Clandestin, with Youri Djorkaeff «To live clandestinely, I want to live»

«Vivre clandestin, moi je veux vivre, dans ton regard sous ta lumière. Redevenir pour toi cet ange fragile, j'ai peur mais je veux vivre. To live clandestinely, I want to live, in your gaze, under your light. To become again for you this fragile angel, I am scared, but I want to live». 

In 2000, when Youri Djorkaeff was playing for Kaiserslautern - just two years after winning the World Cup with the French national team and two years before the big win at Euro 2000 - he released a song. The title was Vivre dans ta lumière, which literally translates to "Live in your light." An unusual choice for a footballer, right? Especially twenty-five years ago. The title of the song sounds like a reference to the life of footballers: they must get used to being under the spotlight, not only throughout their careers, but for their entire lives. The song suddenly shifts to other themes, yet it opens with the line «To live clandestinely, I want to live» - a sort of prediction of what the final years of Youri Djorkaeff’s football career would be like. 

Bolton, Blackburn, and finally MetroStars. The grand finale after a career spent in France playing with Grenoble, Strasbourg, Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain, and also Inter Milan. A clandestine life, literally, just as he describes in Vivre dans ta lumière. «When I go out, the only things I have with me are my credit card and cash - my father taught me that I should always have them with me. I never carry documents; I’m really a clandestine person.»

Youri Djorkaeff's life was cool before being cool was a thing. Seeking a buen retiro in MLS nowadays is something for boys, but back in 2004, it was for men. It’s even more relevant when you add playing with the New York MetroStars in the equation, the first club in the history of football to become famous for the cutting-edge aesthetic of its kits rather than its forgettable performances. «When I arrived in New York in 2005, I discovered something that today seems trivial: the kids only wore sneakers and jeans. I saw that same sense of coolness in the New York MetroStars jerseys.»

NYC was a chapter written in the script of Youri Djorkaeff's life. «When I was 12, I had two dreams: to win the World Cup and to live in New York. That’s why I moved to the MLS. Moving to New York also helped me ease the melancholy that comes when a footballer finishes his career. It helped me distract myself, of course, because NYC it's the city in the world where it's easiest to find motivation. My supreme luxe was having a picnic in Central Park. Living in New York City changed my life in many ways: it shifted my perception of fashion and culture in general. I made a lot of friends, and I was always open to new experiences and stimuli. I know every corner of Manhattan; I used to walk every day and discover new places. NYC was fun, but now I’m a Parisian again.» 

For this interview, we met Youri Djorakeff in a café in Paris; he defines himself as a citizen of the world and tells us how Paris, Monte-Carlo, New York, Milan, London, and Manchester have shaped his identity. «In Paris, I feel Parisian, in Monte-Carlo I felt Monegasque, in Milan Milanese, in New York New Yorker, and so on. In my life, I have always placed importance on being a citizen of cities, not just a citizen of one city.» And it’s no coincidence that the cities where Djorkaeff lived, aside from the nature of a working-class city like Manchester, share a common thread that connects them: they are some of the biggest luxury hubs in the world. Djorkaeff doesn't shy away when we ask him to delve deeper into the phase of his life when there was a certain pursuit of luxury - that cliché luxury, very flexing adjacent  (a recurring phase in every footballer’s life). And how could we not refer to France in '98 and 2000? 

«We were part of the first generation of footballers ready to be on billboards, the first to be glamourized and participate in fashion campaigns. I had signed a contract with Lotto; the brand saw the potential because the deal came exactly in 1998, the year we won the World Cup, which took place in France. But the most incredible thing is that we were superstars both on and off the field; let me explain, we were superstars in managing all the pressures and anxieties coming from the outside, which also involved off-the-pitch moments. It’s something you can't explain, we were truly the first generation of athletes driving supercars to go to the training center; we were the first generation of athletes dating supermodels. Fabien Barthez was dating Linda Evangelista, Christian Karambeu was with Adriana Sklenarikova, but nothing was for the paparazzi’s lights. We were cool, and we knew it.» 

At 60 years old, Djorkaeff's life continues with the same rhythm as when he was a footballer, albeit with completely different passions. But his love for music has not faded, the same passion that led him to release Vivre dans ta lumière, a hip-hop track that foreshadowed what would become Djorkaeff’s life, away from the major football leagues, with the two biggest trophies for national teams added to his collection, and a football career that became much easier in terms of the status of future clubs, which would be Kaiserslautern, Bolton, and New York MetroStars. «Today, I’m trying to learn how to be a producer, it’s my biggest goal. I’m friends with Swizz Beatz, we met in the United States, and we have some projects together that will come in the future…»

The interview with Youri Djorkaeff is featured in Les Vêtements de Football – The Golden Age of Football Jerseys, available for purchase at this link.