Oh! Look! It’s UEFA Team of the Year time! The time when we can all play fantasy manager and pick our ultimate European team!
The options this year are decidedly low on French players compared to last year. I guess this is what happens in years when you don’t make [...]

I had so much fun playing Santa Claus last year that I thought I’d do it again! Gentlemen, here are my Christmas gifts, picked out and wrapped up special, just for you! (And again, if you don’t celebrate Christmas, just nod and say thank you, and remember: It’s the thought that counts.) [...]

Okay, gents, here’s your reward for putting up with that Lizarazu photo for two days. (I really meant to put another post up yesterday, but life got in the way.)
This is Adriana Karembeu, Slovak supermodel wife of France World Cup 1998 player Christian Karembeu. I pilfered it from the afore-mentioned WAGvent [...]

If you are easily offended, close your eyes while X-ing out of this post. Do it quickly and nobody gets hurt. But it made me laugh.
I get google alerts for most current French internationals and a lot of formers. This means that I get some great, up-to-date, footy-related news and the occasional [...]

Stumbled on this video last night.
Oh. My. Gosh. Look at the hair! And so young!
Damn, he was adorable. Talented, too.
Fabien Barthez still breaks my heart.
Omediatheque_fabien_barthez_acte1Uploaded by maxlemarseillais13

It’s the Christmas break and off-season for European NTs, so I’ll be giving you things other than standard news this month.
If you don’t read the always creative and informed Lyon Offside, (and if you don’t, you should) you may not have seen this. And you need to.
For the others, click [...]

King Franck?
I don’t know the story behind this photo, but it’s apparently part of some ad campaign. Babelfish translates this as: Bavaria Again Has a King.
Giggle.
Update: My brother-in-blog Jan over at Bundesliga Offside has the full story here.

I can’t vouch for the authenticity of this one because it’s showing up in only one place, but sports.iAfrica.com says that Lionel Charbonnier and Christian Karembeu have gotten together to invite the gang from the ‘98 World Cup winning team to get together for two friendlies in Tahiti and New Caledonia in May.
Members of France’s [...]

This is technically Inara’s area, not mine, but it made me happy so I thought I’d share.
How many times have Lyon and France NT fans seen François Clerc make a beautiful run up that right side and then shoot just to the right, or just to the left, or just over the top? [...]

Oh, ouch. Could it be any worse than this? I think not.
Due to the idiotic seeding system used by UEFA, we have drawn Italy. Again. AND Netherlands (top seed in Pot 1.) And scrappy little Romania.
No easy games here. Not one.
DAMMIT! I don’t [...]