Friday, June 11

• France settle for a draw in their opening match against Uruguay, picking up several yellow cards in the process.
• Gallas boycotts the media, reportedly because he disagrees with Domenech’s decision to make Patrice Evra the team’s captain instead of him.
• Malouda is reportedly dropped from the starting line-up against Uruguay for his honesty in a press conference, signaling there there is unrest among the team.

Tuesday, June 15-Wednesday, June 16

• The press report that there are factions among the players who are squabbling over power and tactics.  Ribery, Gallas and Anelka are identified as the primary instigators of the problems in the team.
• According to the press, Yoann Gourcuff has been alienated by his teammates.  It is reported that he often eats alone and doesn’t speak to many people on the team.  In a press conference, Captain Patrice Evra states (paraphrasing) that Yoann never speaks to him and that if he wants to talk to Gourcuff he has to go through Toulalan.  Bleus alum, Bixente Lizarazu, implies that Yoann may not fit into the group because of his privileged background, which makes him “too nice and too polite” to fit in.  The day before France’s 2nd game against Mexico, the division is reported to have grown so much that Anelka and Ribery refuse to pass the ball to him.  It is said that they are pressuring Domenech to replace both Gouvou and Gourcuff in the starting 11 (the replacements reported include Henry, Valbuena or Malouda).
• Eric Abidal in a press conference admits that his and Gallas’ central defense partnership needs to improve- though he primarily appears to be talking about their on-field communication, the press speculate there maybe off-field issues impeding their ability to work together.

Thursday, June 17

• France loses 2-0 their game against Mexico and Jeremy Toulalan picks up a 2nd yellow, suspending him from the final group game against South Africa
• Gourcuff is dropped from the starting XI vs Mexico- reportedly because his teammates won’t pass the ball to him. He is replaced by Malouda.
• Immediately following the game, some French press speculate that Domenech asked Henry and Cisse to play the second half and they refused.

Saturday, June 19

• On Saturday, France Football report that Anelka and Domenech get into an argument at the half time of the Mexico-France game in which Anelka tells Domenech to “Fuck off, you son of a dirty whore.”  The press report that is why Anelka was immediately substituted by Domenech for Gignac.
• The FFF announce that Nicholas Anelka has been dropped from the team after he refused to apologize for his statements.  The FFF state that this decision was supported by Domenech as well as the team who voted to exclude him.
• Nicholas Anelka releases a statement denying the quote attributed to him in France Football, but acknowledges that he and Domenech did have a heated discussion.  He insists that the conversation should have been kept in confidence, states his love for the team and extends his support to ALL his Bleus teammates.
• Evra appears in a press conference with a representative from the FFF.  It is said that Domenech has refused to speak to the press.  Evra does not condemn Anelka and appears to be more upset about the events being made public.  He states that there is a “traitor” in the team’s midst- though he remains ambiguous, the fans and press speculate he could be referring to Domenech, Gourcuff or a member of their training staff.
• The press report that Zidane is instigating problems by pushing for a particular line-up  that doesn’t include Gourcuff and Gouvou through Ribery and Anelka.  The papers report that initially Domenech seems open to the change until he hears the source of the idea is Zidane.

Sunday, June 20

• The France team travels to the training grounds but refuses to train.  The players arrive without shoes, indicating they had no intention of ever training. When Patrice Evra explains this to a member of the training staff, he and the staff member have to be pulled apart by Domenech as they get into a fight in front of the press.
• The team signs autographs for fans but refuse to speak to the press.
• Once they completed signing autographs, they board the bus and have conversation with Domenech with the curtains drawn.  After 20 minutes, Domenech reemerges to read a statement from the players of the team which says that they are boycotting training in response to the FFF’s dismissal of Anelka.  They state that Anelka was dismissed based on speculative press reports, that they made no effort to clarify the actual events that happened or to support the team and they did not consult the players over the decision. Importantly, the statement of the players indicates that all members of the squad agreed to boycott the training “without exception.”
• Later that day, the trainer who was videotaped getting into a fight with Evra was interviewed on TF1 about the event. He denies the insinuation made in the press that Evra accussed him of being the “traitor” in the squad. He says the argument was over his frustration with the players decision to not train because he had just finished setting up the cones for the session and creating drills for the players to complete.
• Frank Ribery and Domenech appear on TF1 where Ribery acknowledges the team’s failures and expresses his regret for not living up to the expectations of fans but continues to emphasize that the team believes there is a “traitor” who wants the team to fail.  Ribery also denies getting into a fight with Gourcuff and Domenech seems to mock the idea that Gourcuff could get into a fight with anyone because of his serene personality. Sports Illustrated report that Ribery “burst onto the set” of Domenech’s interview. SI also report that Ribery knew of the team’s plans to boycott the next day’s training when the interview was pre-taped, calling into question the sincerity of his apology to the fans.
• Team Director Jean-Louis Valentin resigns in the wake of the training boycott, stating his displeasure with the team’s decision.
• Anelka’s club teammate John Terry defends Anelka, stating he is an honorable person and a great teammate.
• Anelka’s other club teammate, Didier Drogba, remains ambiguous when asked about the situation. He admits exchanging texts with Florent Malouda but says that the French squad do not typically discuss intra-squad issues with people outside the squad.
• Bleus Alums – Zidane, Makelele, Aime Jacquet, Lizarazu - condemn the team’s decision not to train.  They complain that the players should show more “respect for the shirt.”
• Gourcuff’s former teammate Marouane Chamakh defends Gourcuff on French television, describing him as both a good teammate on and off the field.
• French President Sarkozy also condemns the team’s decision not to train.
• The FFF issue a statement stating there will be an investigation into the matter.

Monday, June 21

• The Bleus resume training, though their training gear does not contain any of the names of the sponsors who are reportedly considering withdrawing their sponsorship.
• In an interview, Blanc admits being offered the Inter-Milan job but states he turned it down because he thought he could help Les Bleus improve whereas the Inter team was already a success
• Domenech calls players’ strike “an aberration, an imbecility, a stupidity without name”
• Henri Monteil, General Secretary of the FFF, reports that the younger generation of players are reported to have apologized to Domenech and asked for forgiveness for their behavior.
• RMC reports that Planus is one of the ringleaders behind the training boycott, alongside Ribery, Evra, Gallas and Abidal.
• Blanc is alleged to have asked the FFF to put a clause in place that allows him to leave his post at his discretion.
• Gallas, Evra, Henry and Abidal are rumored to be out of the team’s starting XI for the last group match. It is unclear if this was a decision made by the FFF or Domenech alone- though it is rumored to be a result of their role in the events leading up to the final group game against South Africa. Toulalan is also unavailable due to picking up two yellow cards in the previous matches.
• Zidane denies trying to influence the formation of the team, emphasizing that even when he was a player he did not dictate the team makeup.

Tuesday, June 22

• Le Parisien reports that a douzen players on the team did not support the boycott which the paper suggests that Abidal, Gallas and Malouda spearheaded. Though the paper indicates a dozen players were not comfortable with the idea, they only list Gourcuff, Lloris, Mandanda and Valbuena as opposing the idea. L’Equipe suggests the players against the strike included Lloris, Govou, Mandanda, Clichy, Squillaci, Sagna, Diarra, Gourcuff, Malouda, Valbuena and Toulalan.
• Papers reports that Alou Diarra, who will be replacing the suspended Toulalan, is the most likely candidate to wear the armband in France’s final group match. Diarra is the current captain for Bordeaux in Ligue 1.
• FFF confirm that if eliminated in the first round, the French team will not receive any bonuses for participating in the World Cup.

Did I miss anything?  Because over the past few days, its become increasingly hard to keep up with the conflicting accounts and turns of events.  Even if we had months to prepare, I’m not sure that would be enough time to mend the damage that has been done in the past few days.  To have come this far to do THIS, it is heartbreaking.  And while I’m not naive enough to think that the team can possibly overcome this and band together against the FFF and the press- I am hopeful that some good can come out of this debacle- including a full house cleaning starting with the FFF at the top.  Because things have to change and it can’t just be Blanc.  If anything, it has become clear over the past few days that Domenech is not our only problem.  And I for one am ready for a larger, structural change- because as Les Bleus fans, we deserve it!