End of an Era for France
By: Corey | June 18th, 2008So after being humiliated at the European Championships yet again, we now see that the national squad will be undergoing significant changes. It seems logical that Domenech will be fired, hopefully with a Marie Antoinette style guillotine execution in front of the Parisien crowds. Both Bixente Lizarazu and Marcel Desailly both supported the idea of firing Domenech after a poor performance that looked like he was most to blame. Baffling tactics, strange subsitutions and a complete lack of motivation from the French players are just a short list of the problems with the team that Domenech could be blamed for. I for one never liked the man, his silly fued with Italy and his staunch stance about defending were never going to sit well with fans, so his axing comes as a natural process.
And the likely successor will be Mr. Deschamps, who has been out of football since resigning from Juventus. All bets are off as to what Deschamps will do with the France squad, so it should be interesting. Lizarazu wants former teammater Deschamps, while Desailly seems to favor Jean Tigana, so let the postering and back-room dealing begin! Lizarazu said “Deschamps seems to be the ideal coach.” “He has the experience of the highest level, he has experience with the French team, and has experience as coach of Juventus and Monaco.”
Desailly thinks former France midfielder Jean Tigana would also be a good choice to replace Domenech.
“You have to start with a new generation,” Desailly said. “I believe (Deschamps) looks like he is one of the best coaches for France. He has the experience, and Tigana also could make himself available.”
We also saw the immediate retirement announcements from leading caps holder Lillian Thuram, 36, who now has 142 caps. And Claude Makelele, 35, with 71 caps also retired. These two were pillars of the France team for some time now, with Thuram having started the 98 World Cup Final while Makelele was widely regarded as the best player in his position for most of his career.
They will both be missed and their services were greatly appreciated for their country. Also rumored to be retiring is Greg Coupet, who started his first international tournament, and had a bad one. He is leaing Lyon this offseason for an adventure abroad and he has expressed a willingness to retire in order to prolong his club career.
This could also have been the last major tournament for old Arsenal pals Theirry Henry and Patrick Viera, although Pat didnt play a game. Although their age dictates the 2010 WC is not out of their reach, their club forms have been poor this past season and a break from international football must surely be on their minds. Their is also the question of whether players like Eric Abidal, Florent Malouda, Nicolas Anelka and Willy Sagnol should have went to the tournament after poor league form this past year. And their status with the new coach will surely be up in the air.
We also saw a great failing of the young talent that we all believe, including Domenech, has so much potential. Karim Benzema looked out of sorts with Anelka and Henry as partners, while Bafa Gomis still looks a little wet under the ears. Samir Nasri got precious little time to impress, while Lassana Diarra, Steve Mandana and Francois Clerc didnt see any action. With a squad that needs to replace a few important players and starts World Cup qualification very soon, the hope is that things are sorted out soon that the team can begin preparing for the next World Cup with a unified plan.
Category: France Ligue 1
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Comments
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domeneh is an idiot, probably the one of the most hated coaches of all time! I don’t relly hate much people but him I cant stand, he is just so stupid!!!
hos the fuck can he take Thuram, Makelele and Vieira as STARTERS to this competition! thank god Vieira got injured but that was not enough…
I am a Roma and Italy fan and cannot understand why he left Mexes at home… does he really think a 36 year old RB is better than a 27 year old CB??? fucken insane, thank god he left and now france can see all their amazing young players get a chance…
players like Mexes, Clerc, Diarra, Nasri, Benzema, Toulalan, Bodmer, LLoris… they are the future of France and should already be a major part of the team
Posted from
El Salvador
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Mexes had injury concerns and was not able to play in the pre-tournament friendlies, so he was axed. But considering Viera was kept on without playing a game, it seems ridiculous the Mexes was disguarded so quickly.
Posted from
United States -
thats what im saying Corey, Mexes would have been fit for the tournament, and Viera no… cant believe you are defending that piece of shit
Posted from
El Salvador -
Oh the bitter aftermath! The deepest black holes in the hearts of every Les Bleus fan, gutted, because of a poor CHEF who impoloded this beautiful group of players to bits and pieces, and hand them the most embarassing of farewells ever in the history of French football. I truly believe that Thuram, and Mak deserved better than this, but how could anyone deny fate.
Even though fate could’ve been somewhat persuaded not to be so heavy handed in their final match against the Azzuri. What was RD thinking when he brought on Nasri just to replace him moments later. Has anyone with any football experience of 20 years or more seen anything as blatantly ignorama as that?
Why was he so apethetic as to the drawing an inferior Romanian team? If’s and buts, however they should’ve taken that match by the scruff of the neck and hammered in so many opportunities they squandered!
There is no doubt now that losing a player of Zizou status has done this team a lot worse than many of us fans could’ve imagined.
The ever over-hyping of how the young stars will flourish during this tournament was personally more
disappointing as their performance on the field was absent. Some of you may not agree, but I didn’t see the skill level of a Benzema or a Nasri yet, and till then I’ll remain a skeptic! Where was the elegance of the teams past, those beautiful 1 and 2’s destroying the defense of the oppostion?
Looking forward we have to be patient and don’t be so gullible as Deschamp will bring in the magic wand and poof we’ll become world champs come 2010, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Les Bleus won’t qualify for this tourney.
They tried their best to bounce back from the 4-1 thumping that the dutch produced and with ten men,I have nothing but praise for giving it all they had, no one fan can feel the pain of the French players involved in this fiasco. So as we go about doing our daily routines and forget this match I’m sure that the ugly experience of this last match will be with them forever.
So let’s put on the rose colored glasses and imagine that this was all a bad nightmare, and hope for a better future. I LOVE YOU LES BLEUS!Posted from
United States -
Im not defending it ordeal_rules, I just said that since Viera was included even though he wasnt fit why shouldnt Mexes be? Read thoroughly next time.
Foreverzidane- Very flowery but well put
Posted from
United States -
I’m sorry but I don’t see any flowers in my prose!
Everyone expresses themselves differently, and I choose to be more narrative and more dramatic as to convey the true feelings inside which is the best therapy for a devestated Les Bleus Fan! Plus If you would’ve known the amount of CRAP that I endure by supporting this team in a predominantly Anglo, Italian, Portuguese environment, then you’ld share the pain even more. Not that many supporters of Les Bleus in Toronto, Canada.Posted from
United States -
sorry corey, I just hate domenech
Posted from
El Salvador -
Interesting, but the anti-French sentiments in that part of Canada is always interesting, as no one likes people from Quebec, and thus French people in general. Theres nothing wrong with your comments Zidane, its fine by me if you want to be Shakesperean in your prose.
Posted from
United States -
Corey the anti-French sentiment outside of Quebec is alive and well in the rest of Canada and to a degree in Anglo Montreal suburbs.
They, similar to our American brothers believe that the entire world should be English speaking. Why do you think Americans favorite destinations are the U.K. and Canada?
Recently I’ve started to put a good effort learning the French language and you should hear all the ignorant comments that I put up with from the uni-linguists.But what can I say I like the culture and would like to see Paris very soon. Perhaps catch a Lyon match at parc des princes. It’s free to dream isn’t it?
What a hilarious movie “Paris Je t’aime”, absolutley brilliant. Also finishing reading “From Paris to the moon” by Adam Gopnik. Back to football I’m totally neutral for the rest of this competition, but won’t deny watching it.Posted from
United States -
has jeremy menez won a senior cap yet? just wondering…
Posted from
United States -
Domenech really proved himself again to be a terrible player selector, a predictable tactician, and ridiculously bad with subs. While I understand that he has potential, Gomis looked completely lost on the pitch.
Toulalan and Makelele essentially played the same position and, until it became apparent that without both of them on the pitch, the defense would be shredded, why were they both on the field at the same time?
Why not play Nasri more?
Why not keep Ribery in the center of the match from the beginning of the tournament, he’s played well as the central playmaker for Bayern?
Why bring Anelka along at all? Le Sulk ne mouille jamais le maillot pour l’equipe.
I don’t think any of us thought that Thuram would show himself so old so suddenly, but why was Sagnol there, when Sagna is quite a bit better? Boumsong, seriously? The man is a walking disaster in defense, and Abidal is too inconsistent to warrant a spot. Left-back should have been selected as Evra and Clichy, both of whom had great club years for Man U and Arsenal.I can only hope that the next coach, whoever it might be, emphasizes our new strengths in midfield instead of our old strength in defense. The team could easily swing a 4-5-1 or 3-5-2 depending how some players develop, but with a focus on Ribery and perhaps Nasri and Malouda on the wings, we probably shouldn’t be worrying about having one goal outings in tournaments anymore.
Posted from
United States -
ForeverZZ,
Bravo on learning French.
“Paris to the Moon” is actually a cool book; the author is irritated by every difference with the US society at the start, and then he slowly “gets” it, and relaxes.
Good luck on your trip project; I would recommend to also see the different provinces if you can, and then go to Paris last, and by that time you’d be more equipped to appreciate it.Posted from
United States
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