Video of Marcel Desailly discussing how to stop Ronaldo in 1998 World Cup final pops up on his birthday

Wednesday, September 7, 2022, marks the 54th birthday of the legendary defender, Marcel Desailly.

Born in Ghana's capital city, Accra, on September 7, 1968, Odenke Abbey is mostly considered to be one of the greatest defenders to ever play football.

His birth name was changed to

Read full articletarget='_blank' href='/GhanaHomePage/soccer/player.php?ID=195'>Marcel Desailly after his mother married the head of the French Consulate in Accra, who adopted all of his siblings.

They relocated to France when young Desailly was four, and he was enrolled in the young team of FC Nantes.

Despite his Ghanaian heritage, 25-year-old Marcel Desailly opted to play for the French national team in 1993 as he stated that he did not have much choice about which country to play for as he was already established in the French national youth football team.

He won many trophies with the French national team, including the prestigious FIFA World Cup in 1998, a tournament that cemented his name in the history of football as a great defender.

As he marks his birthday today, a video has surfaced online where Marcel Desailly was discussing how to stop Ronaldo before the 1998 World Cup final with his teammates Lillian Thuram and Frank Leboeuf.

The French, indeed, were able to stop Ronaldo to win their first FIFA World Cup after beating Brazil 3-0 in the final.

Watch the video of Marcel Desailly's discussion in the post below:

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