He patrols the centre circle always available to receive a pass from a defender or a wide player under pressure

He patrols the centre circle, always available to receive a pass from a defender or a wide player under pressure. His function is to transfer the ball as quickly as possible to someone who can make the best creative use of it - and usually, in the case of both Juventus and France, that means Zidane.He doesn't score goals - there are only 17 to his name in 381 First Division games in France and Italy. Zinedine Zidane will be the one to take the historic place of Michel Platini in the hearts of Juve's fans; for Deschamps there will be the sort of appreciation accorded to the doer of unglamorous but necessary tasks.What, exactly, does Didier Deschamps do? That's easy. After four years he went to Marseilles and then spent a single season at Bordeaux before returning to the Velodrome, where he was part of a squad that included Jean-Pierre Papin, Chris Waddle and Basile Boli.Deschamps has another European Cup winner's medal (from 1996, against Ajax), an Intercontinental Cup medal, a European Super Cup medal, one Italian Cup winner's medal, two Italian Super Cup medals and three Serie A championship medals to show for his time in Turin, but he is the sort of player whose achievements inspire respect rather than affection. Monaco and Chelsea - managed, of course, by an old Juventus team mate - have also been mentioned."Anything's possible," Deschamps said last week "I could stay or I could go. Five years at Juve, that's a long time, and yet it's not."The only certainty, he said, is that the recent change of coach, from Marcello Lippi to Carlo Ancelotti, would not influence his decision, and nor would the matter of whether or not the club qualifies for the European Cup next season "I just want to keep on winning," he declared. "I haven't spoken to anyone about it yet, even to Ancelotti, because I know that he's got other problems, to do with the playing situation of the team."Born in Bayonne, in France's rugby heartland, Deschamps played first for a local club, Aviron.

At 15 he joined Nantes, where he played alongside the young Marcel Desailly. Marseilles, with whom he won two French championships and the European Cup of 1993 (later annulled after the Bernard Tapie match- fixing scandal), are rumoured to be interested in luring him back to the Stade Velodrome. Contracted until 2001, at a salary just short of pounds 1m a year, he is currently in negotiation about whether to stay in Turin or spend the remainder of his career, which he estimates at another three seasons, elsewhere.Among possible destinations are Athletic Bilbao, who are said to have offered double his present salary and are also presumably able to appeal to his Basque origins. And tomorrow night at Old Trafford, all being well, the little midfield player will surpass Alain Roche's record of 65 appearances in the European Cup when he takes the field with Juventus to face Manchester United in the first leg of their semi-final tie. Nine months ago, Deschamps captained his country to victory in the World Cup, receiving the medal of the Legion d'Honneur and a permanent place in his nation's roll-call of heroes. Since then he has celebrated his 30th birthday and watched his club endure their rockiest season in years while somehow managing to stagger into the last four of a competition whose final he and his colleagues have graced for the last three years. And, even as Deschamps prepares to fight for the right to appear in a fourth consecutive final, the gossips are beginning to suggest that this will be his last season in the black and white stripes of Juventus, whom he joined from Marseilles in 1994.

Last week, winning his 83rd and 84th caps against Ukraine and Armenia, he set a new French mark, eclipsing the one established by Manuel Amoros, a member of the great side of the early 1980s. Double Thriller, a 4-1 chance, hardly seems worth the effort of a trip to the bookies as far as once-a-year backers are concerned, and punters are now taking what little value remains about the other main contenders.. FOR DIDIER Deschamps, this is a time of records. He will be ridden by Richard Dunwoody, who has just overtaken Peter Scudamore as the most successful jockey in jump racing history.Since both Dunwoody and Nicholson are now approaching the end of their respective careers, Call It A Day may also appeal to superstitious backers."Major market moves just days before the big race are rare, and we suspect that this gamble has been triggered by one of the country's most influential tipping services," Simon Clare of Coral said, while a spokesman for Ladbrokes pointed out that only 11 favourites have won the National this century.