27th June 1984, on an uncharacteristically cold evening in Paris, France stepped out onto the hallowed turf of the Parc des Princes, to the roaring of 47,368 of mostly their own countrymen, to write the final chapter in the fairytale of Euro 1984. A hotly contested game contrasted sharply with the chilly breeze, but Les Bleus and opponents Spain must have had their shooting boots frozen in fear. Not a goal to speak of until minute 57, when Luis Arconada allowed a weak free kick to incredulously sneak under his body and in. It was Michel Platini’s ninth goal of the tournament, and managed to be both his luckiest and his most important. A Bellome chip in added time doubled the score and France had done it. Their first major triumph, and it had come on home soil no less.

If you were a French man, you’d surely have to be a believer in a little thing called destiny. Surely it can be no accident that the two most talented sides they ever produced were at the apex of their powers in the lead up to tournaments on home soil. Their ’84 domination was followed by a Zinedine Zidane inspired triumph in the Stade de France in the World Cup of 1998, and then golden goal glory in Euro 2000, held in neighbouring Belgium and the next-to-neighbouring Netherlands. As Euro 2016 is now a matter of weeks away, one needs only to glance at a hypothetical XI of the players that France left out of the squad to see how scarily deep the talent is in their international pool. Off the top of my head (I swear, scouts honour): Ruffier, Debuchy, Laporte, Rami, Tremoulinas, Rabiot, Schneiderlin, Bauthéac, Tolisso, Ben Arfa, Lacazette. What’s that? You want another one? Oh fine then: Aréola, Konko, Umtiti, Koulibaly (He’s Senegalese? Okay, Yanga-Mbiwa so), Kurzawa, N’Zonzi, Kondogbia, Mounier, Gourcuff, Nasri, Gameiro. And that’s not including injured players (Zouma) or those who can’t make it for some other reason (Benzema, Valbuena, Sakho). Going in as heavy favourites, this French team is easily the strongest there. Germany come close, but other than them nobody is on the same level. Their victory, though, may very well be inspired with a nod back to the first champions 32 years ago.

In Euro ’84, France steamrolled the middle of the park in every game (semi final against Portugal notwithstanding) as they were blessed with having four wonderfully talented midfielders at their disposal: Luis Fernández, Alain Giresse, Jean Tigana, and Platini. Collectively they were known as “Le Carré Magique”, or the Magic Square for us uncultured masses. Playing in a loosely defined diamond, the four each had their own individual talents but ultimately shared two defining characteristics: uncontainable explosiveness, and a supreme pair of feet. They didn’t call them the “Brazilians of Europe” for nothing. The supporting three would play the ball between themselves as effortlessly as if they were on a beach, yet also shielding it from the opposition like there was a force field around the thing. Platini had free roam at the tip of the diamond (the other three would interchange, pulling the opposition every which way) allowing him to exploit space and wreak havoc on the opposition goalkeepers. Who needs strikers when you have a midfielder scoring an average of just under two goals per game, eh? It was controlled chaos, tumultuous clockwork, football at its beautiful best and its maniacal maddest at once. The foursome would conquer that summer but, unfortunately, not go onto dominate the world stage in 1986 in Mexico, losing to West Germany in an era-defining game in Guadalajara.

Looking back to the future, I threw together my own little starting XI for France today, and something immediately startled me upon first review:

How OP do you like your midfield in the morning mate? In looking at the four of Kanté, Matuidi, Pogba, and Payet, you immediately see reflections of the famous four from ’84. Kanté, much like Fernández, is the football purists dream of a holding midfielder. Every bit as comfortable with the ball at his feet dribbling as he is throwing in a daring tackle, and often, nothing gets past him. Matuidi brings fierceness and passion, similar to Tigana. An unstoppable force on top form, blessed with box-to-box energy and the agility and acceleration to match. Tigana and Giresse shared these qualities much like Pogba and Matuidi do, but the precision and finesse that Giresse brought to his game (and Tigana was no slouch) set him apart. Pogba, however, is a big, imposing figure with a touch of sheer class about his play that you simply have to label him as a once-in-a-generation talent. At the top, Payet is a versatile player with a great footballing brain and the ability to strike a ball, be it a pass or a shot, with pinpoint precision from just about anywhere. Truly, he would make Le Roi proud.

What could set this new “Carré Magique” apart from the original though, is the individual little improvements that each player has over his predecessor. Tigana was always hampered somewhat by his diminutive physical stature, but for Matuidi this is hardly a problem. Kanté’s pace makes him a massive asset going forward, more so than Fernández. Payet may never attain the legendary status of Platini, but he certainly could easily last the full 90 minutes and play to his maximum for the full game, something Platini struggled with on occasion. And Pogba? Enough superlatives have been used to describe his game that I’d merely be parroting, so I’ll say this: I think he’s a little better than Alain Giresse anyway.

Everybody has their favourites going into a tournament like this. Be it their picks to win, or sides they simply have an affinity towards. If Will Grigg catches fire in France it will bring a smile to my face, and I also have a soft spot for Hungary too. However, for anyone to back a Germany or a Spain, England, Portugal, Croatia, whoever, is a bit daft. There is no looking past France. What’s more, not only will France come away from this tournament winners, a certain foursome will come away legends. The men who delivered them the crown, through sheer domination of the ball and unmatched class in the middle of the park. N’Golo Kanté, Blaise Matuidi, Paul Pogba, Dimitri Payet. I give you, “Le Nouveau Carré Magique”. Watch that space.