How’s your ego feeling now Jean Pierre?

After years of mistakes, coverups and refusing to change a broken system Jean Pierre Escalettes has finally resigned as President of the French Football Federation.  Needless to say- I think this has been a long-time coming – the problems France had at the World Cup were neither sudden nor unpredictable.  They were issues that manifested themselves over a series of years without being dealt with or addressed.  As President of the Federation, Escalettes perhaps is not at fault for all that went awry (to put it mildly),but he was certainly in a position to prevent the explosion had he been willing to set aside his own pride.  So, Jean Pierre: Let this be a lesson to you as I’m sure that resigning as a public disgrace has sent your ego through the ringer.  You had many opportunities to correct your mistakes (namely keeping Domenech)-but you wanted to save face.  The only happiness I have found in this situation is to now watch everything blow up in your face!  I cannot say its not deserved as us fans have been dealt blow after blow since 2006.  Good Riddance!

More details to come….

Nasri:  I’ll hug you, but don’t expect me to waste my breath talking to you…

PLEASE NOTE:  JEAN-FRANCOIS WROTE A GREAT POST ON THE 7 PLAYERS WHO SHOULD BE CUT RIGHT BEFORE ME – SO BE SURE TO CHECK THAT OUT AS WELL…(SORRY JF, I THINK WE PUBLISHED OUR ARTICLES MINUTES APART..)

Well, I know most of us have tried to block out the France escapade that played out during the Euro 2008 tournament- at least I have.  But, humor me for a moment, as we revisit that dark place….and follow the latest twist that may reveal why Samir Nasri was left out of the France squad.

According to Gallas’s biography, there were two incidents over the tournament in which he felt Nasri was disrespectful to older members of the France team…

Fight #1

During a training in Switzerland , the players form teams of three to pass the ball to each other.  Gallas forms a team with Samir Nasri and another young player.  As part of the exercise, Nasri and the other player are suppose to alert Gallas as to when the pass arrives to him- which he and the other young player fail to do.  Gallas, tells the young players to “speak, my boys, give me the information [when the ball arrives].”  One of the young players makes the smart decision to take the criticism and remain silent- that player was not Nasri.  Instead, Nasri decides to give as good as he’s getting and snaps back at Gallas, “You have to know before the ball arrives, you have to know it yourselves when it arrives!”  Gallas, being obsessed with deference to age and experience (both of which, obviously, advantage him) does not take kindly to this sass and instead of deescalating the conflict, decides to become even more condescending, “How do you speak to me? Who do you think you are? You’re only a 20-year-old! I am not your friend!”  But, of course, this really isn’t much a threat to Nasri, who doesn’t seem to care about having William Gallas as a BFF, and he decides to let him know…”Me neither, I am not your friend!”  The shouting apparentl continues (which begs the question why a mature adult from the coaching squad did not intervene) with Nasri continuing to engage Gallas and antagonize him by requesting that he “lower his voice” and “speak less loudly.”

Fight #2

During training for the tournament, Henry did not travel with the team on a few occasions- and on those occasions Nasri chose to sit in his seat.  Well, apparently, no one told Nasri that the team operated like high school with assigned seats- so once Henry returned back to the team, his seat check immediately went into affect.  According to Gallas’s biography, Nasri was not respectful enough to honor this unspoken rule, and he just wasn’t going to stand for it (even though it didn’t concern him one bit).  So, Gallas takes it upon himself to confront Nasri over this serious breach of decorum – and demands (not asks) that he move so Henry can reclaim his throne on the bus.  Now, this time Nasri says nothing in response to Gallas and moves as requested (err, demanded).  Which, ironically, Gallas also finds to be disrespectful…

So why is this being brought up again?

Because at the time, Nasri displayed remarkable maturity and didn’t respond to Gallas’s serious breach of confidentiality.  Back then, Nasri insisted that the ordeal had been completely overblown and that it was unfair to blame his behavior for the on-field fiascos…seeing as though he hardly played, its hard to disagree with that.

But now things have changed.  First, Gallas is expected to leave Arsenal on a free transfer so Nasri won’t have to deal with him on a day-to-day basis.  Which isn’t really different from how they deal with each now because according to Nasri they two do not speak to each other.  And Nasri isn’t the only one giving Gallas the silent treatment- apparently 5 other Arsenal players feel the same way.  Now, there is no guarantee that those players are French….but this situation could provide us with some interesting insight on why Nasri and potentially other young members of the France squad were not chosen in Domenech’s list of 30 players last week.  Nasri has asked Domenech to explain his decision, emphasizing that he respects the coach’s decision, but he “hears” he’s being reproached for behavior….

In case you hadn’t noticed, the World Cup blog has evolved into something bigger than just a way for football fans to meet, debate and occasionally berate each other.  For this World Cup- the site is here to help you get the ultimate World Cup South Africa experience- for those making the trek and not!

• First – check out Daryl’s profile of Les Bleus from the front page. If you are feeling really patriotic about France- check out the France National Anthem.

And don’t forget to check back here as the excitement builds in anticipation of the tournament, during the tournament and for whatever fall out happens after (this is France, lets be realistic, drama is their calling card).

An Idea shamelessly stolen from the American WCB (Consider it free advertising), I have decided to compile a list of fifty players, or “joueurs”, and their chances of being selected on France’s squad this summer in South Africa. I used a highly reliable and very professional system to rank each player. Foremost, I will use my opinion and recent club form as the #1 factor for ranking. I will then look at Domenech’s recent call-up history. Last, of course, I will rock out my astronomy charts and see which stars the stars want in South Africa (not really). Keep in mind these are the top fifty players based on my opinion. Let’s get started!

Numbers 1-10: On the Plane (note: not much separates these players)

1 – Thierry Henry – Winger/Striker – F.C. Barcalona
A true testament to French Football, Henry has more goals than any other player in French History (51). Sorry Irish fans, but Titi is going to be in South Africa.
2 – Patrice Evra – Left Back – Manchester United
I suppose you’re wondering why he is my number two. My answer is simple: He is the best left back in the world, and no, I am not a fan of Manchester United
3 – Franck Ribery – Winger/Midfield – Bayern Munich
Considering his recent spell of injuries he may be in an iron lung by this summer, however he is so good I believe he could still play in one.
4 – Yoann Gourcuff – Midfield – Girondins de Bordeaux
Gourcuff has a bright future in France and is another player often called the “Next Zizou”. Yoann has foot and deadball skills France can’t afford to leave home this summer
5 – William Gallas – Defence – Arsenal F.C.
He was recently injured in a Champions’ League Match, however Wegner is confident he
will heal by this summer.
6 – Hugo Lloris – Goalkeeper – Olympique Lyonnais
The uncontested #1 for les bleus, Lloris saved Les Bleus from elimination.
7 – Bacary Sagna – Right Back – Arsenal F.C.
Works hard every game and does a great job, although he is often criticized for his poor crosses.
8 – Karim Benzema – Striker – Real Madrid
Benzema is considered amongst the best strikers in the world. He has had a huge crash after his very expensive move to Real Madrid. He is a very arrogant player,
I think arrogance may be something we could use though.
9 – Andre-Pierre Gignac – Forward – Toulouse F.C.
Gignac had a ridiculously amazing beginning to his career with his four goals in qualifying matches. He seemed to cringe under the pressure of the Ireland match
however, did anybody else notice this?
10 – Lassana Diarra – Defencive Midfielder – Real Madrid

Numbers 11 – 23: At the Gate (Almost sure to be there, but Domenech is full of surprises)

11 – Nicolas Anelka – Forward – Chelsea F.C.
Often known as a “nomad” Nicolas is believed to have finally found his spot at Chelsea F.C. He is owed a debt of gratitude for his efforts against the Irish
12 – Jérémy Toulalan – Defencive Midfielder – Olympique Lyonnais
Personally I feel that this player is very overrated, he can not score. He is a favorite of Domenech’s however.
13 – Florent Malouda – Forward – Chelsea F.C.
14 – Julien Escude – Defender – F.C. Seville
Raymond’s favorite match for Gallas.
15 – Eric Abidal – Left Back – F.C. Barcalona
Second only to Evra, has had some serious injury problems recently.
16 – Sébastien Squillaci – Defender – F.C. Seville
17 – Steve Mandanda – Goalkeeper – Olympique de Marseille
Had a brief spell as the #1 for France. The last time he was on the field was against Serbia and the Faroe Islands, only because Lloris was given a Red
Card
18 – Sidney Govou – Striker – Olympique Lyonnais
A fine player on the right side.
19 – Rod Fanni – Defender – F.C. Rennes
A recent favorite of Domenech’s.
20 – Alou Diarra – Midfielder – Girondins de Bordeaux
The often-forgotten “other” Diarra, but let’s not forget that Bordeaux are in the Quarter finals of the Champions’ league. Where is Real Madrid?
21 – Cédric Carrasso – Goalkeeper – Girondins de Bordeaux
Only because it’s custom to bring three Goalkeepers.
22 – Gaël Clichy – Defender – Arsenal F.C
I would love to see this player in South Africa, he is doing so well for Arsenal. However, I have my doubts.
23 – Aly Cissokho – Defender – Olympique Lyonnais
A great player and did very well against Real Madrid in the Champions’ league.

Numbers 24 – 35: Talking to travel agent. (Serious doubts)

24 – Patrick Vieira – Defencive Midfielder – Manchester City
Oh Patrick, you are a shell of your former-self, I love your enthusiasm! You will seriously have to impress Raymond if you want to be called up before Diarra or
Toulalan.
25– Hatem Ben Arfa – Striker – Olympique de Marseille
Most French fans I know would love to see him in the Blue Jersey. The reality is, however, that Benzema and company already have his position covered.

26 – Samir Nasri – Midfielder – Arsenal F.C.
My favorite player, he definitely possesses the skill to play in South Africa. Domenech thinks differently.
27 – Loïc Remy – Striker – OCG Nice
A favorite bench-warmer of Raymond’s, I would not count on him being called up for the World-Cup.
28 – Louis Saha – Forward – Everton F.C
Saha is on fire this season for Everton! He was called up for the recent Spain Friendly, and had to drop out because of injuries.
29 – Djibril Cisse – Forward – Panathinaikos F.C.
He is highest goal-scorer in the Greek League this season, which is very impressive in my eyes, maybe not for others. Also has a great sense of style. He, along
with Saha, are over the hill in my opinion.
30 – Philippe Mexes – Defender – Roma F.C.
Is the best match for Gallas in the Center Defence, Domenech shunned him for being rash in the box. He has proved that he is a true martial arts champion on the
pitch.
31 – Abou Diaby- Midfielder – Arsenal F.C.
This man knows how to use his huge size to his advantage, does not size up in skill with the rest of the Midfield.
32 – Mikaël Silvestre – Defender – Arsenal F.C.
Can not even gain a starting position for Arsenal, he is losing his lust.
33 – Bafétimbi Gomis – Striker – Olympique Lyonnais
Nobody can forget that Brace he scored against Ecuador a few years back, but the past is the past.
34 – Moussa Sissoko – Midfielder – Toulouse F.C.
A very fast Midfielder capable of dangerous things, I’m afraid that there is no room for him this time around.
35 – Jean-Alain Boumsong – Defender – Olympique Lyonnais
His chances lie solely on Gallas’ condition by June.

Numbers 36 – 45: Maybe in 2014.

36 – Michael Ciani – Defender – Girondins de Bordeaux
He had his chance against Spain, and failed, miserably. He creates many defensive errors and the opposition always capitalizes.
37 – Benoit Cheyrou – Midfielder – Olympique de Marseille
38 – Mathieu Flamini – Midfielder – A.C. Milan
39 – Adil Rami – Defender – LOSC
40 –Sebastien Frey – Goalkeeper- Fiorentina
Often criticized for his hair, Frey is considered to be one of the best, or luckiest goalkeepers in the world. Never count on Domenech calling Sebastien Up.
41 – Benoît Trémoulinas – Defender – Girondons De Bordeaux
Praised for his recent form at Bordeaux, Domenech has never called this man up.
42 – Karim Ait-Fana – Winger – F.C. Montpellier
In great form for the French Espoirs, little hope remains for Karim. He recently turned down a Morocco offer to focus on France.
43 – Nicolas Douchez – Goalkeeper – F.C. Rennes
44 – Jimmy Briand – Forward – F.C Rennes
Jimmy has not been called up since February 2009 against Argentina.
45 – Peguy Luyindula – Striker – Paris St-Germain

Numbers 46 – 50: French Espoirs (Subscribing to DirecTV)

46 – David N’gog – Striker – Liverpool
David is gaining wonderful experience in the premier league. He is a definite candidate for France’s future.
47 – Anthony Modeste – Forward – Angers SCO
In Great form in the French U-21 side, with 5 goals in 12 appearances.
48 – Yaya Sanogo – Striker – Auxerre
Sagono is a 17 year old with 18 goals in the U-16 side and 7 for the U-17.
49 – Gary Bocaly – Right Back – Montpellier HSC
Has wonderful experience for a 21 year old, playing for Marseille and Montpellier.
50 – Mamadou Sakho – Defender – Paris St-Germain

Bonus: David Trezeguet – Forward – Juventus
Trezeguet contributed to a huge part of France’s “Golden Era”. He also expressed his desire to play in the matches against Ireland and was ignored by Domenech.
What do you guys think of Trezeguet? Should he be considered?

How do you feel? Should Domenech call up the top 23 players that I’ve listed? Or should he use this opportunity to play young players in preparation for future competitions? Please let me know by commenting below.

And yes, that’s William Gallas, being carried off the field in today’s Champions League match against Barcelona with what’s being described as a serious reinjury to his calf muscle.

Arsene Wenger is saying Gallas is expected to be out for the remainder of the season, but that he should be healthy in time for World Cup. But given that there are only a couple of weeks between the end of the season and the start of the Cup…

Sigh.

At least it’s not just France, though. England (Rooney) and Spain (Fabregas) have both been hit by the injury bug this week as well. Not that this is a good thing. Just… Well, misery loves company.

Let’s cross our fingers for a fast return from injury.

Domenech has described the performance by saying, “There were some less good moments.”

“On our side, there were some good sequences in what we wanted to do, but there were some less good moments, and some poor passes in attack. But it took two goals from errors.”

AFP summarized the match: “Spain confirmed their position among the World Cup favorites with a dominant 2-0 victory over France in their friendly match at the Stade de France.”

AFP wrote of Domenech, “The enigmatic 58-year-old has seen his popularity plummet since leading France to the 2006 World Cup final and the defeat to Spain at home will increase calls for him to step down before this summer’s finals in South Africa.”

June 11th – Uruguay
June 17th (my birthday) – Mexico
June 22nd – The hosts, South Africa

Miguel from Mexico poses the following question: “Hello my dear French friends. I’m from Mexico your rival in next WC. I was wondering what do you think about Mexico? do you see us as a strong team or easy to beat?”

A fine question, that, and politely put.

My gut feeling is that France will advance out of the group. Like a lot of readers of this site, I live in North America with Mexico as a neighbor. I always hope they’ll do well. They don’t necessarily have a history of making it very far in recent World Cups, so with that in mind, and given my feeling that France will make it out of the group, I’d rate Mexico’s chances of advancing as 50-50. That’s just me, and the whole point of this post is to get some differing opinions.

The one player that a lot of us are familiar with is Carlos Vela who plays for Arsenal, who is a great player on his day, but hasn’t done enough to establish himself as a regular starter in the team. I have the impression on the one hand that he needs to be a big player for Mexico for them to do well (maybe I’m wrong about this), and on the other hand, he’s been struggling to even make the bench for his club for most of this season.

In a head-to-head matchup, there’s no question that France can lose to anybody, so I wouldn’t venture to predict anything for a specific match.

Anelka
Henry Gourcuff Ribery
Toulalan L. Diarra
Evra Escude Ciani Sagna
Lloris

Spain won 2-0, scoring both goals in the first half while Xavi and Torres rested. Iniesta, Fabregas, Villa, and Ramos were more than enough for France to handle, but France weren’t quite as hopeless as the final scoreline suggests.

I watched the match on tape delay thanks to the useful ESPN360, and I knew the result going in. I was expecting the worst, so I was somewhat relieved to see that France do have a few players in form: Evra, Sagna, Lloris, and L. Diarra; and a few others just a bit off the pace: Ribery, Toulalan, and Anelka.

Gourcuff looked a little farther off the pace, but it looks like most of his problems are related to fitness. He could be back to his best by this summer; let’s hope.

Henry was some distance off the pace, and looks like he might not be able to earn his spot on current form. Domenech will probably play him regardless.

Escude and Ciani was an experimental centerback pairing. Ciani is a Bordeaux and former Lorient player, and this was his France debut. They weren’t terrible, but they didn’t look like World Cup winners. Ciani had a shocking giveaway early on, which luckily led to nothing, and Escude was beaten for the 2nd goal, and got the deflection to ensure Lloris couldn’t save Ramos’s shot.

France had a lot of possession but very few shots on goal. They hit the post late on when D. Cisse crossed to Malouda, and his header was just a bit wide. In the short time he was on, Cisse looked useful.

Ribery looks like France’s most promising prospect. He was in and out of the match a bit, but he’s been out for most of this season with injuries, so I think that’s to be expected. When he was involved, he looked useful, and comparable to Spain’s best players, which is saying something because Iniesta and Fabregas are fantastic. Torres, when he came on in the second half, looked like the best of the lot.

Lassana Diarra, who was France’s worst player in the infamous match against Ireland, was perhaps the best player against Spain: many successful tackles and pushing forward more effectively than the often-anonymous Toulalan.

France is a bit of a patchwork side right now with so many players missing their best form, but this was not one of the most diabolical France performances we’ve suffered through in recent years. France were carved open with some good counter-attacking play from Spain, but France controlled large portions of the game, although they didn’t create enough opportunities.

The Paris crowd booed them, especially at the end of the first half right after Spain’s 2nd goal. If you go to a restaurant and order a steak and the waiter brings you a burger, then you’re probably going to have a moan, especially if it’s a repeat offense, and I think there was that kind of feeling in the crowd. There was a good turnout, over 70,000, but they’re obviously disappointed watching Spain effectively stroll to victory.

A couple counterattacks was all Spain needed because they were tight at the back. Jesus Navas nearly got a third Spain goal late on.

France have to do more to create goals, and have to be better organized defending counterattacks. If we can just iron out the attack and the defense before this summer, we’ll be in good shape.

Update: For more on the match, see the comments in the previous post, many of which are excellent, and include comments from some long-time participants of this site.

China (93rd in FIFA rankings, in Reunion, date tba)
Costa Rica (44th in FIFA rankings, May 25, venue tba)
Tunisia (53rd in FIFA rankings, May 30 in Tunisia)

Um…yeah. Exactly who I would have picked.

A stark contrast to Chambily’s estimate that 90% of the council agreed with him.

Escalattes did admit that the image of the French team needs improving.

The FFF is now poised to be showered in glory if Domenech is able to reverse the trend of woeful France performances and lead Les Bleus to World Cup victory. The World Cup has a bit of a reputation for crowning champions who entered the tournament in disarray, and France fits that description nicely.

It would be nice to get France’s image rehabilitation underway with some commanding performances in friendlies. A spark could turn this team around. Sacking Doms would have been just such a spark, but now, it’s going to have to be something else – a player who steps forward and refuses to let the team play like shite, or a single match where everything falls into place, and France start playing football again.

It could happen.