1) A Day in the Life of Raymond Domenech (Dirty Tackle)

2) How much does Domenech really hurt France? A Mathematical Take. (Everything French Soccer)

3) Bakari Kone and Wanda Sykes. Notice a resemblance? (OM Offside)

4) Robert Pires says lots of nasty things about Raymond Domenech. (Goal)

5) Lass claims that Ireland players talk to the media to much.  (Yahoo)

6) Interview: Asamoah Gyan (”Rennes-aissance” has got to be the worst pun I’ve ever heard). (Ligue 1)

7) If you’re interested in PSG and/or Football Manager, this is the place for you. (PSG FM Offside)

A bit of a Domenech-tastic week, no?

Also, don’t forget to vote between the ASSE and Lyon jerseys, as the poll closes this week, as well as give your opinion on the biggest club in Ligue 1.

This weekend brings us a a mix of World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers, World Cup Playoffs and friendlies.  Ligue 1 was represented across the globe– some in key matches that determine if their country to will be going to South Africa and/or Angola next year, others in less important (but, at times, still exciting) friendlies.

As always, I may miss some players and games– please feel free to include additional information in the comments section– it is rather difficult (and time consuming) to create a completely exhaustive list so for this post to be really good, I will need the help of you!

I usually start with Europe…but there has been so much hype on those play-off matches already so let’s mix things up…

AFRICA WORLD CUP AND CAN QUALIFIERS

Morocco vs. Cameroon

Morocco continues its terrible form by losing 2-0 at home to Cameroon.  With this win, Cameroon was able to qualify for the World Cup, in spite of their dismal start.  This WC will be their 6th straight appearance for the country in the competition finals– which is a record for an African team.  The two goal scorers were Real Mallorca’s Pierre Webo (’17) and Inter’s Samuel Eto‘o (’52).  The papers are focusing on Eto’s goals, which was his ninth goal in 11 starts in the 2010 qualifiers, but I want to focus on the fantastic assist Jean Makoun (Lyon) made to create the goal!  Cameroon’s recent winning form was a result of the work of former Ligue 1 coach and Frenchman Paul Le Guen (formerly managed Rennes, Lyon and PSG).  Congrats to the other Ligue 1 players– Mbia (OM), Nkoulou (Monaco) and Alo’o Efoulou (Nancy).

Morocco’s squad was certainly weakened by the loss of Chamakh (Bordeaux, suspension) as well as several other players who were forced to pull out of the squad through injury.  Unfortunately, Ligue 1’s reprensentatives– Hermach (Lens), Chretien (Nancy) and Hadji (Nancy) were not able to pull off an upset.  Morocco sit in last place with only 3 points in 6 games– and won’t be in South Africa or Angola next year!

Togo vs. Gabon

Togo secured its’ place in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments with its 1-0 win over Cameroon (a game where Adebayor promised to double his teammates winning bonus if they won).  Though they are not able to qualify for South Africa, their third place finish will allow them to compete in Angola in January.  Despite already qualifying they were able to grind out a 1-0 win over Gabon.  Congratulations to Romao (Grenoble), Gakpe (Monaco) and Ayite (Nancy) on the win– South Africa won’t be same without Togo, but hopefully they will get to shine in Angola!

Gabon, who finished second in the group despite the loss, have also qualified for the African Cup– meaning Nice and Le Mans will lose the services of Mouloungui and Ovono next year!

Kenya vs. Nigeria

Nigeria managed to come from behind and win 3-2 thanks to two Obamefi Martin (Wolfsburg) strikes. Martin was helped by Ligue 1’s Echiejile (Rennes) who was given a starting 11 spot.  OM’s Taiwo was called into the squad but never made it off the bench.  This win allowed Nigeria to leapfrog Tunisia, win the group and qualify for South Africa (for the 4th straight tournament).

Mozambique vs. Tunisia

Tunisia lost their two point lead in the group and failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup by losing 1-0 to Mozambique.  While this is a huge disappointment for Ligue 1’s Carthage Eagles Ben Khalfallah (Valenciennes), Jemaa (Lens), Kasraoui (Lens), Mikari (Sochaux), Saihi (Montpellier), Ben Saada (Nice), but their second place finish automatically qualifies them for the Africa Cup of Nations.  Hopefully they will be able to avenge themselves for this loss by beating Mozambique (who qualified as third in the group) in the African Cup in January.

Egypt vs. Algeria

The anticipation and drama before this match was high.  First, Algeria’s bus was attacked when they arrived in Cairo earlier this week by young rioters, causing three Alergian players to sustain facial cuts.  Egypt’s FA is making the conspiracy theory defense, claiming that the attack was staged by the Algerians to undermine them on the international stage.

Before the game, Algeria was in first place  with a three point cushion between them and Egypt.  To keep their World Cup qualification hopes alive, Egypt needed to beat Algeria by two goals– which they did!  With the win, Egypt managed to force a play-off game, which will be played in neutral Sudan.  Hopefully, Lorient’s  Mansouri will keep his place in the starting 11 for the final qualification game and help Algeria qualify for the World Cup.

Sudan vs. Benin

Benin sealed their second place group position by beating the Group D whipping boys, Sudan (who only managed to win 1 point in qualification) 2-1.  There isn’t much information on the match, but Benin’s squad typically contains both Sessegnon (PSG) and Pote (Nice) from Ligue 1.  Any additional details would be greatly appreciated!

Burkina Faso vs Malawi

Both Burkina Faso and Malawi came into this game knowing that there was no way they could qualify for the World Cup, but only Burkina Faso was certain to qualify for the African Cup.  Unfortunately, Malawi wasn’t able to channel this extra motivation into a win, losing 1-0.  They no doubt felt secure that Guinea wouldn’t be able to beat Group E top dog, the Ivory Coast.  This means that Ligue 1 will lose Burkina Faso’s Traore (Auxerre), Bamogo (Nice) and Kabore (OM) in January.

Ivory Coast vs. Guinea

The Ivory Coast managed to beat Guinea, who had the chance to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations if they had won this game, without Drogba (Chelsea).  This isn’t surprising considering their strong showing in qualification– they remain undefeated in their World Cup qualification group, winning four of their last five games including a 5-0 smashing of the group’s second place Burkina Faso in September.  Despite not having Drogba, the Ivory Coast squad was in good hands with Ligue 1’s Gervinho (Lille) and Gosso (Monaco) taking the field in the starting 11 to help secure the 3-0 win over Guinea.  Unfortunately, recent call-ups Fae (Nice), Soro (Lorient), Doumbia (Lorient), Coulibaly (Nice), Dindane (loaned to Portsmouth from Lens), Traore (Sochaux) and Bakari Kone (OM) weren’t able to make the squad through injury, suspension or just poor performance.

UEFA WORLD CUP PLAY-OFFS

While most of Africa battled out the final spots for the World Cup and the African Cup, most of the world was fixated on the first leg of the UEFA World Cup qualifying games that were played this weekend.  Ligue 1 was represented in three of the four matches, but results were mixed…

Ireland vs. France

The build-up for this match included Domenech calling Ireland the “England B” squad, Domenech getting booed in front of his players at the Tennis Masters Tournament in Paris, Irish player Dunne claiming that Domenech’s coaching is an advantage for them, Sarkozy getting facebook and Irish claims to teach the French respect.

Despite all these obstacles– and the rain– France managed to win 1-0 in Ireland thanks to a 72′ deflected goal from Anelka (Chelsea). Ligue 1 was well represented in the starting 11– with Lloris (Lyon), Gourcuff, Alou Diarra and Gignac (Toulouse) making the cut.  Mandanda (OM), Sissoko (Toulouse), Govou (Lyon) had to be satisfied with the bench, while Toulalan’s (Lyon) forced him to sit of this game.

Despite winning, the drama continues as Domenech threatens to leave the post-match press conference after being asked about having a fight with Henry over Viera’s abscence from the squad this morning.

Portugal vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina

Portugal managed to capitalize on a fleeting moment of weakness in a game where Bosnia displayed an amazing sense of discipline.  The goal, which was assisted by Nani and scored by Bruno Alves, allows Portugal to go into the second match with a slight advantage.  The bigger threat to Bosnia’s qualification campaign is the loss of three key players (Montpellier’s Spahic, Rahimic and Muratovic) who received bookings which will keep them out of the second leg.  But, Bosnia’s loss is Ligue 1’s gain as this might allow Lyon’s Pjanic a place in the starting 11.  In the first leg, he started out on the bench but made a substitution appearance in the 87th minute for Muratovic.

Russia vs. Slovenia

Auxerre’s Valtar Birsa was unable to help his team secure a victory in their 2-1 loss to Russia; however, they manage to secure a crucial away goal (though only after Birsa was substituted out of the match).  A 1-0 win at home will see Slovenia qualify for South Africa on away goals this week!

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES

Spain vs. Argentina

Given  his dismal OM performance, it really isn’t shocking that Heinze failed to help his team keep out two Xabi Alonso goals in Argentina’s 2-1 defeat.

Slovakia vs. US

Bocanegra (Rennes) couldn’t help the US beat Slovakia in this friendly which was determined by a penalty.  It will be a tough loss for US to swallow considering they outshot the Slovakians 8-5 and had four more corners.

Interesting Fact:  Apparently, both teams started sons of their coaches.

Abdoul Razak Boukari (Lens), 85th minute, against Teddy Richert.

(second goal, 1:50)

Miralem Pjanic (Lyon), 3rd minute, against Steve Mandanda.

Sidney Govou (Lyon), 14th minute, against Steve Mandanda.

(third goal, 0:14)

Bakari Kone (Marseille), 47th minute, against Hugo Lloris.

Michel Bastos (Lyon), 90th minute, against Steve Mandanda.

Who gets the prize for Goal of the Week: Round 13?(answers)

Le Mans UC 72 0 – 1 AJ Auxerre

AJA pushed into the top three, at least temporarily, as they eked out a win against Paolo Duarte’s side, who are currently firmly in the relation zone. Speaking of Paolo Duarte, here’s an excellent interview he gave to the Ligue 1 official site. The interviewer is rather bold, asking some interesting questions, and also seems to have been reading to much Harry Potter lately, referring to Jose Mourinho as the ‘Chosen One’.

FC Lorient 5 – 0 Boulogne Côte d’Opale
(No video highlights available at the point–I have seen none of this match)
I’m going to assume from the scoreline that this match was total destruction. It’s also further proof that Boulogne are going down and Cristian Gourcuff is a half decent manager.

AS Monaco FC 0 – 0 Grenoble Foot 38

Some stellar goalkeeping from Ronan Le Crom gave Grenoble their first point of the season, and they dominated the match. A bit of a shock for Monaco, who were playing at home and went into the weekend in third place. Check out the Monaco Offside for a more complete review later.

AS Nancy Lorraine 0 – 1 AS Saint-Etienne

A wonderful goal from the quickly rising star of Dimitri Payet proves key for ASSE, and bumps a frustratingly inconsistent Nancy down to 10th place. Check out the Saint-Etienne Offside for a review.

Paris Saint-Germain 0 – 1 OGC Nice

Guess who’s even more inconsistent than ASNL? PSG of course. Last weeks victory wasn’t a turnaround, simply a performance on which to base false hope. PSG completely dominated the match, but it was Nice who put the ball in the NET. I give credit to Mounier and Remy for the beautiful cross and header. The PSG Offside will have something up soon.

Valenciennes FC 1 – 1 Montpellier Hérault SC

Did you know that these two teams were the highest scoring in Ligue 1? I certainly didn’t. Anyway, Colombians ran the show, but the result didn’t really change anything. Don’t you wish we had a Montpellier Offside?

Sochaux-Montbéliard 1 – 2 RC Lens

Lens pulled out of the drop zone with this victory and grounded Sochaux in the bottom half of the table. Be sure to visit the Lens Offside for more.

LOSC Lille Métropole 2 – 0 Girondins de Bordeaux

In one of the unexpected results of the evening, surprise bottom feeders LOSC upset Ligue leaders Bordeaux. Both sides put on displays of how to miss one on one’s with the keeper, but Gervinho’s dribbling ability eventually won the match for Lille. Visit the Bordeaux Offside for more.

Toulouse FC 3 – 2 Stade Rennais FC
Some nice goals in this matchup, TFC eventually coming out on top. APG seems to have rediscovered his scoring touch, but Moussa Sissoko seems to have no intention of stopping to let Gignac take over. Check out Dave Trotter’s review at the Toulouse Offside.

Olympique Lyonnais 5 – 5 Olympique de Marseille

Match of the century? It’s certainly a candidate. I’ll let the Lyon and Marseille Offsides elaborate.

Moussa Sissoko (Toulouse), 27th minute, against Steve Mandanda

(first goal)
This spectacular long range effort from Sissoko silenced the Velodrome and bring his tally up to five league goals.

Yohan Cabaye (Lille), 27th minute (looking like a great minute), against Ronan Le Crom

(first goal)
Nice little one-two followed by a chest trap and volley, reminds me of this goal, although not quite as nice.

Gervinho (Lille), 90th minute, against Ronan Le Crom

(second goal)
In Gervinho’s second straight appearance in the poll, he goes on a miraculous dribbling rampage in which he completely dismantles the Grenoble defense before firing in from point blank range.

Fahid Ben Khalfallah (Valenciennes), 78th minute, against Nicolas Douchez (who is apparently the best player in Ligue 1)

(second goal)
Fahid Ben Khalfallah continued his inspired performance (he assisted the first goal) by dribbling from midfield into the center of the pitch and hitting a long, outside curving shot into the corner of Douchez’s net.

Brandao (Marseille), 75th minute, against Olivier Blondel

Brandao’s half-bike to tie up the game for OM barely makes the top 5, Pujol’s goal would have been here if it had actually crossed the line.

So, time to vote…

Who gets the prize for Goal of the Week: Round 12?(answers)

Rennes 0-3 Valenciennes

Rennes dominated from the off, having a Peter Hansson goal wrongly dissalowed, followed by numerous chances including an Ekoko shot that hit the bar. The first goal came a little way into the second half, when Valenciennes’ new center-back Dianbobo Balde headed in from close range. This was followed by two beautiful goals from Valenciennes, the first a superb long range individual effort from Fahid Ben Khalfallah, the second a stunning Gregory Pujol shot that hit the crossbar twice and than bounced out, crossing the goal line in the process. Needless to say, the Stade de la Route de Lorient was stunned.

Nice 1-0 Le Mans

This match turned sour early on when a scuffle for the ball between Mamadou Bagayoko and Geder resulted in a red card for the Le Mans defender. Le Mans dominated the chances, but it was Nice who broke the deadlock when Ismael Gace headed in a corner. Le Mans had several chances to tie it up but the match ended 1-0 to the delight of the fans at the Stade du Ray.

Sochaux 1-4 PSG

Check out the PSG Offside for a review later. I can guarantee you it’ll be there.

FC Girondins de Bordeaux 1-0 AS Monaco FC

This match, which happened to be a battle between first and second (which no one would have predicted at the beginning of the season), was much less exciting than last year’s version. Planus’ tap in off a Wendel free-kick kept Bordeaux in control of the top spot and allowed Lyon to overtake Monaco and move into second place.

US Boulogne Côte d’Opale 1-2 AS Nancy-Lorraine

I believe I predicted earlier that the only direction Boulogne were going was down. I think I was correct. USBCO fell to an unimpressive and inconsistent Nancy side who were without Gennaro Bracigliano, maintaining ASNL’s top ten position, and proving that Boulogne really are nothing more than a Ligue 2 side.

Grenoble Foot 38 0-2 LOSC Lille Métropole

An 11th straight defeat for Grenoble. They’re just way to unlucky. They hit the crossbar twice in this match, while Lille scored on each of their two shots. Mickael Landreau has returned from injury, starting in the net for LOSC, and Gervinho has continued to impress.

Racing Club de Lens 1-1 FC Lorient Bretagne Sud

Check out the Lens Offside for a full review.

Olympique de Marseille 1-1 Toulouse FC
Check out the Marseille Offside for a full review.

AS Saint-Etienne 0-1 Olympique Lyonnais

This was just the kind of storybook derby that I was expecting. Former Sainte favorite Bafetimbi Gomis started on the bench for Lyon, and the match remained pretty even until Gomis was brought in late on. Only minutes later, he put in the winning goal on a volley from a corner.

Links to click as you watch the lasted Ligue 1 video propaganda…

1) Thierry Henry, Franck Ribery, and Sonia Bompastor will represent France at the FIFA awards. (L’Equipe)

2) Monsieur Henry is the favorite, or so say the FIFA-Castrol rankings. (Castrol)

3) The France jerseys for World Cup 2010 have been leaked. (Football Shirt Culture)

4) Shedding light on OL’s injury problems. (Dirty Tackle)

5) Video Review: OM-PSG Cancellation. (SoccerLens)

6) There’s a new Vieira to go with the new Zidane. (Everything French Soccer)

7) Michel Bastos has FINALLY been called up for the Seleção. (Ligue 1)

Top 3 Performances

3.  Nene (Monaco): Ligue 1’s current top scorer continued his streak against a struggling Boulogne by adding another two goals to the 7 he has already scored.  This gives him a total of 9 goals in 10 ten games.

2.  Guy Ndy Assembe (Valenciennes): The Cameroon-born goalkeeper made several show-stopping saves against Saint-Etienne.  His point-blank save of Bergessio’s shot is a candidate for save of the season.

1.  Moussa Sissoko (Toulouse): Maintained his consistently impressive form this season, impressive at any age but extremely impressive considering he is only 20.  His leadership in the midfield has already been noted by the press, but the offensive skills displayed in this game have elevated his game to another level.

Top 3 Flops

3.  David Jemmali (Grenoble): Poor Grenoble seems determined to throw away even a point as they lost their 10th game of the season.  Grenoble’s Jemmali gave Nancy the equalizer with a strong header, which he unfortunately aimed at his own goal.

2.  Lyon: While this should not discount Nice’s awesomely effective and efficient performance in front of the goal in their utter destruction of Lyon this weekend, Lyon could not help themselves as they completely broke down.   Two of their former players (Remy and Mounier) came back to haunt them, Cissokho claimed an own goal and nobody on the team seemed to have it within themselves to pick the team up, put them on their back and put in a game-changing performance.

1.  Ligue de Football Professionel (LFP): Waited until the last possible moment to call off the Classico.  Regardless of if the decision was right or not, the call should have been made earlier.  Instead, the call wasn’t made until PSG was already in Marseille (forcing the transportation of sick players) and fans had traveled South (leading to violent clashes) unnecessarily.  The whole debacle should have been handled better.  After the first player in Ligue 1 was diagnosed in August, they should have created a protocol on how to deal with situations like this (should they arise)– that way they could have avoided accusations of bias.

1) In case you haven’t heard, the dreaded swine flu has made it’s mark on football. (Ligue 1)

2) Clint Eastwood gives an interesting ceremonial kickoff. (Dirty Tackle)

3) Another interesting take on Ligue 1 vs. EPL.  (Unprofessional Foul)

4) PSG fans clash with police in Marseille. (ESPN)

5) The Ligue 1 magazine is available online. (FootPro)

6) Do upsets show the quality of Ligue 1? (Everything French Soccer)

7) Nike Classico virals are in vein. (Marseille Offside)