Once again warriors

Finir en beauté is a charming French phrase, much used in the pages of L’Equipe, which means to end your career in such a manner as to leave behind nothing but a memory of you at your best.

It was not a phrase I expected to see applied to Youri Djorkaeff or Christophe Dugarry on their arrival in English football.

For these two anciens combatants, flashing their World Cup and European championship medals, the premier league appeared to be offering nothing more than a pension-fattening exercise. Their value to two hard-pressed clubs seemed questionable.

What could Djorkaeff know or care about the club of Nat Lofthouse? What would Dugarry, who shares ownership of a Bordeaux restaurant with Zinedine Zidane, find to inspire him in the dismal surroundings of St Andrews? Sam Allardyce and Steve Bruce seemed to have written their cheques on the basis of reputation and desperation.

In their performances last weekend, however, Djorkaeff and Dugarry confirmed the impression that they are among the most successful of the past decade’s French imports. Although they may not help win as many trophies as Eric Cantona or Thierry Henry, both men have found a place where they can make a real contribution.

When Djorkaeff turned up at Bolton Wanderers 14 months ago, he had just spent a year of virtual inactivity at Kaiserslautern, where he had fallen out with the coach, Andreas Brehmé, and ended up training by himself. ‘I was a god there,” he said, ‘and Brehmé was jealous of me.”

Before that there had been a couple of very moderate seasons with Internazionale. It seemed clear that he had crossed the Channel in order to play enough games to justify his inclusion in France’s squad for South Korea.

Arriving in Lancashire on the eve of his 34th birthday, Djorkaeff confounded the sceptics by playing a major role in Bolton’s successful battle to avoid relegation. He also secured his place in the World Cup as a member of the old boy network whose existence brought criticism down on the head of the coach, Roger Lemerre, once France’s challenge had collapsed.

But Djorkaeff returned to Bolton, signed a new two-year contract, and proceeded to prove that the exertions of the previous season had not been motivated by a desire to be noticed elsewhere. Once again he has been an outstanding performer, earning what will surely be a lasting place in the history of a proud old club.

The case of Dugarry is even more extraordinary. His arrival at unfashionable Birmingham City in January was also preceded by a row, in this case at Bordeaux, where he was serving a second spell after unhappy adventures with Milan, Barcelona and Marseille. The Girondins were apparently happy to loan him out a few weeks before his 31st birthday.

Whereas no one ever accused Djorkaeff of failing to give the maximum, some of us had long suspected Dugarry of being a feckless player happy to coast through games, pausing to adjust his Alice band every now and then. His friendship with Zidane appeared to have bulletproofed his membership of France’s squad and he appeared in all three matches in South Korea.

Yet now, led by Bruce, Birmingham City’s fans are wondering if he is the greatest player to wear the club’s shirt. Not only does he score wonder goals but he leads the line with vigour and courage.

‘He’s so not Birmingham City,” said Robert Davies, a photographic artist whose work hangs on David and Victoria Beckham’s walls. ‘We’ve never had any fantasy, although we had Trevor Francis a long time ago. Dugarry gives us something to be proud of. When we lost heavily to Chelsea he was as good as anyone on the pitch. We can chant his name and no one can laugh at us.”

Now, of course, richer and more glamorous premiership clubs are. City’s fans must hope that, like Djorkaeff, Dugarry recognises his luck and listens to Bruce’s offer of a permanent move. ‘For sure, Bolton are always fighting for survival,” Djorkaeff said recently, ‘but every week here is a pleasure.”

So will they finish in beauty? Bolton could still go down. Dugarry might fancy a season elsewhere. But I think this one calls for a happy ending. —