French soccer legend Deschamps in Liverpool sights

France’s World Cup and European Championship winning captain Didier Deschamps is being targeted by ailing English Premier League giants Liverpool as a replacement for departed manager Rafael Benitez, L’Equipe reported on Saturday.

Deschamps, who was the youngest player to captain a side to Champions League glory when aged 24 he skippered Marseille to the 1993 trophy, has forged a successful career as a coach since retiring as a player and guided his beloved Marseille to their first league title in 18 years last season.

Liverpool, who had a catastrophic campaign by their lofty standards last season failing to win a trophy and finishing outside the places for a Champions League spot next term, approached Marseille on Thursday about talking to 41-year-old Deschamps.

“It is true that the managing director of Liverpool Christian Purslow called me on Thursday,” said Marseille club president Jean-Claude Dassier.

“He speaks very good French and is very courteous. I was awaiting his call as I had heard that Liverpool were interested in Didier.

“He asked whether he could talk to Didier and Jean-Pierre Bernes (Deschamps’ agent) and I replied that I would not forbid anyone from meeting with him, whoever they were.

“At the same time I told him nicely that there was no hope in hell of Liverpool stealing our coach.”

Dassier said that he was hoping to get Deschamps, who was at one point seen as a potential replacement for the unpopular Raymond Domenech as France coach but lost out to fellow World Cup and Euro winning player Laurent Blanc, to extend his contract which runs only till 2011.

“We enjoy good relations with Didier and we have confidence in him staying loyal,” he said.

“I am hoping he will extend his contract by another year. I am not worried that he will leave. It is true though that Didier is flattered that such a big club should be interested in him.”

Deschamps, a fluent Spanish and English speaker after playing spells with Valencia and Chelsea, is nevertheless seen as an outsider in the list for the post for what will be a tough and arduous job to lift Liverpool back into being title challengers.

Top of the list remains last term’s Premier League coach of the season Fulham’s Roy Hodgson, though, the former Inter Milan and Swiss national coach is loathe to leave the small London club whom he guided to the final of the inaugural Europa League last campaign.

Other names mentioned include the highly-rated Northern Irishman and present Aston Villa handler Martin O’Neill, former Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini, Croatian national coach Slaven Bilic or former Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City manager Mark Hughes.