't know if those guys realise
the significance of that,
428
00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:06,520
how it feels, how it can mess up
a kid's head when you say to him:
429
00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:09,600
"You, it's normal" with no explanation.
430
00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:14,120
If you're mentally weak,
it could kill your career.
431
00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:15,680
At Clairefontaine,
432
00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:17,720
there's a ping-pong table
and we were playing.
433
00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:19,760
[Robert] Across from it,
there's the staircase,
434
00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:22,240
and I see Nico come down with his bags.
435
00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:25,600
And he was totally...
yeah, totally relaxed. Cool.
436
00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:27,640
He says to me: "Oh, no big deal.
437
00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:30,320
This way, I'll have time
to get my driver's licence."
438
00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:33,720
And at the time, I thought to myself:
"This guy is crazy!"
439
00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,480
[Robert laughs]
Actually, his reaction stunned me.
440
00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:40,160
And I thought: "Nico Anelka is totally
different from everybody else,
441
00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:41,840
and he's different from me."
442
00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:45,200
I saw them leave. Some of them
were crying, tears in their eyes.
443
00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:47,920
Imagine, a month and a half later,
we're on top of the world
444
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,520
and those guys
are in front of the TV saying:
445
00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:53,240
"I probably missed
the most important day of my life".
446
00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:56,280
-[cheering]
-[commentator] France is world champion!
447
00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:58,320
[journalist] A historic night...
448
00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:02,200
"Historic" is truly
the most understated term to sum up
449
00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:05,440
what's been happening
since last night in France.
450
00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:07,680
[crowd chants] Zidane! Zidane!
451
00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:09,320
ZIDANE FOR PRESIDENT
452
00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:13,200
[journalist] More than a million people
last night on the Champs-Élysées.
453
00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:15,400
A mad wave of ecstasy
for the people of France.
454
00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:17,000
[cheering]
455
00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:20,280
[air horn]
456
00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:22,040
[crowd roars]
457
00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:28,560
It made me stronger
because when there's an injustice...
458
00:24:29,120 --> 00:24:31,680
you tell yourself
you've got to get over it.
459
00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:35,920
And you've got to work
twice as hard to come back
460
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,880
because they're world champions
and you don't change a winning team.
461
00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:45,400
8 MONTHS LATER, NICOLAS ANELKA SCORES
TWO HISTORIC GOALS FOR FRANCE.
462
00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:47,320
LONDON
ENGLAND
463
00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:50,400
[commentator in French] Thuram crosses
the halfway line. Passes to Zidane.
464
00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:54,000
Zidane controls the ball,
passes to Anelka... Anelka! Goal!
465
00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:57,520
Nicolas Anelka, the Arsenal player,
opens the score!
466
00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:00,360
[commentator] Nicolas Anelka
becomes the first Frenchman
467
00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:03,320
to score against England at Wembley.
468
00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:07,280
[commentator in French] Zidane
to Dugarry. Dugarry in the penalty area.
469
00:25:07,360 --> 00:25:10,200
Christophe Dugarry crosses forward,
and second goal!
470
00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:14,040
Second goal by Nicolas Anelka
here at Wembley. France lead 2-0.
471
00:25:14,120 --> 00:25:16,200
It's historic. It's doubly historic!
472
00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:18,640
[epic music]
473
00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:22,320
Very good. Perfect.
474
00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:25,920
He has a lot of talent.
He showed that again tonight.
475
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:28,640
So, I hope that continues
for the French team and for him, too.
476
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:32,320
All of a sudden,
this player shows up in the game
477
00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:35,080
and makes a connection with Zidane,
who's like a god on earth,
478
00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:36,680
so everyone says:
479
00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:40,320
"Wow! We're on our way
to five or six more years of triumph."
480
00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:42,000
"SON OF TRAPPES... AND KING OF ENGLAND"
481
00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:46,720
I would have preferred to have been part
of the team that won the World Cup,
482
00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:48,640
but it is what it is, it's life.
483
00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:52,080
Something you have to get over, and I did.
484
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:56,200
DUBAI
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
485
00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:59,440
[soft music]
486
00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:03,440
[Nicolas] What I've done in my life
and what I've done in football,
487
00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:05,480
that's all well and good.
488
00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:08,040
The most important thing is my family.
489
00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:11,800
-[in French] Which one is it?
-[in French] Which one is what?
490
00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:16,120
[Nicolas] I'm lucky to have parents
who taught me values,
491
00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:17,880
so I'm trying to do the same,
492
00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:20,960
to pass on what I was taught
to my children.
493
00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:24,960
-[seagulls shrieking]
-[Nicolas] Let's see if we can play.
494
00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:28,320
They haven't seen me play very much.
495
00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:32,920
I didn't take them to matches very often.
I didn't want to force them.
496
00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:36,200
Watch. Like this... Stop.
497
00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:39,080
[Nicolas] That's it! Again.
498
00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:43,120
[Nicolas] I didn't want them to be
footballers: it's a tough profession
499
00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:45,320
and you've got to have talent.
500
00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:46,880
[shouting]
501
00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:50,520
They both play football.
Kais, a little more seriously.
502
00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:52,480
Kahil, more for fun.
503
00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:56,360
[Barbara] He loves to take them
to practice, wait for them,
504
00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:57,680
go to matches.
505
00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:00,840
[shouting]
506
00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:03,120
[final whistle]
507
00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:04,840
[silence]
508
00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:09,040
[Nicolas] Learn your technique.
I saw zero technique at training.
509
00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:10,120
Zero.
510
00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:14,560
You play like you train.
511
00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:17,560
If you suck when you train,
you'll suck in the match.
512
00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:18,920
That's it.
513
00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:22,240
If you don't work outside of training,
don't do anything more,
514
00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:25,720
then you're gonna suck, be no good.
515
00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:26,800
That's all.
516
00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:32,520
Don't just say: "I wanna be a footballer."
Footballers are real players.
517
00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:34,840
[Nicolas] It's a tough job.
518
00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:40,680
MADRID
SPAIN
519
00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:42,760
[journalist 1] Anelka expressed his desire
520
00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:44,720
to leave the Premier League.
521
00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:47,400
[journalist 2]
Topping today's sports news,
522
00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:51,200
French striker Anelka transfers
to Real Madrid.
523
00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:53,720
He was courted by Real Madrid.
524
00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:57,680
Juventus was also very interested.
525
00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:01,840
They didn't want to sell me.
I'd done two and a half years at Arsenal.
526
00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:04,320
I'd scored a certain number of goals.
527
00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:08,120
It was now time for me
to join a better club.
528
00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:13,000
[journalist] Lazio in Rome offers
200 million francs and Juventus 300,
529
00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:14,800
but negotiations fall through.
530
00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:17,280
Anelka's advisers may
have been too greedy.
531
00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:21,600
He got a lot of criticism for taking
the advice of his brothers.
532
00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:23,280
I don't know what they were like,
533
00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:26,600
whether they were motivated
by materialistic things
534
00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:30,040
or whether they said to him:
"What is best for your development?"
535
00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:34,000
[Nicolas] One of my brothers was able
to manage my finances,
536
00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:35,720
as he was an accountant.
537
00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:40,200
My other brother played for PFC,
a third-division club at the time.
538
00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:44,040
So, why would I ask someone else,
a stranger, to handle my career?
539
00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:45,520
It's funny.
540
00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:49,640
When people come from the streets,
it's called a clan, even a sect.
541
00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:52,920
But when it's other people who don't
come from the street, it's "family".
542
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:54,520
Why a clan?
543
00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:58,400
Because maybe at the time,
when Nicolas wanted to leave PSG,
544
00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:02,280
we pushed hard for it,
so people talked about a clan.
545
00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:05,320
[Didier A.]
A pretty tight-knit clan, pretty tough.
546
00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:09,440
Well, that's what made us strong.
547
00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:13,800
[Karim N.]
They symbolised the future of football.
548
00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:17,600
The Anelka family ran a grocery store,
managed their own business,
549
00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:22,280
and right next door, all around them,
big supermarkets were gorging themselves.
550
00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:25,200
[Karim N.] People said
the Anelka brothers are manipulating him.
551
00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:28,360
At 20, Anelka was making
his own decisions.
552
00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:31,240
He decides to leave for England
because he's not playing in Paris.
553
00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:35,160
He decides to leave Arsenal
when his brothers ask him to stay.
554
00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:39,040
Real Madrid is one
of the best clubs in the world,
555
00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:42,480
and when Real Madrid want you,
it's not about the money.
556
00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:46,000
Because Real, at the time, with seven
or eight Champions League titles,
557
00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:47,440
was already number one.
558
00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:49,280
[commotion and camera flashes]
559
00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:55,800
[Nicolas] Madrid was crazy.
A lot of press, a lot of fans.
560
00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:01,840
It's Real Madrid's
most expensive transfer.
561
00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:04,400
[L. Sanz] We hope in this way
to secure Real Madrid's future.
562
00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:09,120
220 million francs was
the biggest transfer of all time then.
563
00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:11,720
[Karim N.] It's Mbappé
and Neymar combined.
564
00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:15,520
I never imagined there'd be
so many people here for me.
565
00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:18,720
But I'm delighted by your welcome.
566
00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:24,520
[Nicolas] I understood what it meant
to be a star when I joined Real Madrid.
567
00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:26,680
And I hated it.
568
00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:31,440
[journalist 1] Anelka had
his first training session
569
00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:33,640
and met his new teammates.
570
00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:37,920
[journalist 2] The player stirred up
passion in a packed Ciudad Deportiva.
571
00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:41,320
[Nicolas] After the press conference,
I go to the changing room.
572
00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:42,960
Get there first, sit down.
573
00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:45,000
Every player that came in
made me move, saying:
574
00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:48,440
"That's my place."
"Ah, sorry. Over here good?"
575
00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:49,920
"Yeah, sit there."
576
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:53,560
Then another would come in:
"That's my place." Maybe 20 like that.
577
00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:57,600
[Karim N.] He barely got someone to loan
him a strip for his first practice.
578
00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:01,280
Imagine if Neymar showed up at PSG
and there was nothing for him to wear.
579
00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:03,200
Back then, it was dog eat dog.
580
00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:06,000
[applause and cheering]
581
00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:08,280
[Nicolas] I thought:
"What am I doing here?
582
00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:10,280
It's gonna be hostile."
583
00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:15,480
What I went through that day was
just the start of the nightmare.
584
00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:17,040
[ominous music]
585
00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:19,240
[journalist 1]
One of today's big stories...
586
00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:21,920
[journalist 2] Everyone is
eager to see Anelka's debut.
587
00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:25,040
For football's sake,
he'd better not disappoint.
588
00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:27,840
[cheering and whistling]
589
00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:29,880
[Nicolas] Pressure, right from the start.
590
00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:32,360
[ominous music]
591
00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:36,760
[Nicolas] I saw it because my name
appeared in the Spanish press every day.
592
00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:38,120
Photos of me.
593
00:31:40,280 --> 00:31:44,000
[journalist 1] An unmemorable debut
for La Liga's most expensive player.
594
00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:48,360
[journalist 2] Eighteen goals for Arsenal
last year, and nothing yet in La Liga.
595
00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:51,320
[Nicolas] On the pitch,
it wasn't happening.
596
00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:55,120
And that was because I had no privacy.
Couldn't do anything.
597
00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:57,240
You're 20, can't walk down the street.
598
00:31:57,320 --> 00:31:58,200
[shouting]
599
00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:00,320
[Nicolas] Everything you do
gets talked about.
600
00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:03,160
Everything you buy is
in the papers the next day.
601
00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:04,720
The place where he lived,
602
00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:08,000
we had to put barriers up because
journalists could film even from outside.
603
00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:10,920
[Marguerite]
It was horrible for everybody.
604
00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,680
He locked himself in his house.
We had to do that, too.
605
00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:16,400
[Marguerite]
Kept the curtains closed all day long.
606
00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:18,440
It was intolerable.
607
00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:22,760
I even had an anxiety attack,
which I've never had before.
608
00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:24,800
I mean, screaming, shouting like a maniac.
609
00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:28,080
At one point, I even thought
he was going to leave and quit football.
610
00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:30,200
"ANELKA IS DEPRESSED"
611
00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:32,160
"ANELKA IS SUFFERING"
"IS ANELKA A FRAUD?"
612
00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:35,000
[Nicolas] When you're at Real Madrid,
they expect a lot.
613
00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:38,160
The press ask you to be open,
but I wouldn't open up.
614
00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:42,560
And maybe that handicap
was a significant problem
615
00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:45,800
because I wasn't really accepted
as part of the team.
616
00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:47,880
I was very average on the pitch.
617
00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:49,840
The press were against me.
618
00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:53,560
MADRID
SPAIN - MARCA OFFICES
619
00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:56,280
I was invited to MARCA's offices.
620
00:32:56,360 --> 00:33:00,520
When I go, it's kind of a favour
because I didn't usually talk to them.
621
00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:04,200
[Karim N.] For the photo, the journalist
says: "Will you do a FIFA game?"
622
00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:07,440
[Nicolas] I play the game and I score.
Against Atlético, I think.
623
00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:11,000
In next day's newspaper, it's: "Nicolas
Anelka has finally scored a goal...
624
00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:12,080
in a video game."
625
00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:13,800
"HIS FIRST DERBY... HIS FIRST GOAL"
626
00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:16,400
Those were the tricks of the press
I didn't pick up on.
627
00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:19,880
Looking back, I screwed up,
628
00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:25,240
but at the time, I really didn't think
that they'd be as vicious as that.
629
00:33:25,320 --> 00:33:28,800
After that, I think:
"OK, fine. That's how it is.
630
00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:31,480
I give you something,
and usually I don't give anything,
631
00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:33,560
but I come,
I take a step in your direction,
632
00:33:33,640 --> 00:33:35,560
and you... you slap me in the face.
633
00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:37,120
No problem. You get nothing."
634
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:40,360
[upbeat music]
635
00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:44,520
BRAZIL
CLUB WORLD CUP
636
00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:46,680
5 MONTHS AFTER HIS ARRIVAL,
637
00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:49,600
NICOLAS ANELKA STILL HASN'T SCORED
FOR REAL MADRID.
638
00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:52,200
Going to Brazil for the Club World Cup,
639
00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:54,560
away from all that pressure and the media,
640
00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:58,040
pretty much incognito,
that gave me a second wind.
641
00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:02,960
[crowd roars]
642
00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:05,200
[indistinct Portuguese commentary]
643
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:08,960
In a country like Brazil,
644
00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:11,880
being joint top scorer
with a legend like Romário,
645
00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:13,480
I'll take that any day.
646
00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:18,680
[Nicolas] When you're a number nine,
you need to compete.
647
00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:20,640
You need people to have faith in you...
648
00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:23,920
so you can give your best.
649
00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:27,480
MADRID
SPAIN
650
00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:30,280
[journalist] This week,
it's the Barça-Real Madrid match.
651
00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:33,600
An event always described
as the match of all matches.
652
00:34:33,680 --> 00:34:35,640
[cheering]
653
00:34:35,720 --> 00:34:38,000
[commentator in Spanish] Shoot!
654
00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:40,480
-Morientes now. Madrid could score...
-[crowd roars]
655
00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:42,720
Goal from Anelka!
656
00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:44,920
[Nicolas] I scored. I was so happy.
657
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:48,880
[commentator in Spanish]
An important goal for the club in white!
658
00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:52,520
[Nicolas] Next game, I was average.
659
00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:54,960
After that, I'm on the bench.
660
00:34:55,040 --> 00:34:58,520
I turn up one day for training
and I say: "We've got to talk."
661
00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:02,080
And they tell me:
"We'll talk after training."
662
00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:04,640
I said: "No, no, we talk before."
663
00:35:04,720 --> 00:35:07,320
But they made it clear:
"We'll talk after."
664
00:35:08,240 --> 00:35:10,480
[Nicolas] I took the way
they reacted badly.
665
00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:13,000
I thought: "Fine.
You've got a bad attitude.
666
00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:15,000
I'll have a bad attitude, too."
667
00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:18,160
I went to war with them,
but truth was, I just wanted to talk.
668
00:35:18,240 --> 00:35:23,400
I had this real street kid mentality
and I wouldn't submit.
669
00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:25,680
[Nicolas] OK. Clash.
670
00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:30,160
An astonishing statement
from Madrid player Nicolas Anelka.
671
00:35:30,240 --> 00:35:31,960
The French player, without any warning...
672
00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:34,360
[male journalist]
...refused to train with his teammates.
673
00:35:34,440 --> 00:35:37,360
[Nicolas] I miss training,
get called in by one of the presidents.
674
00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:40,480
We talk, talk, talk and he says to me:
"Tomorrow, you better turn up."
675
00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:43,960
And I say:
"Wait for me tomorrow. You'll see."
676
00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:47,960
[journalist] He refused
to train yesterday.
677
00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:51,680
He was supposed to be
at Ciudad Deportiva at 11 a.m. today.
678
00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:55,280
Instead, he gave
an interview to French television
679
00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:58,600
and played football in his garden,
as you can see here.
680
00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:03,360
Lorenzo Sanz and Real Madrid
face a serious problem.
681
00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:07,400
Again, they created a drama around me,
when all I wanted,
682
00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:09,160
all I was asking for,
683
00:36:09,240 --> 00:36:11,880
was to be left alone
to focus on my football,
684
00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:14,800
so that I could actually try
to prove that I was talented
685
00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:17,120
and that I could play for Real.
686
00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:20,760
Every time there was a power struggle,
he was inevitably on the wrong side.
687
00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:21,840
The dark side.
688
00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:23,520
[Karim N.] He goes on strike.
689
00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:26,280
He says: "No, I'm not training.
I want you to explain."
690
00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:30,000
Instead of explaining, they say:
"Do your training. We'll decide later."
691
00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:34,600
And then he famously said:
"Well, I'd rather go sell TVs at Darty."
692
00:36:34,680 --> 00:36:36,200
I admire him for that.
693
00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:38,880
The person he is, before the athlete.
694
00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:41,800
And there's this thing he used
to say a lot that made me laugh.
695
00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:44,080
He'd say: "I'm a guy from Trappes."
696
00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:45,160
[hip-hop]
697
00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:48,600
NICOLAS ANELKA IS SUSPENDED FOR 45 DAYS
AND FINED 350,000 EUROS.
698
00:36:48,680 --> 00:36:50,720
HE USES THIS TIME TO GO HOME TO TRAPPES.
699
00:36:54,360 --> 00:36:56,320
It's been a while since I've seen Paris.
700
00:36:57,080 --> 00:36:58,680
[Nicolas] I'm happy to be back.
701
00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:01,920
See family and friends, have a few laughs.
702
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:03,440
[revving]
703
00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:05,960
[Arsène] He's a straightforward guy.
704
00:37:07,240 --> 00:37:09,920
Who's honest.
705
00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:11,280
Who's faithful.
706
00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:13,720
And who has loyalty. Real loyalty.
707
00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:17,240
Who can be excessive sometimes
because he's impulsive,
708
00:37:17,320 --> 00:37:21,880
like all guys who hold in
what's troubling them.
709
00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:25,600
And when they blow up, they often
go beyond what they mean to say.
710
00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:28,760
And they often get labelled as excessive.
711
00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:33,920
AFTER APOLOGISING,
NICOLAS ANELKA RESUMES TRAINING.
712
00:37:35,680 --> 00:37:38,640
[Nicolas] When I go back to training,
it's tough, really tough,
713
00:37:38,720 --> 00:37:40,200
because the players were against me.
714
00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:45,040
A lot of them were out to get me,
but I'd been in England.
715
00:37:45,120 --> 00:37:47,000
I knew how to be physical.
716
00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:52,200
And there were lots of little fights
and duels out on the pitch,
717
00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:55,240
but after a while,
everything got back to normal.
718
00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:57,400
MADRID
SPAIN
719
00:37:57,480 --> 00:37:59,440
[journalist 1]
A big Champions League game.
720
00:37:59,520 --> 00:38:01,640
[journalist 2]
Bayern Munich will face Real.
721
00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:04,520
[Nicolas] Semi-finals are special.
Everyone's watching.
722
00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:07,440
You can change everything, turn the tide.
723
00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:10,120
[indistinct Spanish commentary]
724
00:38:10,200 --> 00:38:13,560
[commentator in Spanish] The ball
into Anelka, he's in the right place
725
00:38:13,640 --> 00:38:14,960
and Real Madrid has scored!
726
00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:16,240
[cheering]
727
00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:21,760
Huge satisfaction because I was picked
for the Champions League, too.
728
00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:25,640
He's decisive against Bayern
in the first leg as well as the second
729
00:38:25,720 --> 00:38:29,000
in horrible conditions because,
two months earlier,
730
00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:31,440
everyone had him in the cellar at Real.
731
00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:34,680
[crowd roars]
732
00:38:36,080 --> 00:38:37,080
"MWAH"
733
00:38:37,160 --> 00:38:38,160
[whistle]
734
00:38:38,240 --> 00:38:40,040
"ANELKA'S BIG NIGHT"
735
00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:41,120
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL
736
00:38:41,200 --> 00:38:45,000
[commentator in Spanish] Welcome
to the Spanish football party in Paris!
737
00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:47,560
The Champions League final!
738
00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:49,840
Nicolas Anelka with the ball...
739
00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:52,000
Anelka again passing behind...
740
00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:56,280
The ball for Michel and now Morientes!
Goal, goal, goal, goal, goal!
741
00:38:56,360 --> 00:38:57,680
[cheering]
742
00:38:57,760 --> 00:39:01,320
It's almost over.
Real Madrid will be European champions!
743
00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:03,600
The 24th May 2000!
744
00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:07,680
A historic day for Madrid.
That's it! It's over!
745
00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:12,200
[journalist] Nicolas Anelka's name
was chanted by Real Madrid socios
746
00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:14,840
when he came off the pitch
and at the award ceremony.
747
00:39:14,920 --> 00:39:15,720
[cheering]
748
00:39:15,800 --> 00:39:19,680
[commentator in Spanish] Now we can
truly say that Madrid holds "La Octava"!
749
00:39:19,760 --> 00:39:23,000
[Nicolas] I helped them win
their eighth Champions League title.
750
00:39:23,080 --> 00:39:24,600
I'm proud of that.
751
00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:27,320
Considering Real was hardly
a piece of cake at the start,
752
00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:30,960
beyond football, there was
something personal in it for him.
753
00:39:31,040 --> 00:39:32,440
A sweet revenge.
754
00:39:32,760 --> 00:39:35,480
I didn't do much.
Very little at Real Madrid.
755
00:39:35,560 --> 00:39:38,440
I wanted to do more,
but I didn't get the chance.
756
00:39:38,520 --> 00:39:41,360
I wasn't great. There were
a lot of things going on, though.
757
00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:43,480
[Nicolas] I have many regrets.
758
00:39:43,560 --> 00:39:45,840
Looking back, I wanted to play for Real,
759
00:39:45,920 --> 00:39:48,880
but there sacrifices to be made,
and I was too young to understand.
760
00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:52,400
There were things
I shouldn't have said or done.
761
00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:55,120
But when you're the first
to do things, you don't know.
762
00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:56,960
[melancholy music]
763
00:39:57,040 --> 00:40:00,800
[Nicolas] It was early in my career.
Very early. Maybe too early.
764
00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:03,640
I didn't appreciate the moment
for what it was.
765
00:40:03,720 --> 00:40:06,760
I didn't know it was the only one
I'd win, for example.
766
00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:09,480
I think it's at 30 you really take stock.
767
00:40:09,560 --> 00:40:11,080
You understand what it means.
768
00:40:11,160 --> 00:40:14,360
You know it's hard. You know it's a cup
that everyone wants to win.
769
00:40:14,440 --> 00:40:18,040
The way you savour it is different
from when you're 20.
770
00:40:18,120 --> 00:40:19,640
Don't know what this is.
771
00:40:21,840 --> 00:40:23,280
I know what this is, though.
772
00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:25,880
It's a bit rusty.
773
00:40:29,200 --> 00:40:30,200
Yeah.
774
00:40:31,040 --> 00:40:32,960
The Champions League? Here.
775
00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:36,760
Real Madrid. 2000-2001, I think.
776
00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:40,160
[Younouss] Nice try. 1999-2000.
777
00:40:40,240 --> 00:40:42,920
-Is that it? 1999-2000?
-[Younouss] Yeah.
778
00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:45,960
-Yeah, it's...
-I won it 2002-2004.
779
00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:49,360
-Two. Two years in a row.
-[both laugh]
780
00:40:49,440 --> 00:40:50,800
[soft music]
781
00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:56,240
IN JUNE 2000, NICOLAS ANELKA PLAYS
HIS FIRST BIG COMPETITION WITH FRANCE:
782
00:40:56,320 --> 00:40:58,840
THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP.
783
00:40:59,320 --> 00:41:01,880
I'd just won the Champions League.
784
00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:04,200
I was happy to be back
in the French squad, too.
785
00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:05,640
FRANCE-DENMARK
11-06-2000
786
00:41:05,720 --> 00:41:08,040
1998, we won at home.
We're world champions.
787
00:41:08,120 --> 00:41:12,400
It's all well and good to win a World Cup
at home, but you've got to follow through.
788
00:41:12,840 --> 00:41:16,320
And here come two kids from
the outskirts of Paris and Clairefontaine
789
00:41:16,400 --> 00:41:19,640
who are playing up front
with the French team.
790
00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:25,480
[commentator] And the ball into Anelka
here who'll check and turn...
791
00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:29,160
And it's an equaliser scored
by Thierry Henry!
792
00:41:29,240 --> 00:41:31,920
[Nicolas] When I got there,
I wasn't in shape.
793
00:41:32,400 --> 00:41:36,320
I wasn't up to it physically
to play match after match.
794
00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:39,560
He plays a lot of games,
but he doesn't play in the final,
795
00:41:39,640 --> 00:41:42,400
and people will remember
Pirès and Wiltord,
796
00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:44,440
who at the time were substitutes.
797
00:41:44,520 --> 00:41:45,720
ROTTERDAM
NETHERLANDS
798
00:41:45,800 --> 00:41:48,760
[journalist 1] Kick-off
at the European Championships final.
799
00:41:48,840 --> 00:41:50,760
[journalist 2]
France head-to-head with Italy.
800
00:41:50,840 --> 00:41:53,960
[commentator] Double contact.
Pirès passes to Trezeguet who strikes!
801
00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:56,680
-Yeah! Trezeguet!
-[crowd roars]
802
00:41:56,760 --> 00:41:59,240
Golden goal! Golden goal!
803
00:41:59,320 --> 00:42:01,560
[commentator screams] Phenomenal!
804
00:42:01,640 --> 00:42:04,080
[cheering]
805
00:42:06,040 --> 00:42:08,240
When you talk about Euro 2000,
that's the top.
806
00:42:08,320 --> 00:42:10,080
[cheering and chanting]
807
00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:12,560
I don't wanna be arrogant,
but nobody could beat us.
808
00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:14,800
[cheering and applause]
809
00:42:18,240 --> 00:42:20,560
[Nicolas] It feels good
when you're playing well.
810
00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:24,360
When you suck or you're not so great...
811
00:42:24,440 --> 00:42:25,640
I'm a footballer.
812
00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:28,480
I'm not there to screw around.
813
00:42:28,560 --> 00:42:31,720
I was there to perform well on the pitch.
That wasn't the case.
814
00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:35,840
[Nicolas] I participated,
but I didn't contribute.
815
00:42:36,680 --> 00:42:40,040
If I could remove that title
from my list, I definitely would.
816
00:42:41,160 --> 00:42:45,400
That means that winning at all costs has
no meaning for him. It's how you win.
817
00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:52,760
He's incapable of pretending
he's happy, even if he's not or...
818
00:42:52,840 --> 00:42:56,640
He is who he is. He's himself.
And I'm totally the opposite.
819
00:42:56,720 --> 00:42:59,520
I can give you a big smile,
even if I'm sad.
820
00:42:59,600 --> 00:43:01,400
[soft music]
821
00:43:03,320 --> 00:43:04,640
[whirring]
822
00:43:09,520 --> 00:43:12,840
I met him fairly young.
He was 19 years old.
823
00:43:12,920 --> 00:43:14,680
I'm older than him. I was 21.
824
00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:16,800
[Barbara] We were young.
825
00:43:16,880 --> 00:43:20,200
He was well into his football
and I was totally into my dancing.
826
00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:22,280
[French rap]
827
00:43:22,360 --> 00:43:25,280
It was back when there was
the big Arsenal-Madrid transfer,
828
00:43:25,360 --> 00:43:27,280
so for me it was a little...
829
00:43:27,360 --> 00:43:29,680
I didn't really understand
what was going on.
830
00:43:29,760 --> 00:43:31,760
[Barbara] I showed up
at his place to see him.
831
00:43:31,840 --> 00:43:34,520
There were lots of journalists outside.
832
00:43:35,760 --> 00:43:38,600
[Nicolas] Today,
we've been together over ten years.
833
00:43:38,680 --> 00:43:42,320
It's important to be
close friends with your wife.
834
00:43:42,400 --> 00:43:45,440
If you wanna live pretty much
your whole life together,
835
00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:49,000
if you don't already have
that close bond of friendship and love,
836
00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:50,720
it won't work.
837
00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:53,240
I think that's the basis for any couple.
838
00:43:54,360 --> 00:43:56,040
[waves lapping]
839
00:43:56,120 --> 00:43:57,120
[Nicolas] Yes!
840
00:44:02,840 --> 00:44:06,080
Yeah, that's good. That's good.
Our turn. Yes. Yes!
841
00:44:06,400 --> 00:44:09,680
We know that he doesn't know
how to return the ball. We know it.
842
00:44:09,760 --> 00:44:11,760
We've got to go for him.
Weak point. Weak point!
843
00:44:11,840 --> 00:44:14,480
-[man] Watch out.
-[Nicolas] Place your foot like this.
844
00:44:14,560 --> 00:44:17,000
[Nicolas] Go for it. Go.
Play with that. That's it.
845
00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:18,560
[Nicolas] I didn't imagine this.
846
00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:20,520
I'm moving forward, we're growing,
847
00:44:20,600 --> 00:44:24,000
we have a family, a family life
kids are growing up...
848
00:44:24,560 --> 00:44:26,520
[Nicolas] Good one! Let it go!
849
00:44:27,800 --> 00:44:29,800
There you go. We've matured.
850
00:44:30,720 --> 00:44:32,880
[soft music]
851
00:44:32,960 --> 00:44:34,760
[waves lapping]
852
00:44:41,840 --> 00:44:43,600
[Nicolas] Children are something special.
853
00:44:44,040 --> 00:44:45,480
It changes your life.
854
00:44:45,560 --> 00:44:47,880
You're not living for yourself,
you live for them.
855
00:44:48,440 --> 00:44:49,760
Give me a little kiss?
856
00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:51,520
With some sand?
857
00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:53,560
Mwaaah!
858
00:44:54,120 --> 00:44:56,800
Saying "I love you" every day is a joy.
859
00:44:56,880 --> 00:44:58,800
I don't want them to forget that.
860
00:44:59,240 --> 00:45:04,280
I want them to be able to say
"I love you, too" when they're grown-up.
861
00:45:06,920 --> 00:45:07,920
You OK?
862
00:45:08,880 --> 00:45:12,120
Because with my own parents,
for example, you know, I had...
863
00:45:12,200 --> 00:45:15,640
I had, well... We found it hard
saying "I love you" to each other.
864
00:45:15,720 --> 00:45:21,080
My dad and my mum, you know.
So, me... I wanted to...
865
00:45:21,160 --> 00:45:24,200
I think it, but it's hard
to get it out, actually.
866
00:45:24,280 --> 00:45:25,640
You know, it's difficult.
867
00:45:25,720 --> 00:45:28,040
[waves lapping]
868
00:45:30,720 --> 00:45:34,360
[Nicolas] Maybe it was missing
since I was small.
869
00:45:35,640 --> 00:45:37,240
And...
870
00:45:37,680 --> 00:45:39,200
that's why.
871
00:45:39,280 --> 00:45:42,160
Because of that, I wanted to do things...
872
00:45:42,920 --> 00:45:44,160
differently.
873
00:45:44,240 --> 00:45:49,000
I wanted to show my kids what I felt
and what I thought, you know.
874
00:45:49,080 --> 00:45:52,800
So that they won't be embarrassed
or find it hard telling me.
875
00:45:52,880 --> 00:45:55,520
And I hope that they, too,
when they have children,
876
00:45:55,600 --> 00:45:56,760
I hope for their sake,
877
00:45:56,840 --> 00:45:58,600
they'll do the same thing
878
00:45:58,680 --> 00:46:02,200
because it's beautiful when you can tell
your child that you love them
879
00:46:02,280 --> 00:46:04,400
and they say, "I love you, too."
880
00:46:05,400 --> 00:46:07,440
I think nothing's more beautiful.
881
00:46:07,520 --> 00:46:09,320
[Barbara] Aw...
882
00:46:11,160 --> 00:46:15,720
NICOLAS ANELKA LEAVES REAL MADRID IN 2000
AND RETURNS TO PSG FOR 35 MILLION EUROS,
883
00:46:15,800 --> 00:46:18,080
THE BIGGEST FRENCH TRANSFER AT THE TIME.
884
00:46:18,160 --> 00:46:22,480
AFTER A COMPLICATED SEASON AND A HALF,
HE JOINS LIVERPOOL IN ENGLAND.
885
00:46:25,080 --> 00:46:26,080
LIVERPOOL
ENGLAND
886
00:46:26,160 --> 00:46:28,960
[journalist] Nicolas Anelka triumphs
in the British media
887
00:46:29,040 --> 00:46:30,600
on his arrival at Liverpool.
888
00:46:30,680 --> 00:46:33,840
Liverpool, a historic club,
city of the Beatles...
889
00:46:33,920 --> 00:46:37,360
[Arnaud] It wasn't that beautiful,
but it exudes a unique atmosphere.
890
00:46:37,440 --> 00:46:38,560
[chanting]
891
00:46:38,640 --> 00:46:41,600
And managed by a French coach,
Gérard Houllier.
892
00:46:43,080 --> 00:46:45,520
[commentator]
Heskey lets it run to Murphy... Anelka!
893
00:46:45,600 --> 00:46:48,120
-[crowd roars]
-Liverpool are level!
894
00:46:48,200 --> 00:46:51,720
He got to Liverpool. He said:
"Shit, Doug, I've found a shoe that fits."
895
00:46:51,800 --> 00:46:55,040
Everything was perfect:
the city, the spirit...
896
00:46:55,120 --> 00:46:58,120
The fans were really happy.
I was thrilled to be there.
897
00:46:58,200 --> 00:47:01,080
-[commentator] Nicolas Anelka! Yes!
-[crowd roars]
898
00:47:01,160 --> 00:47:04,680
[Nicolas] English football is wonderful.
It's made for me. I felt alive again.
899
00:47:05,280 --> 00:47:07,800
[commentator] Michael Owen,
looking for Anelka again...
900
00:47:07,880 --> 00:47:11,640
[Nicolas] It showed in my game.
Off the pitch, I could live normally.
901
00:47:11,720 --> 00:47:13,200
[commentator] Number five!
902
00:47:13,920 --> 00:47:17,960
It was the perfect club for me.
The club with whom I could bounce back.
903
00:47:18,040 --> 00:47:19,160
[cheering]
904
00:47:19,240 --> 00:47:21,040
But we get to the end of the season...
905
00:47:21,400 --> 00:47:22,880
I had nothing.
906
00:47:22,960 --> 00:47:24,840
No contract to sign with Liverpool.
907
00:47:24,920 --> 00:47:28,320
I'm playing well,
so other teams are interested in me.
908
00:47:28,800 --> 00:47:31,520
[journalist] Another disillusionment
for Nicolas Anelka.
909
00:47:31,600 --> 00:47:33,560
Gérard Houllier, the manager in Liverpool,
910
00:47:33,640 --> 00:47:36,560
has decided not to keep
Nicolas Anelka next season.
911
00:47:36,960 --> 00:47:40,080
I didn't like that,
when he was in Liverpool
912
00:47:40,160 --> 00:47:42,840
with a purchase option to play with us,
913
00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:47,120
that his brothers had tried
to contact other clubs to sell him.
914
00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:51,120
I didn't like that.
I thought that wasn't fair play.
915
00:47:51,400 --> 00:47:55,640
That open door, it was for you.
It was for Liverpool.
916
00:47:55,720 --> 00:47:59,440
[Nicolas] And I said it many, many times
that I wanted to sign with Liverpool.
917
00:47:59,520 --> 00:48:01,240
I waited, but nothing happened.
918
00:48:02,320 --> 00:48:05,080
[Nicolas] Liverpool fans think
I didn't want to stay.
919
00:48:05,520 --> 00:48:10,040
They need to know that that wasn't
the case. I really wanted to stay.
920
00:48:10,120 --> 00:48:12,000
And that's why...
921
00:48:12,080 --> 00:48:15,280
that episode was tragic
for me because, honestly,
922
00:48:15,360 --> 00:48:17,760
it's a club where I think
I could have done a lot.
923
00:48:17,840 --> 00:48:22,680
A lot of things. Great things.
924
00:48:22,760 --> 00:48:24,520
[ominous music]
925
00:48:24,600 --> 00:48:25,920
Things ground to a halt,
926
00:48:26,000 --> 00:48:29,000
but mostly for reasons
that have nothing to do with football.
927
00:48:29,080 --> 00:48:32,280
It's more a question
of cultural differences.
928
00:48:32,360 --> 00:48:34,240
There are many paradoxes with Nico.
929
00:48:34,320 --> 00:48:37,680
A modesty that can be seen
as cold-heartedness.
930
00:48:37,760 --> 00:48:39,840
Certain people see it as arrogance.
931
00:48:40,320 --> 00:48:44,440
He's got a character made of steel,
an extremely strong character,
932
00:48:44,520 --> 00:48:46,080
especially when it comes to imposing
933
00:48:46,160 --> 00:48:48,600
or demanding respect for his own opinions.
934
00:48:49,000 --> 00:48:52,160
That can lead to a clash, actually,
with collective thinking
935
00:48:52,240 --> 00:48:55,520
or even with certain forms
of hierarchy and power.
936
00:48:55,840 --> 00:48:58,520
MANCHESTER
ENGLAND
937
00:48:58,600 --> 00:49:01,840
[journalist] Football. Nicolas Anelka's
value just keeps falling.
938
00:49:01,920 --> 00:49:04,720
PSG is in talks
with two clubs in Manchester
939
00:49:04,800 --> 00:49:08,680
for a transfer estimated
at less than 20 million euros.
940
00:49:08,760 --> 00:49:11,920
[Nicolas] Despite my good results
and performing well with Liverpool,
941
00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:13,440
they weren't interested.
942
00:49:13,520 --> 00:49:16,240
All doors closed.
I sign with Manchester City.
943
00:49:16,720 --> 00:49:22,120
I thought: "You're here.
No one else wanted you. Go for it."
944
00:49:22,200 --> 00:49:25,360
-[cheering]
-[indistinct commentary]
945
00:49:25,440 --> 00:49:28,920
[commentator] Fowler...
Wright-Phillips... Nicolas Anelka!
946
00:49:29,000 --> 00:49:31,560
-Manchester City have won it!
-[crowd roars]
947
00:49:31,640 --> 00:49:36,520
Rejected by Gérard Houllier,
this is Nicolas Anelka's response!
948
00:49:36,600 --> 00:49:39,880
I scored goals. I was good.
I got to know Kevin Keegan, the coach.
949
00:49:39,960 --> 00:49:42,520
We got on well. I progressed.
950
00:49:43,000 --> 00:49:46,440
[Nicolas] You play with lower-level
players, you've got to score goals.
951
00:49:46,520 --> 00:49:49,840
You've got to do things so that people
see you, for them to sit up and say:
952
00:49:49,920 --> 00:49:51,840
"He doesn't belong in a team like that."
953
00:49:51,920 --> 00:49:54,240
The problem with Nicolas Anelka
954
00:49:54,320 --> 00:49:56,720
is the same with all kids
who succeed very early on.
955
00:49:56,800 --> 00:49:59,480
When you're a star at 18, 19, 20,
956
00:49:59,560 --> 00:50:02,560
you can be satisfied by too little.
957
00:50:02,640 --> 00:50:05,680
Maybe he was also in environments
that discouraged him.
958
00:50:05,760 --> 00:50:08,600
That said, he had a great career.
Let's be fair.
959
00:50:08,680 --> 00:50:11,480
But if you ask me, deep in my heart:
"Was there more to him than that?"
960
00:50:11,560 --> 00:50:14,640
I'll tell you with no hesitation: "Yes."
961
00:50:14,960 --> 00:50:18,160
NICOLAS ANELKA IS NOT CALLED UP
FOR THE 2002 WORLD CUP.
962
00:50:18,240 --> 00:50:19,360
A FEW MONTHS LATER,
963
00:50:19,440 --> 00:50:23,160
NEW MANAGER JACQUES SANTINI
COMES TO MEET HIM AT MANCHESTER CITY.
964
00:50:23,240 --> 00:50:26,800
[Nicolas] Once again,
there's this extraordinary drama.
965
00:50:26,880 --> 00:50:31,440
At the time, Jacques Santini comes
to see me play a game against United.
966
00:50:31,520 --> 00:50:33,040
It's the derby.
967
00:50:33,120 --> 00:50:35,040
[cheering]
968
00:50:36,400 --> 00:50:41,440
[Nicolas] I had a great match.
I score. We win 3-1, I think.
969
00:50:41,520 --> 00:50:44,440
[commentator] ...for Manchester City,
it comes out to Anelka!
970
00:50:44,520 --> 00:50:46,040
[crowd roars]
971
00:50:46,120 --> 00:50:48,560
Jacques Santini comes
to see me in my dressing room
972
00:50:48,640 --> 00:50:50,320
and he talks to me, saying:
973
00:50:50,400 --> 00:50:54,560
"If I don't pick you in the next squad,
it's because I don't know you."
974
00:50:55,080 --> 00:50:56,600
Don't come see me, then.
975
00:50:56,680 --> 00:50:58,400
If you don't know me.
976
00:50:58,480 --> 00:51:00,040
I played at PSG,
977
00:51:00,120 --> 00:51:01,440
I played at Arsenal,
978
00:51:01,520 --> 00:51:02,920
I played at Real Madrid,
979
00:51:03,000 --> 00:51:05,160
I played at Liverpool,
980
00:51:05,240 --> 00:51:08,000
and you're saying you don't know me?
981
00:51:08,480 --> 00:51:13,040
Nah. Nah. You have no right
to say that to me. I took it badly.
982
00:51:13,120 --> 00:51:15,120
And when he tried to call me back,
983
00:51:15,200 --> 00:51:17,800
I made him understand
that he should just leave me alone.
984
00:51:18,480 --> 00:51:21,560
Nicolas Anelka has finally refused
to be drafted
985
00:51:21,640 --> 00:51:23,840
by the French football team.
986
00:51:23,920 --> 00:51:26,680
[newscaster] Santini called him back
to play against Yugoslavia
987
00:51:26,760 --> 00:51:28,760
on Wednesday at the Stade de France,
988
00:51:28,840 --> 00:51:33,160
but the Manchester City player feels
that this selection is a little forced.
989
00:51:33,240 --> 00:51:35,480
[journalist] He said:
"He'll have to get down on his knees
990
00:51:35,560 --> 00:51:37,400
for me to come back on the French team."
991
00:51:37,480 --> 00:51:40,240
[newscaster] So, he's given up
on his future with the French team.
992
00:51:40,320 --> 00:51:45,160
If he thinks that we don't trust him,
and me first of all, well, then,
993
00:51:45,240 --> 00:51:49,320
Nicolas Anelka has made a decision that,
if it's confirmed,
994
00:51:49,400 --> 00:51:51,560
well, that's his own business,
995
00:51:51,640 --> 00:51:54,440
not his teammates' or the manager's.
996
00:51:55,920 --> 00:52:00,160
Just when everyone is waiting for him
to deny it or eventually apologise,
997
00:52:00,240 --> 00:52:01,400
he doesn't.
998
00:52:01,840 --> 00:52:05,160
Because he's a powerhouse
and he stays on course.
999
00:52:05,480 --> 00:52:08,160
[Omar] When he sets out
to do something, he does it.
1000
00:52:08,240 --> 00:52:10,320
And that, people don't understand.
1001
00:52:12,120 --> 00:52:15,160
You've got to understand that
Nicolas Anelka, in the eyes of the public,
1002
00:52:15,240 --> 00:52:17,320
is a player who had trouble
with his coaches.
1003
00:52:17,400 --> 00:52:18,880
[Arnaud] He's a controversial man.
1004
00:52:18,960 --> 00:52:22,400
And the biggest scandal of his career
happened when playing in England
1005
00:52:22,480 --> 00:52:25,080
for mid-table club West Bromwich Albion.
1006
00:52:26,440 --> 00:52:29,120
BIRMINGHAM
ENGLAND
1007
00:52:29,200 --> 00:52:30,840
[chanting]
1008
00:52:30,920 --> 00:52:34,440
[Nicolas] I'm back with a coach
I already knew: Steve Clarke.
1009
00:52:34,520 --> 00:52:37,520
It was cool when I was with him
in Chelsea, so I thought: "Why not?"
1010
00:52:38,760 --> 00:52:43,400
[Nicolas] It's time for the first match.
The fans are waiting. It's a home game.
1011
00:52:43,480 --> 00:52:47,480
It's 0-0 and after 70 minutes,
Steve Clarke takes me off.
1012
00:52:48,720 --> 00:52:50,560
I'm kind of the star of the team.
1013
00:52:50,640 --> 00:52:53,320
I played in the preseason,
scored all the goals.
1014
00:52:53,840 --> 00:52:55,640
And when you take me off like that,
1015
00:52:55,720 --> 00:52:58,400
what you're actually doing is
showing the public that it's 0-0
1016
00:52:58,480 --> 00:53:00,160
because the striker did nothing.
1017
00:53:00,240 --> 00:53:03,680
So, it's a lack of respect
and a lack of trust.
1018
00:53:03,760 --> 00:53:07,560
When you're 34 and in the very first game,
the coach does that...
1019
00:53:07,840 --> 00:53:09,520
I stopped speaking to him.
1020
00:53:09,600 --> 00:53:12,720
I thought: "If you're gonna play
that game, no problem."
1021
00:53:12,800 --> 00:53:15,440
He didn't put me in the team.
And what always happens happened.
1022
00:53:15,520 --> 00:53:18,320
Try to be clever.
Sometimes, you get burnt.
1023
00:53:18,400 --> 00:53:20,360
So, five matches, five defeats.
1024
00:53:20,920 --> 00:53:21,920
[Nicolas] Bye.
1025
00:53:24,640 --> 00:53:26,160
I'm back on the team,
1026
00:53:26,240 --> 00:53:29,440
and the first game I play,
right after Steve Clarke left...
1027
00:53:29,520 --> 00:53:30,800
I score.
1028
00:53:33,880 --> 00:53:35,600
[Nicolas] So, I do this celebration.
1029
00:53:36,120 --> 00:53:40,840
People don't know it because I never
wanted to talk about Steve Clarke,
1030
00:53:40,920 --> 00:53:44,120
but when I do the quenelle, it's for him.
1031
00:53:46,080 --> 00:53:48,560
[Nicolas] "You were here.
You didn't use me.
1032
00:53:48,640 --> 00:53:52,000
As soon as you're gone, look:
I play and I score.
1033
00:53:52,600 --> 00:53:53,600
There.
1034
00:53:54,720 --> 00:53:56,720
Stick it you know where."
1035
00:53:56,800 --> 00:54:00,480
[journalist 1] In the middle of the game,
the footballer mimicked the quenelle,
1036
00:54:00,560 --> 00:54:02,120
the gesture used by Dieudonné.
1037
00:54:02,200 --> 00:54:04,400
[journalist 2] Gesture of defiance?
1038
00:54:04,480 --> 00:54:07,480
Gesture linked to the Nazis?
1039
00:54:07,560 --> 00:54:10,120
Anti-Semitic gesture?
1040
00:54:10,200 --> 00:54:13,560
I lived in Birmingham.
I didn't have French TV.
1041
00:54:13,640 --> 00:54:16,400
I had internet, yes,
but I didn't see it coming.
1042
00:54:16,480 --> 00:54:18,440
Back then,
I wasn't aware what was going on.
1043
00:54:18,880 --> 00:54:22,320
[journalist] Dieudonné is anti-Semitic.
No doubt, says François Hollande.
1044
00:54:22,400 --> 00:54:24,000
He supports Manuel Valls.
1045
00:54:24,080 --> 00:54:27,040
The minister will do anything
to ban the comedian's shows.
1046
00:54:27,120 --> 00:54:30,040
ANTI-SEMITISM
DIEUDONNÉ'S BUSINESS
1047
00:54:30,120 --> 00:54:34,000
A few French journalists I follow said:
"He's just done the quenelle."
1048
00:54:34,080 --> 00:54:36,160
And West Brom picked up on it.
1049
00:54:36,240 --> 00:54:38,800
Their PR people realised
it was going to be a huge issue.
1050
00:54:40,040 --> 00:54:43,480
[journalist] British people
had never heard of Dieudonné
1051
00:54:43,560 --> 00:54:44,720
or the quenelle.
1052
00:54:44,800 --> 00:54:46,840
The affair is nonetheless
making headlines,
1053
00:54:46,920 --> 00:54:50,280
with one word recurring
again and again: "shocking".
1054
00:54:50,360 --> 00:54:53,080
[Nicolas] When they accused me
of making an anti-Semitic gesture,
1055
00:54:53,160 --> 00:54:55,600
I denied it because it wasn't that.
1056
00:54:55,680 --> 00:54:57,200
For me, it wasn't anti-Semitic.
1057
00:54:57,600 --> 00:54:59,560
So, I was surprised...
1058
00:54:59,640 --> 00:55:01,920
but it's good to call people out.
1059
00:55:03,080 --> 00:55:04,280
"OK, then.
1060
00:55:04,800 --> 00:55:06,440
Prove it to me."
1061
00:55:06,520 --> 00:55:10,080
This was a time in English football
when the Football Association
1062
00:55:10,160 --> 00:55:13,600
were having to deal with a lot of issues,
on-the-pitch issues,
1063
00:55:13,680 --> 00:55:16,720
between, uh...
racial abuse between players.
1064
00:55:17,160 --> 00:55:18,680
The FA had to take action.
1065
00:55:18,760 --> 00:55:21,520
[journalist] Sanctions were imposed
on Nicolas Anelka yesterday,
1066
00:55:21,600 --> 00:55:24,840
a five-match suspension
and a fine of 100,000 euros,
1067
00:55:24,920 --> 00:55:27,480
as set by the English
Football Association.
1068
00:55:27,560 --> 00:55:29,880
[Nicolas] We had a two-day hearing.
1069
00:55:29,960 --> 00:55:30,960
The verdict:
1070
00:55:31,040 --> 00:55:35,080
I am not anti-Semitic, but the gesture is.
1071
00:55:35,360 --> 00:55:39,280
I was sanctioned
with a five-game ban, with a fine.
1072
00:55:39,360 --> 00:55:42,240
We all know why. I had to be sanctioned.
1073
00:55:42,320 --> 00:55:45,000
But the fact is that I wasn't guilty.
1074
00:55:45,080 --> 00:55:47,840
Not one prior incident with Jewish people.
1075
00:55:48,760 --> 00:55:52,760
Why would I think
about Jewish people after scoring a goal?
1076
00:55:53,840 --> 00:55:54,840
Why?
1077
00:55:54,920 --> 00:55:58,960
It's a bit exaggerated to charge him.
1078
00:55:59,040 --> 00:56:02,440
It's not at all as if it was made
in front of a synagogue
1079
00:56:02,520 --> 00:56:06,480
or in front of a memorial
concerning the Holocaust.
1080
00:56:06,560 --> 00:56:10,000
They said it themselves.
I am not anti-Semitic.
1081
00:56:10,080 --> 00:56:13,320
So, if I'm not anti-Semitic,
that's it, end of story.
1082
00:56:13,400 --> 00:56:14,880
[silence]
1083
00:56:16,760 --> 00:56:19,440
[regular breathing]
1084
00:56:19,520 --> 00:56:21,400
[indistinct encouragements]
1085
00:56:23,360 --> 00:56:26,960
[Nicolas] I've always lived my life
at full speed. 200%.
1086
00:56:29,280 --> 00:56:31,960
I like when people tell me the truth,
1087
00:56:32,040 --> 00:56:34,880
and that's not what I got
in that environment.
1088
00:56:36,160 --> 00:56:38,160
I prefer to be among friends.
1089
00:56:38,720 --> 00:56:41,640
There aren't many,
but at least you know who's who.
1090
00:56:41,720 --> 00:56:44,920
[waves lapping]
1091
00:56:47,720 --> 00:56:49,240
[Nicolas] This is my beach.
1092
00:56:49,320 --> 00:56:51,800
My grandma lives 100 yards from here.
1093
00:56:51,880 --> 00:56:53,720
We'd come down here to have fun, swim,
1094
00:56:53,800 --> 00:56:55,360
kick a ball around.
1095
00:56:56,840 --> 00:56:59,680
We're from Paris. There wasn't a beach.
1096
00:56:59,760 --> 00:57:03,400
It was always special coming back here
to see all the cousins,
1097
00:57:03,480 --> 00:57:04,760
the whole family,
1098
00:57:04,840 --> 00:57:07,880
and having the ocean
100 yards from the house.
1099
00:57:07,960 --> 00:57:10,520
-[waves lapping]
-[soft music]
1100
00:57:10,600 --> 00:57:13,200
[birds chirping]
1101
00:57:13,280 --> 00:57:15,720
[Nicolas] It's unoccupied now.
1102
00:57:15,800 --> 00:57:17,080
This was the kitchen.
1103
00:57:17,160 --> 00:57:19,360
-The gas oven's still here.
-[rooster crows]
1104
00:57:20,720 --> 00:57:22,560
She made her meals here.
1105
00:57:24,160 --> 00:57:27,560
This is my grandma's house.
1106
00:57:27,640 --> 00:57:29,080
[rooster crows]
1107
00:57:30,680 --> 00:57:35,080
Whenever I came back to Martinique,
I always stayed here.
1108
00:57:35,800 --> 00:57:38,400
[birds chirping]
1109
00:57:40,200 --> 00:57:42,240
[chatter and laughter]
1110
00:57:44,800 --> 00:57:48,320
[Nicolas] We had incredible times.
When I say "we", I mean family.
1111
00:57:48,920 --> 00:57:52,240
Our brothers and my parents
and all the cousins who came here.
1112
00:57:52,320 --> 00:57:54,640
Times we'll never forget
and can't explain.
1113
00:57:55,240 --> 00:57:57,360
[chatter and laughter]
1114
00:58:00,960 --> 00:58:05,080
[Nicolas] I felt good vibes for my kids,
and it made me feel great
1115
00:58:05,160 --> 00:58:10,400
because I guess they kind of felt
what I felt 20 or 30 years ago.
1116
00:58:10,480 --> 00:58:15,040
And I needed them to understand
and feel what I experienced.
1117
00:58:15,640 --> 00:58:18,760
And also they're... They're Antillean.
1118
00:58:26,120 --> 00:58:28,440
[electronic music]
1119
00:58:28,520 --> 00:58:30,760
[journalist] Drafted again
after three years of absence,
1120
00:58:30,840 --> 00:58:34,200
the player from Trappes says
he's honoured to be back with Les Bleus.
1121
00:58:36,680 --> 00:58:40,320
[Arnaud] It's a fabulous story: Raymond
Domenech, who'd been manager for a year,
1122
00:58:40,400 --> 00:58:44,560
brings him on board in November 2005
for a symbolic game in Martinique.
1123
00:58:45,240 --> 00:58:46,480
A match with Costa Rica.
1124
00:58:46,560 --> 00:58:50,760
It's historic because the French team
had never played in the Antilles.
1125
00:58:52,120 --> 00:58:54,240
[Nicolas] Of course,
my parents were in the stands,
1126
00:58:54,320 --> 00:58:56,000
so that really put the pressure on.
1127
00:58:56,560 --> 00:59:00,400
There was pressure too
because Antilleans are harsh, critical.
1128
00:59:00,480 --> 00:59:03,320
-[Nicolas] I had to do a good job.
-[cheering]
1129
00:59:03,400 --> 00:59:07,560
-I wasn't expecting that at all. For sure.
-Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, that's true.
1130
00:59:07,640 --> 00:59:09,800
We thought it was all over, even me.
1131
00:59:09,880 --> 00:59:11,760
I thought with all those problems,
1132
00:59:11,840 --> 00:59:14,480
all the disappointments he'd had
since the beginning...
1133
00:59:14,560 --> 00:59:16,800
Yeah, and all those...
all those things he said.
1134
00:59:16,880 --> 00:59:18,600
I thought: "They'll never take him back."
1135
00:59:18,960 --> 00:59:20,880
[commentator in French]
Vieira recovers the ball.
1136
00:59:20,960 --> 00:59:24,440
Thierry Henry is onside,
passes to Anelka and goal!
1137
00:59:24,520 --> 00:59:26,760
-[crowd roars]
-France equalise!
1138
00:59:26,840 --> 00:59:30,720
Anelka scores a goal for his return
three and a half years later.
1139
00:59:30,800 --> 00:59:34,720
[Nicolas] It was great. It had been
a long time since I'd played for France.
1140
00:59:34,800 --> 00:59:38,240
To come back to the Antilles,
to score, to see the whole family,
1141
00:59:38,320 --> 00:59:39,480
it's really special.
1142
00:59:40,680 --> 00:59:45,440
[Arnaud] People thought
that Nicolas Anelka played well
1143
00:59:45,520 --> 00:59:49,400
and that he'd probably earned the right
to come back on the French team for good,
1144
00:59:49,480 --> 00:59:52,760
considering that the 2006 World Cup
was coming up.
1145
00:59:54,360 --> 00:59:57,400
And yet, actually, after 1998, after 2002,
1146
00:59:57,480 --> 01:00:01,880
it's a new failure for Nicolas Anelka,
who's not called up by the new manager.
1147
01:00:03,840 --> 01:00:07,360
[Nicolas] Those are challenges you've got
to face. I knew I'd overcome them.
1148
01:00:08,640 --> 01:00:11,760
I tried to give it my all
out on the pitch, and I wasn't too bad,
1149
01:00:12,200 --> 01:00:15,760
despite having a knife at my neck
throughout my career.
1150
01:00:16,320 --> 01:00:18,360
[silence]
1151
01:00:28,480 --> 01:00:31,080
[Nicolas] You think you're doing
things from your heart.
1152
01:00:31,160 --> 01:00:34,880
Whenever I do something,
I try to be discreet. I do it sincerely.
1153
01:00:34,960 --> 01:00:37,680
That's how I like to be.
How I like to act.
1154
01:00:38,600 --> 01:00:44,280
I don't like to talk too much
about what I do outside of football.
1155
01:00:44,760 --> 01:00:46,960
And I like to be quiet.
1156
01:00:47,040 --> 01:00:49,440
I like to go... unnoticed.
1157
01:00:49,520 --> 01:00:52,360
Even if it's difficult.
1158
01:00:52,440 --> 01:00:55,400
But there's a part of me that believes...
1159
01:00:55,480 --> 01:00:59,360
that God is on Earth
and He sees what you do.
1160
01:00:59,440 --> 01:01:03,120
And you don't need to be judged,
even in a positive way.
1161
01:01:03,200 --> 01:01:05,640
You don't need to be judged by people.
1162
01:01:06,280 --> 01:01:07,600
God knows what you do,
1163
01:01:07,680 --> 01:01:10,200
and if you do a good job,
you'll be rewarded.
1164
01:01:11,040 --> 01:01:12,840
FROM 2004 TO 2008,
1165
01:01:12,920 --> 01:01:18,600
NICOLAS ANELKA PLAYS
FOR FENERBAHÇE SK THEN BOLTON.
1166
01:01:18,680 --> 01:01:21,080
[journalist] Anelka is becoming
a seasoned globetrotter.
1167
01:01:21,160 --> 01:01:22,960
Six clubs in eight years.
1168
01:01:23,040 --> 01:01:25,480
Today, he signed
with Fenerbahçe in Turkey.
1169
01:01:25,560 --> 01:01:27,600
♪ Anelka! Anelka! ♪
1170
01:01:27,680 --> 01:01:31,760
[Thierry] He left for Arsenal
when people told him he wouldn't play.
1171
01:01:31,840 --> 01:01:33,960
He joined Real.
People told him he wouldn't play.
1172
01:01:34,040 --> 01:01:35,440
What's he gonna do in Turkey?
1173
01:01:35,520 --> 01:01:38,080
[indistinct ecstatic commentary]
1174
01:01:38,160 --> 01:01:43,440
All that obsessive devotion to the club
and the constant pressure on the club
1175
01:01:43,520 --> 01:01:45,080
reminded me a lot of Real.
1176
01:01:45,160 --> 01:01:48,640
Honestly, Anelka is a great
football player,
1177
01:01:48,720 --> 01:01:51,240
but in my view, his mindset is
greater than his football.
1178
01:01:51,320 --> 01:01:54,800
He always had to prove...
that he was tough.
1179
01:01:54,880 --> 01:01:57,000
[cheering]
1180
01:01:57,080 --> 01:01:58,560
[commentator] Anelka! What a goal!
1181
01:02:00,880 --> 01:02:02,240
LONDON
ENGLAND
1182
01:02:02,320 --> 01:02:05,960
[journalist 1] A great club. That is
what Nicolas Anelka is joining today.
1183
01:02:07,440 --> 01:02:09,960
[journalist 2] The international
French striker leaves Bolton
1184
01:02:10,040 --> 01:02:11,440
for Chelsea, staying in England.
1185
01:02:11,520 --> 01:02:14,720
A transfer estimated at 21 million euros.
1186
01:02:15,440 --> 01:02:18,440
[Nicolas] Chelsea are already
champions in England.
1187
01:02:18,840 --> 01:02:21,160
They're in the Champions League.
1188
01:02:21,720 --> 01:02:24,960
So, when they call me and say:
"Chelsea is interested in you",
1189
01:02:25,040 --> 01:02:26,360
well, that was that.
1190
01:02:26,440 --> 01:02:28,880
I wanted to join
the club I'd been looking for.
1191
01:02:28,960 --> 01:02:29,800
[man] OK.
1192
01:02:29,880 --> 01:02:32,760
[Henry] It didn't have that family
and the warmth of Arsenal.
1193
01:02:32,840 --> 01:02:35,240
It didn't have the sort of history
and the tradition.
1194
01:02:35,320 --> 01:02:38,320
It was a very lucrative place of work
for a lot of people.
1195
01:02:38,400 --> 01:02:42,160
His slightly sort of cold character should
have actually suited Chelsea,
1196
01:02:42,240 --> 01:02:44,080
and actually, he... he did.
1197
01:02:44,800 --> 01:02:49,520
[journalist] Anelka comes in to make up
for the departure of Didier Drogba.
1198
01:02:49,600 --> 01:02:52,600
I was at the CAN,
but I was watching all the games.
1199
01:02:52,680 --> 01:02:57,240
I called the other players to see
if they were helping him to fit in.
1200
01:02:57,320 --> 01:03:00,240
[journalist] The Blues desperately needed
a great striker, and with Anelka,
1201
01:03:00,320 --> 01:03:02,640
Chelsea has found exactly
what they hoped for.
1202
01:03:02,720 --> 01:03:05,320
As for Anelka, he can express himself
in the Premier League
1203
01:03:05,400 --> 01:03:07,240
and above all, the Champions League.
1204
01:03:07,920 --> 01:03:10,080
MOSCOW
RUSSIA
1205
01:03:10,160 --> 01:03:12,800
[journalist] One of this year's matches
fans don't want to miss,
1206
01:03:12,880 --> 01:03:15,160
the Champions League Final
tonight in Moscow
1207
01:03:15,240 --> 01:03:18,640
between two English clubs:
Manchester United and Chelsea.
1208
01:03:18,720 --> 01:03:22,120
Against Manchester, we had one of the best
teams in the world at the time.
1209
01:03:22,200 --> 01:03:24,160
Chelsea desperately wanted it.
1210
01:03:24,240 --> 01:03:28,200
Manchester United fans, in their tens
of thousands, desperately wanted it.
1211
01:03:28,280 --> 01:03:29,920
-[cheering]
-[commentator] One-one.
1212
01:03:30,000 --> 01:03:31,640
-It goes to penalties.
-[whistle]
1213
01:03:31,720 --> 01:03:34,320
It was an absolutely huge moment.
1214
01:03:34,720 --> 01:03:37,320
You had some of the top players
in the world on the pitch.
1215
01:03:37,400 --> 01:03:39,440
[Henry] You had Rooney,
Carrick, Ronaldo...
1216
01:03:39,520 --> 01:03:41,840
-[commentator] The world is watching.
-[whistle]
1217
01:03:42,320 --> 01:03:46,440
Shimmy... and Čech has saved
from Ronaldo of all people!
1218
01:03:46,520 --> 01:03:47,720
I'm there praying.
1219
01:03:47,800 --> 01:03:50,320
-[ominous music]
-[cheering]
1220
01:03:52,680 --> 01:03:53,680
[whistle]
1221
01:03:55,560 --> 01:03:58,440
I see John miss his penalty,
and when that happens,
1222
01:03:58,520 --> 01:04:00,520
I say: "Yeah, that's a bad sign."
1223
01:04:01,280 --> 01:04:04,520
[Nicolas] John misses. He could have
nailed it, ended it right there.
1224
01:04:04,600 --> 01:04:07,800
The game went on. Our defeat came later.
1225
01:04:07,880 --> 01:04:10,160
[commentator] He didn't
look happy coming forward.
1226
01:04:10,240 --> 01:04:12,880
When he goes up to kick,
I can tell he's a little tense.
1227
01:04:12,960 --> 01:04:14,720
I can feel it. I can tell he's tense.
1228
01:04:14,800 --> 01:04:16,360
-[ominous music]
-[whistle]
1229
01:04:18,960 --> 01:04:21,400
[crowd roars]
1230
01:04:26,840 --> 01:04:30,480
[Nicolas] When I miss, the game's over.
I seal the club's fate.
1231
01:04:30,560 --> 01:04:32,480
In the owner's home country.
1232
01:04:34,520 --> 01:04:35,920
That hurt. That really hurt.
1233
01:04:41,000 --> 01:04:43,600
Unfortunately, when you're a competitor,
1234
01:04:43,680 --> 01:04:47,600
you always remember the games you lost
and the finals you lost.
1235
01:04:47,680 --> 01:04:50,800
And it stays with you.
It marks you for life.
1236
01:04:51,160 --> 01:04:54,560
The fact I missed that penalty
made me feel like a traitor.
1237
01:04:54,960 --> 01:04:57,320
Because I had no business
being there, really.
1238
01:04:57,400 --> 01:05:02,760
I came in mid-season,
and missing that penalty killed me.
1239
01:05:03,800 --> 01:05:06,240
And it killed my career at Chelsea, too.
1240
01:05:07,400 --> 01:05:10,120
Even if after that,
I did some good things.
1241
01:05:10,200 --> 01:05:12,880
I can't get over it. I still can't.
1242
01:05:12,960 --> 01:05:14,960
That's the real Nico.
1243
01:05:15,040 --> 01:05:18,800
That's the Nico you can sense
when you're out there every day with him.
1244
01:05:18,880 --> 01:05:21,960
[Didier D.] People on the outside
don't know what he's really like.
1245
01:05:23,200 --> 01:05:26,160
It hurts. It will hurt till the end.
1246
01:05:26,960 --> 01:05:29,080
[cheering]
1247
01:05:29,160 --> 01:05:30,160
[crowd roars]
1248
01:05:30,240 --> 01:05:32,720
[Didier D.] That defeat created a bond
between us all.
1249
01:05:33,240 --> 01:05:34,680
That brought us together.
1250
01:05:36,440 --> 01:05:38,080
[crowd roars]
1251
01:05:38,160 --> 01:05:39,920
He came back a lot stronger.
1252
01:05:40,000 --> 01:05:41,960
[commentator] Anelka is on the end of it.
1253
01:05:42,040 --> 01:05:43,840
[ominous music]
1254
01:05:50,160 --> 01:05:52,960
[commentator] He's done well here.
Got away, put a shot...
1255
01:05:53,040 --> 01:05:55,360
-What a goal that is!
-[cheering]
1256
01:05:55,440 --> 01:05:58,520
Nicolas Anelka has been waiting all game
1257
01:05:58,600 --> 01:06:01,360
for a chance to take
the Premier League Golden Boot.
1258
01:06:01,440 --> 01:06:03,200
He's one ahead of Ronaldo now.
1259
01:06:03,280 --> 01:06:05,640
But he was sort of maturing as a striker.
1260
01:06:05,720 --> 01:06:08,600
Um, Chelsea were sort of
slightly more set up
1261
01:06:08,680 --> 01:06:12,520
to play for him with the quality
of passing they had in midfield.
1262
01:06:12,600 --> 01:06:15,920
And he was unplayable
for large sections of that season.
1263
01:06:16,000 --> 01:06:18,800
[commentator] What a day for Chelsea FC!
1264
01:06:18,880 --> 01:06:22,280
The Premier League trophy
is coming back to the Bridge!
1265
01:06:22,360 --> 01:06:23,960
[cheering]
1266
01:06:24,040 --> 01:06:25,720
Chelsea were formidable that season
1267
01:06:25,800 --> 01:06:29,560
with the trophies that they won
and just the sort of drive they had.
1268
01:06:29,640 --> 01:06:33,400
You could feel the hurt from Moscow
just powering its way through them.
1269
01:06:33,680 --> 01:06:35,560
He turned 30.
1270
01:06:35,640 --> 01:06:38,920
That's... Normally, that's the prime age.
1271
01:06:39,000 --> 01:06:43,200
Anyway, when you're a football player,
28 to 30 years old...
1272
01:06:43,280 --> 01:06:46,480
that's when they say
you're at the top of your game.
1273
01:06:46,560 --> 01:06:48,160
[he screams] Whoo!
1274
01:06:50,480 --> 01:06:51,840
DUBLIN
IRELAND
1275
01:06:51,920 --> 01:06:56,080
[newscaster] In sports news, the victory
of the French team last night in Dublin.
1276
01:06:56,160 --> 01:06:59,120
In the first of the World Cup play-offs,
France won 1-0
1277
01:06:59,200 --> 01:07:02,480
with a goal scored in the second half
by Nicolas Anelka.
1278
01:07:02,560 --> 01:07:04,120
The French team has a chance to qualify,
1279
01:07:04,200 --> 01:07:06,440
but everything depends
on the next game on Wednesday.
1280
01:07:09,560 --> 01:07:12,080
[Nicolas] I intended to quit
after the World Cup.
1281
01:07:12,160 --> 01:07:15,920
So, if we didn't qualify,
that would be my last match.
1282
01:07:16,200 --> 01:07:18,840
And the last match for Titi.
1283
01:07:19,280 --> 01:07:23,000
So, we say to each other:
"This could be our last game.
1284
01:07:23,080 --> 01:07:24,960
This is crazy. We've got to win.
1285
01:07:25,040 --> 01:07:28,160
We have to qualify
for this World Cup or it's over."
1286
01:07:28,240 --> 01:07:30,800
And then came that moment in the scramble
1287
01:07:30,880 --> 01:07:35,880
when Titi's hand touched the ball
in the lead-up to William's goal.
1288
01:07:37,200 --> 01:07:39,320
The day we qualified, we were together
1289
01:07:39,400 --> 01:07:41,560
and we were really happy,
1290
01:07:41,640 --> 01:07:44,680
but the problems started
the next day or the day after.
1291
01:07:44,760 --> 01:07:46,440
[journalist] Henry's hand.
1292
01:07:46,520 --> 01:07:49,240
The gesture of a handball player
to move the ball.
1293
01:07:49,320 --> 01:07:50,720
Nothing to applaud.
1294
01:07:50,800 --> 01:07:52,000
When France qualifies,
1295
01:07:52,080 --> 01:07:54,840
I see how the media is treating
Thierry Henry.
1296
01:07:55,240 --> 01:07:57,360
He gets France qualified
and gets slaughtered.
1297
01:07:57,440 --> 01:07:58,880
[Olivier] No one defends him.
1298
01:07:58,960 --> 01:08:03,280
One-all. The World Cup is up for grabs.
Les Bleus are in South Africa.
1299
01:08:03,360 --> 01:08:07,200
I'm not very happy about what happened.
I still have that same sick feeling.
1300
01:08:07,280 --> 01:08:11,160
Maybe other countries were gonna
give him a hard time in the press,
1301
01:08:11,240 --> 01:08:13,120
but the French, too?
1302
01:08:13,200 --> 01:08:15,320
We were expecting some support, at least.
1303
01:08:15,680 --> 01:08:20,720
But it was the exact opposite.
It was an all-out massacre, by everybody.
1304
01:08:20,800 --> 01:08:26,280
He sacrificed himself for his country,
to qualify for the World Cup,
1305
01:08:26,360 --> 01:08:27,760
and they spit on him.
1306
01:08:27,840 --> 01:08:32,360
Not easy, not easy on a personal level,
but hey, you're there, you deal with it.
1307
01:08:33,000 --> 01:08:34,640
[Nicolas] When it's Vata, it's OK.
1308
01:08:34,720 --> 01:08:36,280
BENFICA LISBON VS OLYMPIQUE DE MARSEILLE
1309
01:08:36,360 --> 01:08:38,840
When it's Maradona, it's the hand of God.
1310
01:08:39,520 --> 01:08:44,400
When it's Thierry Henry, it's...
it's the hand of hellfire, really.
1311
01:08:45,240 --> 01:08:49,720
The French team has barely qualified.
1312
01:08:49,800 --> 01:08:53,600
With a coach on the brink
of being considered illegitimate.
1313
01:08:53,680 --> 01:08:57,480
With players who know
they're at the end of their careers.
1314
01:08:57,560 --> 01:08:59,120
So, actually,
1315
01:08:59,200 --> 01:09:03,200
everything was leading to a crisis
that could blow up at the slightest hitch.
1316
01:09:05,800 --> 01:09:07,920
LONDON
ENGLAND
1317
01:09:08,000 --> 01:09:11,880
Two months before the World Cup,
the coach came to see Nico in London.
1318
01:09:11,960 --> 01:09:14,640
We ate galette together, you know.
I remember it like yesterday.
1319
01:09:14,720 --> 01:09:17,760
We talked about my position on the pitch.
1320
01:09:17,840 --> 01:09:21,440
[Younouss] The way he talked with Nico,
you'd think: "Holy shit, he trusts him."
1321
01:09:23,720 --> 01:09:29,520
The coach had asked him
to be his striker, and Nico said:
1322
01:09:29,600 --> 01:09:34,520
"OK, I'll be your striker,
but you know my playing style.
1323
01:09:34,600 --> 01:09:38,560
If you want a player who stays up front,
it can't be me."
1324
01:09:38,640 --> 01:09:40,120
2 WEEKS BEFORE THE WORLD CUP
1325
01:09:40,200 --> 01:09:44,400
[journalist] The French team has landed
on the African continent, in Tunisia,
1326
01:09:44,480 --> 01:09:47,680
for its second run-up match
for the World Cup.
1327
01:09:48,760 --> 01:09:52,760
[Younouss] There was a training session
where families and friends came to watch.
1328
01:09:52,840 --> 01:09:53,880
Nico invited me.
1329
01:09:53,960 --> 01:09:56,160
I don't know if he's gonna
be mad at me for saying so,
1330
01:09:56,240 --> 01:09:58,880
but I'm saying it
because people need to know.
1331
01:09:59,520 --> 01:10:02,560
You know, he wanted to quit.
He wanted to leave the team.
1332
01:10:02,640 --> 01:10:05,320
[Nicolas] We play friendlies.
I don't even touch the ball.
1333
01:10:05,400 --> 01:10:06,600
Nothing. Zero.
1334
01:10:07,160 --> 01:10:09,480
No reflexes between us.
1335
01:10:09,560 --> 01:10:10,920
[Nicolas] It was ugly.
1336
01:10:12,080 --> 01:10:14,560
I knew that when we got
to the World Cup in Africa,
1337
01:10:14,640 --> 01:10:19,000
the fact that you hadn't built confidence,
that you scored no goals, did nothing...
1338
01:10:19,920 --> 01:10:21,080
it didn't feel right.
1339
01:10:21,160 --> 01:10:25,520
There was Pat Évra. There was Titi Henry.
We were eating.
1340
01:10:25,600 --> 01:10:29,920
He told me he wanted to leave because
he could feel things were going wrong.
1341
01:10:30,000 --> 01:10:33,360
I told him:
"No, Nico, quit your nonsense."
1342
01:10:33,440 --> 01:10:36,120
He said: "Pat, I swear to you,
something big is going to happen."
1343
01:10:36,200 --> 01:10:40,560
In the end,
I was persuaded to stay, but...
1344
01:10:41,000 --> 01:10:44,960
[journalist] The last warm-up game
for France has just finished.
1345
01:10:45,040 --> 01:10:48,960
They lost 1-0.
Disappointing. Worrying, even.
1346
01:10:50,440 --> 01:10:53,680
[Raymond] It wasn't the time to say
we're going to upend everything
1347
01:10:53,760 --> 01:10:55,280
because we lost a friendly.
1348
01:10:55,360 --> 01:10:57,360
I'm disappointed like everybody else,
1349
01:10:57,440 --> 01:10:59,800
but remind myself
the World Cup isn't today.
1350
01:10:59,880 --> 01:11:01,000
It starts on the 11th.
1351
01:11:01,080 --> 01:11:03,120
[Nicolas] At that moment, he was right.
1352
01:11:03,200 --> 01:11:07,600
He's the coach. He decides.
He'll die defending his ideas. He's right.
1353
01:11:07,680 --> 01:11:09,640
We tried talking to him.
1354
01:11:09,720 --> 01:11:11,600
[Nicolas] He preferred
to stick to his system.
1355
01:11:11,680 --> 01:11:13,320
And what happened happened.
1356
01:11:13,400 --> 01:11:14,920
[ominous music]
1357
01:11:15,920 --> 01:11:17,200
CAPE TOWN
SOUTH AFRICA
1358
01:11:17,280 --> 01:11:21,600
[journalist] It's 5:45 a.m.
This time, Les Bleus are in Africa.
1359
01:11:23,040 --> 01:11:25,640
[Nicolas] I was happy to take part,
especially as it was in Africa.
1360
01:11:25,720 --> 01:11:28,480
-[fans] Vive la France!
-[air horn]
1361
01:11:28,560 --> 01:11:31,240
-[Nicolas] It's historic.
-[air horn]
1362
01:11:31,320 --> 01:11:32,880
[upbeat music]
1363
01:11:32,960 --> 01:11:34,840
KNYSNA
FRANCE BASE CAMP
1364
01:11:35,160 --> 01:11:37,280
[cheering]
1365
01:11:37,360 --> 01:11:41,360
[Nicolas] We all got along. We wanted
to get together and do something great.
1366
01:11:41,440 --> 01:11:45,520
Here, we're at the border between
the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.
1367
01:11:45,600 --> 01:11:47,160
[Nicolas] And the world's end.
1368
01:11:47,640 --> 01:11:49,120
It was a real team.
1369
01:11:49,200 --> 01:11:50,800
-Breakfast is at eight!
-[laughter]
1370
01:11:50,880 --> 01:11:54,280
NICOLAS ANELKA IMAGES
1371
01:11:54,640 --> 01:11:55,840
[Nicolas] Oh, man!
1372
01:11:56,680 --> 01:11:58,840
Great atmosphere. We had fun.
1373
01:11:59,480 --> 01:12:00,560
[chatter]
1374
01:12:00,640 --> 01:12:02,880
[shouting and laughing]
1375
01:12:03,680 --> 01:12:06,760
[newscaster] Good evening, ladies
and gentlemen, the headline this Friday:
1376
01:12:06,840 --> 01:12:08,520
the start of the football World Cup.
1377
01:12:08,600 --> 01:12:10,840
It sees the first game for the French team
1378
01:12:10,920 --> 01:12:13,080
which you can watch after this broadcast.
1379
01:12:13,160 --> 01:12:14,920
[ominous music]
1380
01:12:15,000 --> 01:12:16,960
[Nicolas] We all went into it
with confidence,
1381
01:12:17,040 --> 01:12:19,160
knowing that we were
extraordinary players,
1382
01:12:19,240 --> 01:12:20,480
exceptional in every way.
1383
01:12:20,560 --> 01:12:24,880
And so, if we were able to get along
and find that team spirit,
1384
01:12:24,960 --> 01:12:26,480
we can do something great.
1385
01:12:26,560 --> 01:12:28,640
[ominous music]
1386
01:12:30,960 --> 01:12:32,560
[disappointed shouts]
1387
01:12:32,640 --> 01:12:34,800
[journalist 1]
Uruguay and France drew 0-0.
1388
01:12:34,880 --> 01:12:36,840
[journalist 2] Three shots on target,
1389
01:12:36,920 --> 01:12:39,200
not many opportunities,
but a lot of waste.
1390
01:12:39,280 --> 01:12:41,560
Gourcuff, Govou
and especially Anelka, last night,
1391
01:12:41,640 --> 01:12:44,560
seemed way below their best.
1392
01:12:44,840 --> 01:12:49,080
[journalist 3] With Nicolas Anelka,
what bothers me most is his attitude.
1393
01:12:49,160 --> 01:12:51,520
His position is supposed
to be centre-forward,
1394
01:12:51,600 --> 01:12:53,640
but actually,
he's playing like a midfielder.
1395
01:12:53,720 --> 01:12:57,440
He goes very deep to get the ball.
He's not following instructions.
1396
01:12:57,520 --> 01:12:59,640
The solution wasn't gonna come
from my teammates.
1397
01:12:59,720 --> 01:13:01,080
It had to come from me.
1398
01:13:01,160 --> 01:13:04,520
So, that's why I was trying to break away
and create opportunities in midfield,
1399
01:13:04,600 --> 01:13:06,680
so we could find solutions.
1400
01:13:06,760 --> 01:13:09,440
For me, staying up front
wasn't the answer.
1401
01:13:09,520 --> 01:13:12,560
I just would have been the victim
of everything that was going on.
1402
01:13:12,640 --> 01:13:14,280
And I hate being a victim on the pitch.
1403
01:13:15,880 --> 01:13:20,760
I know it sucked, that my performance
wasn't great, but I couldn't do a thing.
1404
01:13:20,840 --> 01:13:22,440
[vuvuzelas]
1405
01:13:22,520 --> 01:13:25,080
The opening match for France is
against Uruguay,
1406
01:13:25,160 --> 01:13:27,240
who came fourth in this World Cup.
1407
01:13:27,320 --> 01:13:30,480
The French team doesn't play badly.
With 0-0, they still have every chance.
1408
01:13:31,280 --> 01:13:34,680
[journalist 1] Defeat is out
of the question. Victory is a necessity.
1409
01:13:34,760 --> 01:13:37,600
[journalist 2] France has to score,
and if possible, win tonight
1410
01:13:37,680 --> 01:13:38,760
in its second game.
1411
01:13:38,840 --> 01:13:40,160
They play Mexico.
1412
01:13:40,880 --> 01:13:42,480
[shouting and booing]
1413
01:13:44,240 --> 01:13:46,880
[ominous music builds]
1414
01:13:50,440 --> 01:13:52,720
[Nicolas] I go into the locker room,
frustrated.
1415
01:13:53,000 --> 01:13:54,440
I'm thinking to myself:
1416
01:13:54,520 --> 01:13:57,040
"I'm not getting the ball,
I'm not finding a solution.
1417
01:13:57,120 --> 01:14:01,240
We're playing badly.
It's 0-0 and we still haven't scored yet."
1418
01:14:01,320 --> 01:14:04,560
All of a sudden, the coach comes in
and calls me out by name.
1419
01:14:06,800 --> 01:14:08,240
When he calls me out,
1420
01:14:08,320 --> 01:14:11,560
with all the pent-up frustration
from before,
1421
01:14:11,640 --> 01:14:13,280
it just burst out.
1422
01:14:13,360 --> 01:14:14,680
It burst out because...
1423
01:14:15,320 --> 01:14:17,160
because I won't stand for it.
1424
01:14:17,240 --> 01:14:18,280
I won't stand for it.
1425
01:14:18,360 --> 01:14:21,280
That you call out my name
as if I was the one at fault.
1426
01:14:21,360 --> 01:14:24,320
As if I was, like,
public enemy number one.
1427
01:14:24,400 --> 01:14:26,120
As if it was all my fault.
1428
01:14:26,600 --> 01:14:28,000
[Nicolas] So, I felt attacked.
1429
01:14:28,080 --> 01:14:30,360
I've known Nico for ages: he can be there,
1430
01:14:30,440 --> 01:14:32,640
you don't hear a word, won't say a thing.
1431
01:14:32,720 --> 01:14:35,160
But like anyone, if you rattle his cage...
1432
01:14:36,000 --> 01:14:39,720
That was a huge mistake.
He had to know I was frustrated.
1433
01:14:39,800 --> 01:14:41,920
He had to know that,
on the inside, I was a volcano.
1434
01:14:43,320 --> 01:14:44,640
[vuvuzelas]
1435
01:14:44,720 --> 01:14:46,520
[ominous music]
1436
01:14:47,280 --> 01:14:51,240
When I see the players come out
on the pitch, my phone rings. It's Nico.
1437
01:14:51,320 --> 01:14:52,600
I say: "Why is he calling me?"
1438
01:14:52,920 --> 01:14:55,880
[Younouss] He said: "Yeah, listen,
he took me out. Forget about it."
1439
01:14:55,960 --> 01:14:58,640
He didn't say it,
but I could tell something was up.
1440
01:14:58,720 --> 01:15:01,720
Nicolas Anelka doesn't play
in the second half against Mexico.
1441
01:15:01,800 --> 01:15:04,640
It's unsurprising because he didn't
play well in the first half.
1442
01:15:04,720 --> 01:15:06,640
The French team loses 2-0 against Mexico.
1443
01:15:06,720 --> 01:15:10,120
[Arnaud] It's in a difficult position,
but all it takes is beating South Africa
1444
01:15:10,200 --> 01:15:13,000
by at least two goals
and they're still in.
1445
01:15:14,560 --> 01:15:17,560
Somehow, we could tell that the ship
was veering into trouble,
1446
01:15:17,640 --> 01:15:19,200
which is what happened,
1447
01:15:19,280 --> 01:15:22,120
but we thought
that it would just be a sporting fiasco.
1448
01:15:22,200 --> 01:15:23,960
[ominous music]
1449
01:15:28,480 --> 01:15:31,240
[Fabrice] When there's an incident,
it's followed by a sanction.
1450
01:15:31,320 --> 01:15:33,840
What's the sanction?
You're taken off the pitch.
1451
01:15:33,920 --> 01:15:36,120
So, you have the chance,
if there's a problem,
1452
01:15:36,200 --> 01:15:40,080
to take it up with the player,
call him into your room, bring him in,
1453
01:15:40,160 --> 01:15:43,640
either right away or the next day
or after you've really thought it over.
1454
01:15:43,720 --> 01:15:44,720
Nothing happened.
1455
01:15:44,800 --> 01:15:49,080
I got a call from someone at Canal+
who knows my history with Anelka
1456
01:15:49,160 --> 01:15:51,880
who asks me,
because there's a rumour going around,
1457
01:15:51,960 --> 01:15:55,600
if I'm aware of the clash at half-time
during the Mexico match
1458
01:15:55,680 --> 01:15:57,600
between Anelka and Raymond Domenech.
1459
01:15:57,680 --> 01:15:59,960
[Arnaud] I tell him
that I know absolutely nothing.
1460
01:16:00,040 --> 01:16:02,760
I send a light-hearted text to Anelka,
1461
01:16:02,840 --> 01:16:05,800
asking him if he'd made up
with Raymond Domenech yet.
1462
01:16:05,880 --> 01:16:10,480
And to my surprise, he texted right back:
"LOL. How do you already know about that?"
1463
01:16:10,560 --> 01:16:11,920
And I texted him back, saying:
1464
01:16:12,000 --> 01:16:15,960
"Listen, it's the front-page headline
for tomorrow's L'Équipe."
1465
01:16:16,040 --> 01:16:19,240
Then I look at my phone and I say...
1466
01:16:20,160 --> 01:16:22,360
"Wait, but what's it say there?
1467
01:16:22,440 --> 01:16:25,920
Is this for real or are you joking?"
1468
01:16:26,440 --> 01:16:28,080
And he tells me: "No, no.
1469
01:16:28,160 --> 01:16:31,040
It's the headline
in L'Équipe tomorrow. That's it."
1470
01:16:32,760 --> 01:16:35,680
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,
in our one o'clock report,
1471
01:16:35,760 --> 01:16:39,160
we have news that the French football
team has been shaken by a new scandal.
1472
01:16:39,240 --> 01:16:45,360
L'Équipe's front-page headline today,
Anelka tells Domenech...
1473
01:16:45,440 --> 01:16:49,880
[journalist 1] Everyone in South Africa
is talking about the Anelka affair.
1474
01:16:49,960 --> 01:16:52,000
He insulted Domenech.
1475
01:16:52,080 --> 01:16:55,520
[journalist 2] What happened that night
and in the hours that followed?
1476
01:16:55,600 --> 01:16:59,680
Domenech told Anelka
to change position on the pitch
1477
01:16:59,760 --> 01:17:00,880
and defend less.
1478
01:17:01,360 --> 01:17:05,000
[journalist 2] Instructions that sent
Anelka raging with obscenities.
1479
01:17:05,080 --> 01:17:08,200
[journalist 3] The row has reached
the ears of President Nicolas Sarkozy.
1480
01:17:08,680 --> 01:17:14,080
If the events that were reported
this morning by the press are accurate...
1481
01:17:14,480 --> 01:17:17,000
they are unacceptable.
1482
01:17:17,320 --> 01:17:20,520
DESPITE OUR NUMEROUS REQUESTS,
THE DAILY SPORTS NEWSPAPER L'ÉQUIPE
1483
01:17:20,600 --> 01:17:23,240
AND ITS EDITORIAL TEAM DECLINED
TO GIVE US AN INTERVIEW.
1484
01:17:23,320 --> 01:17:25,960
THEY ALSO FORBADE US
FROM USING ANY REPRODUCTION
1485
01:17:26,040 --> 01:17:29,000
OF THE PAPER'S FRONT PAGES
FEATURING NICOLAS ANELKA.
1486
01:17:29,080 --> 01:17:30,920
You insult the coach's mum...
1487
01:17:31,000 --> 01:17:33,920
It's not every day
they put that on the front page.
1488
01:17:34,000 --> 01:17:36,320
So, in this case,
they took it to a new level.
1489
01:17:36,400 --> 01:17:38,360
That means if this is
the Champions League,
1490
01:17:38,440 --> 01:17:41,320
now we're in the Interplanetary League,
see what I mean?
1491
01:17:41,400 --> 01:17:44,720
And there was no turning back.
It was total madness.
1492
01:17:45,160 --> 01:17:47,360
And we, we were the victims, you know?
1493
01:17:47,440 --> 01:17:49,120
The main victim was me,
1494
01:17:49,200 --> 01:17:51,600
but the other players, too,
they were taken hostage.
1495
01:17:51,680 --> 01:17:54,960
They were like: "Yeah, what's this?"
And then everyone was calling them.
1496
01:17:55,040 --> 01:17:59,080
They wanted to know if it was true or not,
what was going on over there, etc. etc.
1497
01:17:59,160 --> 01:18:01,000
No, things got heated. Big time.
1498
01:18:03,560 --> 01:18:08,920
When L'Équipe published their headline,
we had to go and see Nicolas to find out
1499
01:18:09,000 --> 01:18:13,040
if he agreed to make a formal apology
to the manager and his teammates.
1500
01:18:13,560 --> 01:18:18,800
And in that chaotic
and nauseating environment,
1501
01:18:18,880 --> 01:18:21,120
in total breakdown...
1502
01:18:22,280 --> 01:18:26,000
and even now,
we're still suffering from that...
1503
01:18:26,800 --> 01:18:30,960
I find a man
who was totally disillusioned...
1504
01:18:31,040 --> 01:18:35,880
and cold with anger, too.
1505
01:18:35,960 --> 01:18:39,160
[François] There was a resentment
for the way things had come to pass.
1506
01:18:39,720 --> 01:18:42,160
Then, he explained his side
to me for a bit,
1507
01:18:42,240 --> 01:18:43,640
the ins and outs of it,
1508
01:18:43,720 --> 01:18:47,960
how he got to the point of turning
against Raymond in the locker room.
1509
01:18:48,040 --> 01:18:52,200
That it wasn't...
That it wasn't a fit of rage.
1510
01:18:52,280 --> 01:18:54,120
That something was going on.
1511
01:18:54,200 --> 01:18:55,880
And when you know Nicolas Anelka,
1512
01:18:55,960 --> 01:18:58,800
he's not a guy who blows up
at the slightest provocation.
1513
01:18:58,880 --> 01:19:00,520
It's gonna... It's gonna take root.
1514
01:19:00,960 --> 01:19:05,400
The most important thing for me
was the group and patching things up
1515
01:19:05,480 --> 01:19:07,440
so the guys could focus on the World Cup
1516
01:19:07,520 --> 01:19:09,520
and not what had happened
in the locker room.
1517
01:19:11,040 --> 01:19:14,080
[Nicolas] Pat Évra
and Éric Abidal call the coach.
1518
01:19:14,160 --> 01:19:15,440
He says he's coming.
1519
01:19:15,520 --> 01:19:16,960
We wait for him.
1520
01:19:17,040 --> 01:19:20,120
In the end, he never showed up.
1521
01:19:20,200 --> 01:19:24,160
[William] The coach ran and hid, sadly.
You got to tell it like it is.
1522
01:19:24,240 --> 01:19:26,200
Everyone was looking for him in the hotel
1523
01:19:26,280 --> 01:19:28,840
so they could have this meeting
between Nicolas and the coach.
1524
01:19:30,320 --> 01:19:33,720
[journalist] On the pitch in Knysna,
Les Bleus are back in training.
1525
01:19:34,080 --> 01:19:38,440
We're looking for Nicolas Anelka,
but the French striker has disappeared.
1526
01:19:38,520 --> 01:19:42,280
The player has been sent home
by the French Football Federation
1527
01:19:42,360 --> 01:19:45,920
for seriously insulting the coach
and not apologising.
1528
01:19:46,000 --> 01:19:49,640
The Federation's president
has expelled Nicolas Anelka,
1529
01:19:49,720 --> 01:19:51,360
deeming his words unacceptable.
1530
01:19:51,440 --> 01:19:53,800
The coach confirmed this,
but I looked into it anyway.
1531
01:19:53,880 --> 01:19:56,840
People who know me know
very well that if I had said
1532
01:19:56,920 --> 01:20:01,400
what was published by the press,
I would have owned up to it.
1533
01:20:01,480 --> 01:20:03,920
I've always owned up
to everything I've said and done.
1534
01:20:04,000 --> 01:20:05,960
"GO FUCK YOURSELF,
YOU DIRTY SON OF A BITCH!"
1535
01:20:06,040 --> 01:20:07,200
L'ÉQUIPE - 19TH JUNE 2010
1536
01:20:07,280 --> 01:20:10,920
I was next to him in the locker room,
and at no time
1537
01:20:11,240 --> 01:20:14,640
did he ever say what was written
in that newspaper.
1538
01:20:15,040 --> 01:20:19,480
The person in question
never countered the allegation.
1539
01:20:19,560 --> 01:20:23,680
For the press to say we suck
or whatever, OK by me. No problem.
1540
01:20:23,760 --> 01:20:26,520
They said we're catastrophic,
we're impostors, whatever.
1541
01:20:26,600 --> 01:20:29,720
But for the press to write words
like that, it's going too far!
1542
01:20:29,800 --> 01:20:32,760
In the morning, I go to get a paper.
They were sold out.
1543
01:20:32,840 --> 01:20:34,360
It created a huge buzz.
1544
01:20:34,440 --> 01:20:37,320
When you look at the photo montage,
it's like I'm going to punch him,
1545
01:20:37,400 --> 01:20:39,440
when actually, he was far away from me.
1546
01:20:39,520 --> 01:20:42,240
I'm sitting down.
He talks to me, and I answer him.
1547
01:20:42,320 --> 01:20:43,760
It lasted ten seconds.
1548
01:20:43,840 --> 01:20:46,840
Knysna is the biggest media fiasco ever.
1549
01:20:47,160 --> 01:20:50,640
[Karim N.] All the journalists were
at the same bar that night.
1550
01:20:50,720 --> 01:20:54,440
There was a kind of determination
to get the story at all costs.
1551
01:20:54,520 --> 01:20:56,440
They took a lot of liberties with me.
1552
01:20:56,520 --> 01:20:58,320
That front page with insults like that?
1553
01:20:58,400 --> 01:20:59,960
It's unbelievable.
1554
01:21:00,040 --> 01:21:01,520
Won't happen again.
1555
01:21:02,640 --> 01:21:06,400
THAT NIGHT, THE PLAYERS
GET TOGETHER IN THEIR HOTEL.
1556
01:21:06,480 --> 01:21:08,720
[Nicolas] We're sat in a hotel lounge.
1557
01:21:08,800 --> 01:21:12,920
I talk to the players, tell them
how sad the situation is and everything.
1558
01:21:13,000 --> 01:21:17,880
I say: "All you have to do is be focused
on the pitch. We've still got one match.
1559
01:21:17,960 --> 01:21:20,560
If we win the match..."
Because that's how I spoke.
1560
01:21:20,640 --> 01:21:22,840
"If we win the match, we qualify."
1561
01:21:23,320 --> 01:21:27,000
And the guys start to say to me:
"But it's not right. We disagree.
1562
01:21:27,080 --> 01:21:29,360
We wanna take a stand
and do something for you."
1563
01:21:29,440 --> 01:21:34,640
I said: "Do what you wanna do,
but know that I am leaving tonight."
1564
01:21:35,480 --> 01:21:38,400
And they all decided on it together,
while I was there.
1565
01:21:38,480 --> 01:21:42,440
They said: "Tomorrow,
we won't be talking to the press.
1566
01:21:42,520 --> 01:21:45,720
And as a sign of protest,
we won't turn up for training."
1567
01:21:46,080 --> 01:21:49,920
A film needs a beginning,
a middle and an end.
1568
01:21:50,000 --> 01:21:52,720
And it's never a happy ending.
Except in Hollywood.
1569
01:21:52,800 --> 01:21:54,560
I remember the two of them:
1570
01:21:54,640 --> 01:21:57,000
Thierry Henry carrying Nico's bag,
1571
01:21:57,080 --> 01:21:59,320
and Nico vanishing,
just like that, into the night.
1572
01:21:59,400 --> 01:22:02,360
I thought: "What a waste. What a waste..."
1573
01:22:02,440 --> 01:22:05,520
When he left,
I walked him out to the car park.
1574
01:22:05,600 --> 01:22:07,360
[melancholy music]
1575
01:22:07,440 --> 01:22:10,480
It wasn't easy. It was tough.
It was a tough moment.
1576
01:22:11,120 --> 01:22:13,160
Once again,
I was remembering Clairefontaine.
1577
01:22:15,320 --> 01:22:17,960
[Thierry] Remembering the kid
who showed up and...
1578
01:22:19,240 --> 01:22:22,560
I'm not going to get into the details
because I think some things should stay
1579
01:22:22,640 --> 01:22:24,680
just between the two of us, but...
1580
01:22:25,800 --> 01:22:26,800
but it was tough.
1581
01:22:27,720 --> 01:22:29,040
Really tough.
1582
01:22:29,120 --> 01:22:32,800
It was the end. After that,
I could never play for France again.
1583
01:22:33,840 --> 01:22:36,440
[Nicolas] Ending like that
leaves a bitter taste.
1584
01:22:36,520 --> 01:22:38,920
It was a very moving moment.
1585
01:22:39,000 --> 01:22:42,440
Sometimes, there have to be
moments like that,
1586
01:22:42,520 --> 01:22:45,560
that are sad, but you've got
to live through them,
1587
01:22:45,640 --> 01:22:49,960
and honestly...
it's a moment that I'll never forget.
1588
01:22:54,000 --> 01:22:56,720
[Nicolas] So, with that, I leave.
1589
01:22:57,440 --> 01:23:02,160
I knew that their plan was
to take the bus, but not get off.
1590
01:23:03,560 --> 01:23:08,240
But then I get a call
from Pat Évra who tells me:
1591
01:23:08,320 --> 01:23:11,480
"Nico, we won't be able to do what we said
1592
01:23:11,560 --> 01:23:15,080
because there are kids coming,
fans of the French team.
1593
01:23:15,480 --> 01:23:17,480
So, we're gonna get off.
1594
01:23:18,240 --> 01:23:20,160
We'll sign autographs for all the fans,
1595
01:23:20,240 --> 01:23:24,760
and when we're done,
we'll get back on the bus."
1596
01:23:27,000 --> 01:23:28,400
And what happened happened.
1597
01:23:28,480 --> 01:23:30,200
[news jingle]
1598
01:23:31,040 --> 01:23:35,240
"In this statement to the press,
all the French players without exception
1599
01:23:35,320 --> 01:23:39,760
confirm their opposition to the decision
taken by the French Football Federation
1600
01:23:39,840 --> 01:23:40,920
to expel Nicolas Anelka.
1601
01:23:41,000 --> 01:23:45,600
At the team's request, the accused player
made efforts to open up a dialogue,
1602
01:23:45,680 --> 01:23:48,320
but sadly, his actions
were voluntarily ignored.
1603
01:23:48,400 --> 01:23:51,480
Consequently, to show
their opposition to the stance taken
1604
01:23:51,560 --> 01:23:53,840
at the highest levels of French football,
1605
01:23:53,920 --> 01:23:57,560
all the players have decided not to train
in the session scheduled for today.
1606
01:23:58,120 --> 01:24:01,720
The players of the French team."
Thanks, gentlemen. Goodbye.
1607
01:24:01,800 --> 01:24:04,680
I was watching the TV
and people were calling me.
1608
01:24:04,760 --> 01:24:06,480
It was amazing, like a film.
1609
01:24:06,960 --> 01:24:09,840
[journalist 1] For this training session,
which was open to the public,
1610
01:24:09,920 --> 01:24:12,520
the players just went out
to say hi to the fans.
1611
01:24:12,600 --> 01:24:15,840
-[journalist 2] What happened?
-They'll tell you themselves.
1612
01:24:15,920 --> 01:24:18,040
They're the players.
It's up to them to tell you.
1613
01:24:18,120 --> 01:24:20,800
[journalist 1] Jean-Louis Valentin,
Deputy General Manager,
1614
01:24:20,880 --> 01:24:22,000
quickly leaves the pitch.
1615
01:24:22,080 --> 01:24:23,360
He's furious.
1616
01:24:23,440 --> 01:24:25,240
I consider
that what's going on is a scandal,
1617
01:24:25,320 --> 01:24:27,240
and so, under these conditions, I quit.
1618
01:24:27,320 --> 01:24:31,360
[journalist 1] A few yards away, physio
Robert Duverne has just heard the news.
1619
01:24:31,440 --> 01:24:33,320
The players are refusing to practise.
1620
01:24:33,400 --> 01:24:35,640
He almost gets into a fight
with Patrice Évra,
1621
01:24:35,720 --> 01:24:38,200
and in frustration,
violently throws his whistle.
1622
01:24:38,280 --> 01:24:40,680
There was the coach
who read out his letter.
1623
01:24:40,760 --> 01:24:42,280
One guy said: "I quit."
1624
01:24:42,360 --> 01:24:44,800
Another throws his whistle
and went for Évra.
1625
01:24:44,880 --> 01:24:47,280
All in front of the cameras.
It was madness!
1626
01:24:47,720 --> 01:24:51,080
[Emmanuel] When I see those images
of the bus with the window shades down,
1627
01:24:51,160 --> 01:24:53,040
it's like someone took them hostage.
1628
01:24:53,360 --> 01:24:56,280
Honestly, I thought it was
a terrorist attack at first.
1629
01:24:56,960 --> 01:25:00,240
[Robert] I knew it would be a mess
because I knew the man.
1630
01:25:00,320 --> 01:25:03,040
That's why I spoke to the guys.
I told them:
1631
01:25:03,120 --> 01:25:06,720
"Careful what you do and how far you go
with him. Especially with him."
1632
01:25:07,400 --> 01:25:10,960
Because in this case,
the power is in one person's hands.
1633
01:25:11,760 --> 01:25:14,360
[man] Escalettes is there.
That's Escalettes.
1634
01:25:15,160 --> 01:25:17,160
I feel a bit ashamed about Knysna,
1635
01:25:17,240 --> 01:25:20,320
but then you say to yourself:
"After all, it's a team sport.
1636
01:25:21,040 --> 01:25:24,400
[Olivier] If all the players get together
and do things for a certain purpose,
1637
01:25:24,480 --> 01:25:26,120
that means something is going on."
1638
01:25:26,200 --> 01:25:28,760
But football is
a collective of individuals.
1639
01:25:29,960 --> 01:25:31,240
It's every man for himself.
1640
01:25:31,320 --> 01:25:34,240
THE MUTINY
1641
01:25:34,320 --> 01:25:36,520
[dissonance]
1642
01:25:39,120 --> 01:25:42,160
It's a field of ruins in every way.
We've lost our values.
1643
01:25:42,240 --> 01:25:46,240
It's all the excesses of our society:
money, individualism...
1644
01:25:46,320 --> 01:25:50,000
In the end, what is the French team
if it's not a team of traders?
1645
01:25:50,080 --> 01:25:50,880
[flashes]
1646
01:25:50,960 --> 01:25:52,560
[journalist 1] Since his debut at PSG,
1647
01:25:52,640 --> 01:25:55,600
Anelka has rarely tolerated
people standing up to him.
1648
01:25:55,680 --> 01:25:58,080
[journalist 2] He insults his friends,
the people of France,
1649
01:25:58,160 --> 01:26:00,480
and it's not the first time
that he's insulted everybody.
1650
01:26:00,560 --> 01:26:02,920
All his past statements
about his love for the French team,
1651
01:26:03,000 --> 01:26:04,320
we just let it slide.
1652
01:26:04,400 --> 01:26:06,560
In France, we've let it all slide!
1653
01:26:06,640 --> 01:26:09,800
People have told a lot of stories
about Nicolas Anelka,
1654
01:26:09,880 --> 01:26:12,880
with his kind of who-cares
fatalistic indifference
1655
01:26:12,960 --> 01:26:16,800
about the importance of the French team,
when it's anything but that.
1656
01:26:16,880 --> 01:26:20,080
[François] Nico was one of those
rare people, in that whole ordeal,
1657
01:26:20,160 --> 01:26:21,760
who was able to show empathy.
1658
01:26:22,480 --> 01:26:26,480
A few weeks later,
by text or whatever it was,
1659
01:26:26,560 --> 01:26:30,160
I mention South Africa in my message
and he replied:
1660
01:26:30,240 --> 01:26:33,400
"Sorry for everything that happened."
1661
01:26:34,120 --> 01:26:38,840
As if he was the only one responsible,
the guilty party,
1662
01:26:38,920 --> 01:26:41,600
when it wasn't that at all.
1663
01:26:41,680 --> 01:26:43,680
Couldn't be further from it.
1664
01:26:43,760 --> 01:26:49,000
Since Nico doesn't open up to everybody,
and even then, only about certain things,
1665
01:26:49,080 --> 01:26:52,520
he tends to keep them inside
and deal with them all alone.
1666
01:26:52,600 --> 01:26:55,920
You wonder how much he suffers,
how you can help him.
1667
01:26:56,000 --> 01:26:57,640
And that's what's important.
1668
01:26:57,720 --> 01:27:00,640
But with other people, what they say
or what they're going to say,
1669
01:27:00,720 --> 01:27:01,800
you already know that.
1670
01:27:01,880 --> 01:27:03,280
PARIS
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
1671
01:27:03,360 --> 01:27:06,520
Your Honourable
Minister of Health and Sport.
1672
01:27:06,600 --> 01:27:10,760
I can only take note, as you do,
of the disaster with the French team,
1673
01:27:10,840 --> 01:27:15,320
wherein immature gangsters intimidate
frightened young kids.
1674
01:27:15,400 --> 01:27:16,720
It was just taken for granted.
1675
01:27:16,800 --> 01:27:19,200
That's how it was.
He'd said this. He'd done that.
1676
01:27:19,280 --> 01:27:21,080
He was responsible for everything.
1677
01:27:21,160 --> 01:27:23,360
It was pretty violent.
1678
01:27:23,440 --> 01:27:25,800
So, I was happy
that my children were too young
1679
01:27:25,880 --> 01:27:28,680
to understand
what was going on at the time.
1680
01:27:29,200 --> 01:27:33,200
It was hard for his parents, especially,
because me, well, at least...
1681
01:27:33,600 --> 01:27:39,280
I... I knew it was... I know him,
but for his parents, it wasn't easy.
1682
01:27:39,360 --> 01:27:40,560
[melancholy music]
1683
01:27:40,640 --> 01:27:44,720
There's a world of difference between
what people think of Nico and Nico.
1684
01:27:45,760 --> 01:27:47,720
HIGH COURT OF PARIS
1685
01:27:48,000 --> 01:27:51,480
ON 19TH JULY 2010,
NICOLAS ANELKA SUES L'ÉQUIPE FOR:
1686
01:27:51,560 --> 01:27:55,200
"DEFAMATION OF CHARACTER
BY SPOKEN OR WRITTEN WORD,
1687
01:27:55,280 --> 01:27:58,760
IMAGE OR OTHER COMMUNICATION
TO THE PUBLIC [...]"
1688
01:27:58,840 --> 01:28:00,520
It's a shocking headline.
1689
01:28:00,600 --> 01:28:02,280
I wanted to be judged on that.
1690
01:28:02,360 --> 01:28:04,440
I was asked if that's what I'd said.
1691
01:28:05,320 --> 01:28:07,960
And I said: "No. Those are not my words.
1692
01:28:08,040 --> 01:28:12,920
So, judge me on that headline
and those words."
1693
01:28:13,280 --> 01:28:15,160
EXTRACT OF THE 1ST JULY 2011 VERDICT:
1694
01:28:15,240 --> 01:28:17,320
"THE EDITORIAL CHOICE OF ITS FRONT-PAGE,
1695
01:28:17,400 --> 01:28:20,080
UNQUESTIONABLY SPECTACULAR
IF NOT SENSATIONALIST,
1696
01:28:20,160 --> 01:28:23,320
FALLS WITHIN THE SCOPE
OF JOURNALISTIC FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION."
1697
01:28:23,400 --> 01:28:25,840
"[...] IT IS ADMITTED
THAT THIS CAN BE ACCOMPANIED
1698
01:28:25,920 --> 01:28:28,440
BY A DEGREE OF EXAGGERATION,
OR EVEN PROVOCATION."
1699
01:28:29,640 --> 01:28:31,680
Today, with this legal precedent,
1700
01:28:31,760 --> 01:28:35,280
you can put words into the mouth
of any person and add an insult,
1701
01:28:35,360 --> 01:28:38,840
without fearing prosecution,
if at the very least,
1702
01:28:38,920 --> 01:28:41,960
people know that there has been
an argument between two people.
1703
01:28:42,040 --> 01:28:46,440
Which means that, today,
journalists are free to assign
1704
01:28:46,520 --> 01:28:50,720
statements, in quotes, to any person,
1705
01:28:50,800 --> 01:28:56,160
and attribute insults to them,
no matter how serious they may be.
1706
01:28:56,240 --> 01:29:00,440
This legal precedent has made
that exaggeration legitimate today.
1707
01:29:00,920 --> 01:29:03,640
8 YEARS LATER,
RAYMOND DOMENECH REVISITS
1708
01:29:03,720 --> 01:29:08,600
THE INCIDENT WITH NICOLAS ANELKA
IN THE DOCUMENTARY SÉLECTIONNEURS.
1709
01:29:08,680 --> 01:29:10,680
[dissonance]
1710
01:29:12,960 --> 01:29:15,920
There are moments in the locker room
when you have heated exchanges.
1711
01:29:16,000 --> 01:29:17,400
That's how it is. That's all.
1712
01:29:17,800 --> 01:29:20,920
But he didn't say what was written
in the newspapers, that's for sure.
1713
01:29:21,400 --> 01:29:26,960
At half-time, I told him: "Nico,
what I want is for you to go in deep."
1714
01:29:27,040 --> 01:29:28,440
He had his cleats in his hand.
1715
01:29:28,520 --> 01:29:31,440
He turns back and as he turns around,
he throws them down and says:
1716
01:29:31,520 --> 01:29:33,200
"Go ahead with your shit team
on your own!"
1717
01:29:36,000 --> 01:29:39,440
Supposedly it was him,
but it turns out today that it wasn't.
1718
01:29:39,520 --> 01:29:41,440
He was the perfect target.
1719
01:29:41,520 --> 01:29:43,800
The other guy was the manager.
[he whistles]
1720
01:29:43,880 --> 01:29:47,840
Nobody talked about results anymore
or about what was happening in the game.
1721
01:29:47,920 --> 01:29:50,160
There was only one affair.
The Anelka affair.
1722
01:29:50,240 --> 01:29:54,880
People were a bit shocked
by what he said in that documentary.
1723
01:29:54,960 --> 01:29:59,120
Nearly eight years later,
that he said those weren't my words.
1724
01:29:59,200 --> 01:30:02,160
But he said they were to the Federation.
1725
01:30:03,000 --> 01:30:06,040
I think the press knew that,
but nobody said anything.
1726
01:30:06,360 --> 01:30:08,000
When the judgement was announced,
1727
01:30:08,080 --> 01:30:10,960
when the headline was declared
and judged to be defamatory,
1728
01:30:11,040 --> 01:30:12,680
nobody took any notice.
1729
01:30:12,760 --> 01:30:15,400
Nobody. Not a single article.
1730
01:30:15,480 --> 01:30:17,320
L'Équipe was acquitted.
1731
01:30:17,400 --> 01:30:21,320
Yes, that was the official ruling,
but even so,
1732
01:30:21,400 --> 01:30:24,680
it doesn't take away from the fact
that the headline is defamatory.
1733
01:30:25,040 --> 01:30:28,680
If they had attributed a statement
of that kind to anybody else
1734
01:30:28,760 --> 01:30:34,680
besides Nicolas Anelka...
L'Équipe would have been condemned.
1735
01:30:36,320 --> 01:30:39,240
NICOLAS ANELKA WILL NEVER PLAY
FOR FRANCE AGAIN
1736
01:30:39,320 --> 01:30:41,800
AFTER 69 CAPS AND 14 GOALS.
1737
01:30:41,880 --> 01:30:44,440
[electronic music]
1738
01:30:44,520 --> 01:30:47,960
LONDON
ENGLAND
1739
01:30:48,040 --> 01:30:50,760
[Nicolas] I thank God every day
1740
01:30:50,840 --> 01:30:53,080
because I was lucky
that my children were too young
1741
01:30:53,160 --> 01:30:55,480
to understand what happened
in South Africa...
1742
01:30:55,560 --> 01:30:56,600
Hello!
1743
01:30:56,680 --> 01:30:59,360
...and everything that went on
throughout my career.
1744
01:31:00,320 --> 01:31:02,640
Things were said
that had nothing to do with me.
1745
01:31:02,720 --> 01:31:07,560
They were invented.
Negative things about me, about my life.
1746
01:31:07,640 --> 01:31:10,120
About my brothers and their ambition.
1747
01:31:10,200 --> 01:31:11,760
[hip-hop]
1748
01:31:11,840 --> 01:31:17,920
♪ Happy birthday, Daddy! ♪
1749
01:31:18,000 --> 01:31:23,120
♪ Happy birthday to you! ♪
1750
01:31:23,200 --> 01:31:26,400
[Barbara] One, two, three!
1751
01:31:27,120 --> 01:31:28,360
[laughing and cheering]
1752
01:31:28,440 --> 01:31:30,560
[William] He's sensitive,
but he doesn't show it.
1753
01:31:31,480 --> 01:31:35,720
And I get the impression that in football,
you've got to show how you feel.
1754
01:31:35,800 --> 01:31:38,800
[William] If you don't show it,
people say you're cold,
1755
01:31:38,880 --> 01:31:40,160
you're not friendly.
1756
01:31:40,240 --> 01:31:43,160
I think he was protecting himself
from all that notoriety,
1757
01:31:43,240 --> 01:31:45,720
from everything
that was going on in football,
1758
01:31:45,800 --> 01:31:49,720
because he felt that it wasn't his world,
he wasn't in his element.
1759
01:31:49,800 --> 01:31:52,080
And I think protecting himself like that,
1760
01:31:52,160 --> 01:31:56,880
he maybe created a disconnect
between himself and the public.
1761
01:31:56,960 --> 01:31:58,400
[melancholy music]
1762
01:31:58,480 --> 01:31:59,760
OVER THE COURSE OF HIS CAREER,
1763
01:31:59,840 --> 01:32:02,800
NICOLAS ANELKA HAS PLAYED IN 7 COUNTRIES
INCLUDING CHINA AND INDIA.
1764
01:32:03,200 --> 01:32:04,600
[Nicolas] I'm lucky.
1765
01:32:04,680 --> 01:32:05,960
I've travelled.
1766
01:32:06,520 --> 01:32:08,120
I made a lot of money.
1767
01:32:08,800 --> 01:32:10,880
I kind of did what I wanted in life.
1768
01:32:12,280 --> 01:32:15,920
And at the age of 31, almost 32,
1769
01:32:16,000 --> 01:32:19,040
I felt it was time to relax a bit.
1770
01:32:19,440 --> 01:32:22,280
TODAY, HE WORKS AS A COACH.
1771
01:32:22,360 --> 01:32:26,080
[Nicolas] People often think
that football is easy.
1772
01:32:26,560 --> 01:32:28,240
[Nicolas] Just like that, that's it!
1773
01:32:28,320 --> 01:32:30,160
[Nicolas] No. It's complicated.
1774
01:32:30,560 --> 01:32:32,440
Very hard to manage that pressure,
1775
01:32:32,520 --> 01:32:35,440
to be at your best all the time,
for a whole career.
1776
01:32:35,520 --> 01:32:38,640
A career isn't a year or two.
It's 15-20 years.
1777
01:32:39,480 --> 01:32:41,200
[electronic music]
1778
01:32:41,280 --> 01:32:43,640
[Nicolas] Like I said,
it wasn't the best path.
1779
01:32:44,840 --> 01:32:46,680
I don't recommend it to anyone.
1780
01:32:48,480 --> 01:32:49,680
But it's my path.
1781
01:32:58,640 --> 01:33:02,720
IN MEMORY OF JEAN-PHILIPPE ANELKA
1782
01:33:02,800 --> 01:33:04,240
[soft music]
1783
01:33:06,760 --> 01:33:09,480
[French rap]