Coauthored by Jeremy Roth and David Talpalar
(Courtesy of ESPN)
The first fully black member featured in the French starting XI, Evra, 34, was born in Senegal. Evra figures to be a shoe-in to start at left back, where he has marauded forward for years. As previously mentioned in the history section of French football, he captained the side at the controversial 2010 World Cup, but has not worn the captain’s armband since then. Another member of great experience, Evra has been capped 68 times for the French side and looks to add several more to that number this summer.
Evra made his mark on professional football for the 9 years he spent at Manchester United, where he played under Sir Alex Ferguson to the tune of several domestic and continental triumphs. As he grew older, he began to move slightly onto the fringes at United, and so he moved to Italian giants Juventus, where he has undergone somewhat of a renaissance, helping Juve win 3 out of 3 Scudettos in his time there, as well as making it all the way to the Champions League final last year.
In his younger days, Evra was known for his incredible pace and willingness to bomb forward down the left-hand side to help out in attack. His attacking prowess made him one of the best left backs in the world during his prime. He shows below an example of just how lethal he can be in attack. However, as he has grown older, his style of play has changed somewhat. As he has lost a step or two of pace, he has made up for it with great tactical and positional awareness, as well as becoming a more sound defensive option in the back line of the Juventus and French defense. A crucial cog in the France lineup, Evra looks set to feature in every match of Euro 2016, barring unforeseen circumstances.
Evra scores an absolute screamer against European giants Bayern Munich (YouTube)
How to cite this article: “Projected France Starting XI at Euro 2016” Written by Jeremy Roth and David Talpalar (2016), European Cup 2016 Guide, Soccer Politics Blog, Duke University, http://sites.duke.edu/wcwp/tournament-guides/european-cup-2016-guide/identity-and-the-french-national-team/notable-players-in-the-projected-french-squad-with-african-heritage/patrice-evra/ (accessed on (date)).
