I’m not even sure crawling on your knees will get you out of this one hot-shot…

Well, I hope you didn’t think that hiring Blanc and celebrating his first selection yesterday meant the fall-out of the World Cup was over.  In fact, its just heating up in the land of the FFF.  Houllier is still fighting with former Bleu turned TV consultant, Christophe Dugarry (for more on that pissing contest – please see my post yesterday from the World Cup Blog front page).  And today, the FFF announced that based on the conclusions from their investigation, they will call five players to be seen by the disciplinary committee.  Which five are being sent to the corner?  Click below to find out…

UPDATE!  Lillian Thuram has provided some additional insight on why these 5 were singled out for their behavior…

If you remember the comments made by players in the aftermath, there was a united front (at least publicly) on the events that transpired.  ”Everyone agreed,” “No one spoke against,” “Anyone could have left the bus if they wanted to…”  Now, I don’t want to give too much credit to the team of boneheads who thought boycotting practice before an important game at the WORLD CUP- but this looked to be a pretty smart strategy because it placed the FFF in a tricky position.

Since the FFF promised to dole out harsh punishments and restore the “honor of France” – this put them in quite a predicament.  Punish the whole team and they risk hurting France’s chances in the Euro 2012 qualification campaign.  France is spoiled in most positions – not having the option to call on Lloris, Malouda, Gourcuff, Clichy or Sagna could lead to even more embarrassing results…but not punishing anyone completely discredits the FFF and leaves the door open for another player fiasco.

So certain prominent members of the FFF (ahem…Lillian Thuram, Frederic Thiriez and Jean-Pierre Escalettes) have successfully pushed for a more discrete, targeted punishment of select players that the FFF found (through its investigation) to be the primary culprits.  Basically, despite the fact that all the players are guilty of inappropriate behavior, a few players will be held liable for the actions of the team because their action or inaction caused the damage (otherwise known as strict liability).  The official FFF justification is (as translated from L’Equipe)…

The Federal Council has relied on an objective criteria…in the interest of the team of France and based on an objective criteria, we made the choice [to punish] certain players.

From what I understand, Blanc was also consulted over the FFF’s decision and requested that the council not find the whole team liable.  It is unclear what (if any) choices were provided to Blanc for his opinion.  I’m not sure if Blanc could have requested that no one be given additional punishment other than being ineligible to play in France friendly vs Norway or if he was only given an option of targeted or universal (all players) punishment.

So which five players will be facing the disciplinary committee and why were they chosen?

Patrice Evra as captain of the team.

Frank Ribery as vice-captain of the team.

Nicolas Anelka for insulting France coach, Raymond Domenech.

Eric Abidal for refusing to play in France’s final group game vs South Africa.

Jeremy Toulalan for writing the press release read by Domenech explaining the team’s decision to boycott practice at the World Cup.

I should note that all these players were voted to face the committee with unanimous votes.  Not really any shocking twists or juicy, new details.  Just the same guys we all suspected to have played a key role in creating this disaster.  No mean, manipulative streak of Hugo Lloris or Bacary Sagna uncovered here.

UPDATE:  Lillian Thuram, who I mentioned was taking a lead in both the investigation and the discussion about how to best approach disciplining the group has provided some additional insight on why these five players were chosen.  According to Thuram, the others in the group were manipulated by the five who concealed that Anelka had been given the opportunity but refused to apologize for his comments to Raymond Domenech.

“They should have spread the words to others.  Because if the other players had known that Nicolas Anelka had refused to apologize, I think that there never would have been a problem on the bus.”

MY REACTION

I’m not sure what to make of this.  I find myself feeling conflicted.  On one hand, I think the behavior of the players was unacceptable.  More than wanting someone to pay for the embarrassment, I want it to be clear that this type of behavior won’t be tolerated.  But, is dragging out this saga really the right way to handle this?  Is it really worth it to drag out this disciplinary hearing of Nicolas Anelka who likely is too old to matter for the national team in 2012?  I couldn’t care less what happens to Anelka, Evra or Abidal- so expel them, ban them, put them in the corner for all I care – just to quickly!

In my eyes, the only two players on this shortlist that have a (possible) future with the team are Ribery and Toulalan.  This makes their cases (and punishment) more complicated…

Ribery in Paris to respond to accusations by a minor alleging he paid her for sex…

Ribery – wow, I knew strict liability would eventually find a way to bite you in the ass.  You are just lucky it found you in the court of the FFF rather than the court of law (in the US, sex with a minor – paying or not- is determined based on a strict liability standard).  I always thought I would be happy when you were finally exposed for the manipulative, lying sychophant that you are.  But I’m not.  I can’t imagine what its like to risk throwing away your career for the silly decisions you’ve made – and I think the complete lack of intelligence or regard for how your decisions affect your team should be reason enough to deal you a stiff punishment.  Until you find some way to redeem yourself – you will not be included in my list of 23.  Ever.  But at least I’m giving you a smidgen of hope.  Don’t fuck it up.

Toulalan being…Toulalan.  Frank and honest.  We need more of it on this team.

Toulalan – In my eyes, you are the only one in this group that has taken some responsibility for your actions.  Publicly admitting that you wrote the press release was brave – especially because you had nothing to gain and everything to lose.  Before you said that, no one had even pointed a finger at you (at least publicly).  I applaud that.  You did something wrong.  You admitted it.  And you are now taking responsibility for it.  Get this man back on the team ASAP!

The 87 generation is back on top…can they rediscover their winning ways?

Well, we’ve wondered, debated and made a million recommendations of which 23 players should be included in this very important selection.  I say “very important” because being Blanc’s first selection it will set the tone for his reign.  it is imperative that this group of players demonstrate their ability to provide competition to the 23 players left out of the squad (and thus place a much needed fire under their ass) AND because the world will be watching how we can recover from that whole World Cup mess.

And after all that debating, rumors and partial lists – the day has finally come!  Here is Blanc’s first selection for Les Bleus!

KEEPERS: Stephane Ruffier (Monaco), Nicolas Douchez (Rennes)

DEFENDERS: Rod Fanni (Rennes), Adil Rami (Lille), Philippe Mexes (AS Roma), Sakho (Paris SG), Benedict Trémoulinas (Bordeaux), Aly Cissokho (Lyon), Mathieu Debuchy (Lille).

MIDFIELD: Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid), Moussa Sissoko (Toulouse), Yann M’Vila (Rennes), Samir Nasri (Arsenal ), Yohan Cabaye (Lille), Charles N’Zogbia (Wigan), Blaise Matuidi (Saint Etienne).

STRIKERS: Hatem Ben Arfa (Marseille), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Loïc Remy (Nice), Jimmy Briand (Lyon), Jeremy Menez (AS Rome), Guillaume Hoarau (Paris SG).

INITIAL THOUGHTS
I don’t want to give away too much yet since i’ll be discussing this (with Dave Trotter and Martin Michelot) on Ligue 1 Talk’s podcast tomorrow.  But, I will say its amazing to see the 87 generation back on top (hope they don’t screw it up!), Blanc clearly wasn’t ready to give any favors to his old Bordeaux players and the pro-Frey/Pro-Trezeguet lobby will (I’m sure) have a lot to say…

Its a sad day we all knew was coming.  France’s all-time record goal scorer, Thierry Henry has officially hung up his boots for France.  His retirement was confirmed when he was unveiled as a Red Bulls player in New York.  He was quoted by the Associated Press as saying  this is “the end for me on the national team.”  While its sad that its “official,” the chance of him being called-up again for France were probably little to none anyways.

My biggest sadness about this situation is not necessarily that he retired, but the way he went out.  For such a competitor to go out whimpering, licking his wounds was such a sorry sight.  For a player who had accomplished so much to feel like no one respected him or wanted him to lead them was even worse.

I’m not sure what the future holds for Henry in New York (as a New Yorker, I’m hoping it includes trophies)- but I hope he is able to end his club career on a higher note than his international career.  Best of Luck Henry!

Dave from The Offside-Red Bulls will be at the Thierry Henry press conference today in New York.  I suggest visiting the Red Bulls Blog or following him on twitter for live updates!

PS- Im working on a top 10 Henry moments for the National Team post.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Not exactly a surprise at this point as this rumor is almost as old (and annoying) as Fabregas to Barcelona.  Though, when you prepare your (unfounded and uninformed) MLS insults, keep in mind that it still has more class than the Barcelona players who ambushed Cesc into wearing a Barcelona shirt (video here).

As a New Yorker myself,I’m excited to have more opportunities to see Henry play.  He may not run as fast or score as many goals at this point, but I believe that this move will be beneficial for both Henry, the Red Bulls and MLS.  Henry clearly lost his spirit the past year in Barcelona (even Guardiola commented)-I hope he can find some rejuvenation in NYC. And I hope NYC fans will give him a chance to find his feet and re-find the champion that made him such a success at Arsenal.

Henry-Red Bulls photo shoot video.

Henry-Red Bulls interview video.

For complete coverage of the transfer and more on the Red Bulls, visit Dave at The Offside-Red Bulls blog.

With the events over the past few days, its easy to feel like the Bleus have turned their back on the fans

*Post written to the tune of Everybody Hurts by REM…audio at bottom of post (below the jump)*

Please note: The timeline of events has been updated thanks to additions and clarifications made in the comments section of the post. Credit to Justin, Sandrahn and Jennifer!

I’ve been a fan of the Bleus since 1998, ever since the team’s glorious World Cup win in Paris – I became a passionate fan of the Bleus after their infamous first round exit in the 2002 World Cup.  But, the feeling of losing so miserably after such joyous feelings and high expectations upset me, and formed my desire to follow the team until the day they would avenge the past and win the World Cup again.  With each year I’ve become more enthralled with the Bleus- and though I joined the France-mania in 1998, I’m hardly a fair weather fan who jumped on the bandwagon.  Since 2002,I can count the number of games I’ve missed on one hand.  At times, it’s even mysterious to me how I have developed such a strong connection with Les Bleus.   There have been a lot of times when I could have abandoned the team because the Bleus are not always an easy team to love.  Growing up in Texas (the founder of freedom fries), it was hardly a passion that was encouraged and I’m pretty sure I was the only one on the France bandwagon.  Even outside of those cultural issues, both the French Football Federation’s as well as the team’s performances and behavior the past decade have alienated even their most ardent supporters.  In 2006, France fans were given a brief reprieve when they managed to string together 3 magnificent performances in a row (Spain, Brazil, Portugal) to make it to the finals of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.  For reasons we all know, we did not win that Cup.  And it is clear that without a miracle, we will not win it this year either.  And it breaks my heart.  Really.

There are differences in fans’ dedication levels. Bandwagon or fair-weather fans will get excited and follow teams only when they’re playing well or during big competitions such as the World Cup.  But hardcore fans get very connected emotionally and dedicate themselves to the team every year, despite its record. These people experience powerful emotions from watching the team and support them through the ecstasy of winning and the agony of defeat.  These are the types of fans which seemingly live and die with their favorite teams and athletes.  In any match, scenes of one fan throwing back their head in desperation are juxtaposed against the opposition’s supporters jumping up and down in jubilation.  While the Mexican fans broke our their sombreros and tequila (before you accuse me of breaking out an ethnic stereotype, some of them actually did that), France fans experienced a barrage of emotions:  sadness that their team was most likely going home in the first round, anger that the players didn’t seem to care, confusion over why a team of talented players could create neither a credible offense or defense and frustration that had the FFF made changes in 2008, this could have been avoided.

That bond is a two-edged sword. A win by your favorite team can pick you up, but a loss is demoralizing (to say the least). Beyond losses, fans can feel a personal connection to players, which is why when even “off the field” scandals like Frank Ribery’s occur, fans can feel betrayed.  There’s a lot in my relationship with the Bleus that I’m not proud of. I’ve cancelled lunches and dates at the movies because a game was on. My temper has snapped like a twig more than a few times and I’ve yelled at everyone in the room when the pundit misrepresented or distorted game or a player, or when one of my friends had the audacity to chat during a game.  Of course if we won, it’s shots for everybody…

As a France fan, I’ve experienced many great and unforgettable moments. But as Bleus supporters know too well, there have been too many moments when they find a way to break your heart.  When I saw Fabio Cannavaro and the rest of the Italian team raise the Cup  in 2006 and heard the celebration from the Spanish fans in 2008, it was gut-wrenching.  But neither of those can compare to what I have felt since the game against Mexico on Friday.

Since then, the shit has really hit the fan and I have felt more like I was watching a soap opera unfold rather than a team of world-class professionals participate in one of the biggest events in their career.  While it was clear going into this tournament that all was not well, I never would have imagined that things would spiral out of of control this quickly.  We all knew Domenech was not the right man to lead the Bleus for this tournament – that was abundantly clear in 2008.  But, for reasons they have yet to explain, the FFF declared he was the appropriate man for South Africa.  Since then, the atmosphere surrounding a team has resembled a country about to break into civil war.  The FFF were pitted against both the public and the their famous alumni who repeatedly (every chance they got) denounced the FFF and Domenech.  For most of the two years, Domenech has taken a majority of the hits and criticism.  And while he is certainly not blameless by any means, surely we can all agree that there is enough blame to go around.  But the lack of transparency and the team’s insistence of shrouding everything in secrecy has made it difficult to determine how to assign the blame.  Instead, we are left to put the pieces together by a dramatic press corps who seem more interested in selling papers than writing the truth, a team of players whose oversized egos result in them constantly deflecting and blaming everyone else, Domenech who is clearly clueless and has no clue what is going on and how to fix it as well as the Federation who appear willing to do almost anything to salvage their reputation.  And yet none of these people appear willing to take any responsibility for the position we are in now.  And what position is that, you ask?  Let’s just summarize the events of the last few days…