Stephane Guivarc’h is still haunted by the 1998 World Cup final, but that’s not why he’s now selling swimming pools.

The former striker did win that tournament with France, defeating Brazil 3-0 thanks to a Zinedine Zidane masterclass, but he still can’t fathom how he lost his scoring touch in the biggest game of his career.

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With a strike rate that would terrify any defence, the now 54-year-old looked back on a season where he went from unstoppable to completely blunted.

Leaving Auxerre for Rennes in 1996, Guivarc’h became Ligue 1’s top scorer and was bought straight back by Auxerre, where he repeated the feat in back-to-back seasons.

Registering 21 goals in the league, he scored 37 in all competitions, making his selection for France at their home 1998 tournament a no-brainer.

However, in his only tournament for Les Bleus, the striker went scoreless in his six games, passing the burden onto Zidane and Thierry Henry.

“It still haunts me today, you think about it constantly,” Guivarc’h told RMC Sport in 2023. 

“It’s a World Cup, it’s in France, you score 37 times in the season, and that day you have square feet.

“This is what makes football so charming! Lilian [Thuram], he has not scored a goal in his career and in the semi-final he scored with his right foot and his left foot!”

Trying to explain why things didn’t work, he continued: “You don’t have anyone in the wings, so it’s more complicated. 

“It’s not the same pattern that I had at Auxerre, where I had two machines to cross and where it was enough to be present at the first or second post. There was less effort to be made in running.”

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Guivarc’h played 66 minutes in a dominant win for ten-man France against Brazil in the final, and despite never scoring, was still part of one of his country’s greatest-ever teams.

With his profile through the roof, the Brittany-born star took a trip to the UK.

Newcastle bought him for £3.6million under manager Kenny Dalglish after the World Cup, recovering his scoring touch with a goal on his debut against Liverpool.

It didn’t work out, Ruud Gullit replaced Dalglish as boss and Guivarc’h was sold months later to Rangers, winning a treble with the Scottish side, before finishing off his career with even more goals with Auxerre.

Guivarc’h then rejoined Guingamp and became their all-time top scorer, before calling it a day in 2002 at the age of 32.

One of French football’s most famous strikers, Guivarc’h also enjoys a reputation in the UK as a cult hero; however, having such a recognisable face hasn’t stopped him from an interesting retirement.

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“I’ve been in swimming pools for 17 years,” he explained. “The boss is a friend. 

“Basically, the company was a plumbing company that did my house. My friend then told me that he was going to create a swimming pool structure and that he was looking for a salesman. 

“As I wasn’t doing anything, I told him I was going to give him a helping hand… and I’ve been with him for 17 years, it’s no longer a helping hand. 

“I’m on the road all day, it goes very well, in the evening I’m at home… I have a balanced life, I’m not constantly looking for the camera or the microphone to live.”

Despite completely rejecting a career in management or punditry like many of his former teammates, Guivarc’h did admit football is still a topic, especially the one game he doesn’t like to remember.

“Often, we talk about a quarter of an hour about the swimming pool, then an hour of football!” he said.

“Because 98 had a considerable impact, it was the first World Cup in France.”

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Having learnt their lesson, Newcastle’s latest move for a French striker is in preparation for the World Cup rather than as a result of it.

The Magpies are interested in signing Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike, talkSPORT understands, who is valued at €90m (£77m) this summer.

But with such a hefty price tag, and long-standing interest from Liverpool, don’t expect any transfer to go ahead swimmingly…

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