“I have been very disappointed by the behaviour of the fans,” the 27-year-old told reporters. When we play at the Stade de France, I have the impression we are playing away,” he said at France’s training camp ahead of back-to-back World Cup qualifiers against Lithuania.

France, third in Euro zone Group Seven, travel to Kaunas on Saturday before hosting Lithuania at the Stade de France next Wednesday. Raymond Domenech’s side were booed off the pitch after a goalless draw at the Stade de France against Uruguay and a 2-0 defeat by Argentina at Marseille’s Stade Velodrome last month.

“When (Carlos) Tevez came back from Marseille, he told me he had had the feeling he was playing in Buenos Aires,” added Evra. “There were flags paying tribute to Maradona but at the Stade de France I did not see any flags for (Franck) Ribery or (Thierry) Henry. I don’t understand. The fans should be behind us. When you play at the Stade de France, you often hear boos after only five minutes, it has to stop.

“Maybe they don’t like football.”

This is something that has always puzzled me about French football, and especially about games played in Paris. (It doesn’t seem to be quite as much of a problem elsewhere in the country.) Tickets aren’t cheap. If people aren’t going to support the team… Well, why are they going? Compared to many other places in the world, the amosphere in Stade de France, particularly, can be toxic. And I can’t imagine this makes it easy for players to play their best.

Of course, it’s not as if it’s everybody in the stands is doing these things — there are plenty of people who do come to support the team. (One of my favorite memories of last year’s France-England friendly is the exicted kids in the face paint.) And there are plenty of reasons for France fans to be frustrated right now, most of them starting with a “Raymond” and ending with a “Domenech,” and bearing the initials FFF.

But why take that out on the poor players?

There a lot of old faces on the squad, but there are also some players missing, including Franck Ribery and Francois Clerc, who are out injured, and Samir Nasri and Eric Abidal, who were dropped entirely. There is also no one named David Trezeguet on the list.

There are some new faces in the squad, such as Rod Fanni of Rennes (whom I don’t really know much about) and Yoann Gourcuff, the original “new Zidane.” Gourcuff’s presence is especially exciting because for many, he might be the playmaker that France have been looking for.

This game is also a good opportunity for the fringe players to prove themselves. Bakary Sagna, Hatem Ben Arfa, Gael Clichy, Mathieu Flamini, and Hugo Lloris have been handed lifelines, so it’ll be interesting to see how they take their chances.

Full list after the jump.

Gardiens de but:
Hugo Lloris (Lyon)
Steve Mandanda (Marseille)

Défenseurs:
Jean-Alain Boumsong (Lyon)
Gaël Clichy (Arsenal)
Patrice Evra (Manchester United)
Rod Fanni (Rennes)
William Gallas (Arsenal)
Philippe Mexès (Roma)
Bakary Sagna (Arsenal)

Milieux de terrain:
Alou Diarra (Bordeaux)
Lassana Diarra (Portsmouth)
Mathieu Flamini (Milan)
Jérémy Toulalan (Lyon)

Attaquants:
Florent Malouda (Chelsea)
Hatem Ben-Arfa (Marseille)
Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux)
Sidney Govou (Lyon)
Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)
Karim Benzema (Lyon)
Thierry Henry (Barcelona)

That’s how many days it’s been since France kicked off their 2006 World Cup campaign with an unimpressive draw against Switzerland. We all remember – quite painfully – how that tournament turned out. And we know now that being in second place is not enough. Les Bleus cheated themselves out of a World Cup victory, so they must make amends this summer. And to do so, they have to win against Romania. Nothing less will be sufficient in this year’s group of death.

But a lot of things have changed in those 726 days. There is no longer a Zizou to save the day, many of the “old crew” have retired, and most especially, there is a whole host of new and exciting talent on the squad. France, who were the oldest team two years ago, are now one of the youngest, and though this team hasn’t been together as long as the old one, they are potentially capable of much more.

Others might have written us off, but it’s our tournament to lose.

June 9, 2008
Letzigrund Stadion, Zurich
18:00 CET (12 PM Eastern, 9 AM Pacific, 17:00 GMT)

About the enemy:

Compared to France, Italy, and the Netherlands, it’s obvious that Romania lack the depth and talent of their fellow group members. But Romania (who aren’t anything to sneeze at either) have never been about having a dream team lineup, and more importantly, they aren’t concerning themselves with counting another team’s superstars.

Romania will be hoping that they can depend on their overall team play and style to get through (with a healthy dose of magic from Adrian Mutu – you may have heard of him). Tomorrow, they’ll be facing a France lineup that is far superior to anything they could conjure up, but only a fool would underestimate them – because over 90 minutes, it’s a team that wins, not just individuals. And on their day, Romania’s team can be just as good as anyone else’s.

Romania blogger Ian wrote a great profile on the Tricolorii, their recent results, and their key players, so definitely check it out here.

France info:

On the surface, things are looking pretty bleak because Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira are suffering from injuries. Henry’s isn’t that serious, and he’ll probably be on the bench tomorrow. But Vieira’s is potentially worse – he pulled a thigh muscle last week, and like all muscle injuries, they can be either nothing or very serious. He obviously won’t be playing against Romania, and if the doctor doesn’t give him the all clear tomorrow afternoon, Domenech will have to drop him from the squad and replace him with Mathieu Flamini. I have nothing against Flamini, but he’s no Vieira, who is our captain and our midfield general. He’s also a huge source of leadership and inspiration for the team, so his absence will affect us in more places than just on the pitch.

Good news is that Franck Ribery’s ankle pain from the Columbia game turned out to be just a niggle. So he’s good to go.

Still, all things considered, France are far from the most affected in terms of injuries, and like all group stage games, this is more a test of depth, something that I feel France has a lot of.

Tactics:

The widespread assumption is that Domenech will go with his trusty 4-4-2, a predictable lineup with predictable players. Whether that’s bad or good is another matter entirely, though I think there are more positives than negatives. While I would love to see a 4-3-1-2 with Samir Nasri as a playmaker, I don’t know if this is the time to start a new experiment. Then again, Domenech has had two years to experiment but hasn’t, so…

It’s obvious that all teams – not just France – will defend first and attack second. In these kind of tournaments that feature such very good teams (and Austria), goals are rare, and groups are often decided on goal difference. So keeping a clean sheet is the first priority.

Still, no one can argue that Domenech’s team is an overly defensive one, not when you have such attacking talent in the starting lineup. At the end of the day, it’s up to the players to make things happen on the pitch (and that includes staying composed in the final third, putting away their chances, and not aiming for the crossbar).

Coupet
Sagnol – Thuram – Gallas – Abidal
Ribery – Makelele – Toulalan – Malouda
Anelka – Benzema

Thierry Henry is not expected to start, so Nicolas Anelka and Karim Benzema will be paired together up front. I’m not sure how I feel about that since I’m undecided on the complicity the two have between them, but both played well against Columbia, and both are very dangerous players individually. Let’s hope the package is equally as potent. Our only other option, Bafetimbi Gomis, is way too raw to be anything but a joker at the moment. Not that I wouldn’t love to see him, but giving him his first start for Les Bleus in the all important must win game for France is not how I’d want it.

In midfield, with Patrick Vieira out, Jeremy Toulalan looks to be the most obvious choice to replace him. While he is a different player than Vieira (Toulalan is less offensive than Pat but far more mobile on the pitch), he’s just as compatible with Claude Makelele. Toulalan’s form has been no less than stellar this year, and when he’s on the pitch, everyone around him plays better. Of course, this is his first big international tournament, so it’s up to him to prove that he deserves a place in that XI. If not, Lassana Diarra and Matthieu Flamini, two other terrific midfielders, are waiting in the wings.

In the back, the only position that seems to be up in the air is that of Willy Sagnol’s, who hasn’t looked that great in the recent friendlies. While it’s still likely that Domenech will trust in him anyway, Francois Clerc has looked really good lately and may just surprise us by starting.

Viewing options:

The GREAT news is that this game will be on ESPN2. Live. I just about keeled over from the shock myself. But if you don’t have access to cable television, you can check out this website which is sure to have tons of links posted before kickoff. If you don’t know how to watch games online, visit the Worldcupblog’s guide to mastering the art of internet streaming.

Laurie will be liveblogging this game, so definitely head over there to hang out, angst, and cheer on France as we embark on what is sure to be a victorious campaign for Les Bleus (we’re going to win, in case you didn’t get the memo).

The above link is for the English speakers. For anyone dabbling in French, below is a tribute from members of the EdF, complete with a lot of clips from games. I loved it and think you will too.

In the process I thought I’d share with you a couple of my favorite clips of his announcing.

First we have the “first selection for the France team, first goal” clip, specifically about Benzema, which came from the game last March against Austria. I loved the almost paternal pride in his voice, as if he were watching his own kids come of age.

div>
France – Autriche 1-0 Benzema
Uploaded by forzalyonnais69

And of course there’s the clip I’ll always remember him for: The unforgettable, anguished, “Mais pourquoi?” (”But why?”) after the headbutt in the WC 06 final.

And this is also a fun one, the highlights of his commentary on Zidane in the France-Brazil game in WC’06.

And last, I can’t find an embed code for this one, but here is a nice tribute from before the France England game.

He is irreplaceable.

I’d love to see any of your own links or hear your memories.

So close that it’s time to mark our calendars for May 18 — the day that Raymond Domenech will announce the squad for Euros. Kind of.

Apparently he’s going to name more than the 23 players allowed on the roster, and then winnow it down based on the injury situation after all non-Euro competitions are over.

“From May 18 there will be the Champions League final, the French Cup, the Italian Cup, a lot of players will still be in competition, it will be either a definitive list, fixed or an extended list,” Domenech told French television.

“The idea of keeping as many players as possible under pressure doesn’t satisfy me, it puts the players in a complicated situation with doubts, uncertainties, but we have to set a date (for the list).”

Domenech has opted for a system which was used by Aime Jacquet before the 1998 World Cup which France won whereby players who are named on May 18 may not make it to the Euro 2008 finals.

Nicolas Anelka, aka my favorite former bad boy, is one of those against this enlarged list. Back in 1998, he was one of the six players called up and then axed before World Cup.

The Chelsea striker would not wish the same fate on somebody else, especially those who have not got too many more major international tournaments to look forward to.

“I have experienced being in that list of six,” Anelka told French radio station RMC.

“I don’t think it is a good idea because it makes it worse for players. At the time, I was 19 or 20 so it was okay for me. But for those who had never taken part in a World Cup, it really hurt them. It is hard for people to recover from being dropped like that. The best solution would be to take 23 players and say that if there are injuries, such and such a player will come into the 23.”

Domenech says no, though. He “to keep as many players as I can under pressure for as long as possible.”

Wait a second. Didn’t the first article say he DIDN’T want to keep players under pressure? I’m confused.

It would certainly suck to be one of those cut players, though, wouldn’t it? We should start a pool to bet on who they’re going to be. Becase somebody should profit from these guys’ misery.

My bets? Mexes and Trezeguet.

Hold onto your old Adidas France jersey. It’s a collector’s item now that France has signed with Nike.

Or…well, maybe not yet. But in 2011, for sure. That’s when the contract starts, and it runs through 2018. In other words, for most of the Karim Benzema/Samir Nasri/Hatem Ben Arfa years.

The contract is worth 320 million Euros over its duration. That ain’t pennies.

The official announcement is kind of interesting. It devotes a paragraph to how great Adidas is, saying,

For nearly 40 years, Adidas has accompanied national football in its development and the France team in its international conquests.

A big loss for Adidas, no? But they do still have individual contracts with some of the France players, like Benzema, Nasri and Vieira. That’s something.

Think I’ll go put on my Adidas Zidane shirt now and think about forty years of history heading out the door.

Now, about those games. They’re both a blur for me. The second one literally. I could only make the pirate stream work for half the game, and even then it was just a bunch of red blurs and yellow blurs fighting over a white blur. When I get some time I’m going to go in and read as many match reports and watch as many YouTube videos as I can find. It will probably be after this weekend, though.

Did any of you actually see the game enough to analyze the players? What did you think? Do you agree with the Football365 player ratings Glatisant posted in the comments?

France
Coupet : 5,5
Sagnol : 5,5
Thuram : 7
(Escudé, 46eme : 5,5)
Gallas : 6
Abidal : 5
Vieira (cap) : 4,5
(Ben Arfa, 82eme)
Toulalan : 4
L.Diarra : 4,5
Malouda : 4
Anelka : 5
(Benzema, 60eme)
Henry : 4,5

Looks pretty sad in general, except for central defense. Were they really that good? Should I rethink my belief that Thuram shouldn’t play in Euros?

And last, I’m trying to search out some kind of e-mail addres for the FFF where we can let them know that we are fans of the team who would have been thrilled to have a legit way to watch the game, even for pay. Even the Sport5 site that offered all of the other friendlies that day didn’t offer this one. I have to think that if they believed they could make money at it, they’d offer it. So when I find an address, I’ll post it here and we can all contact them. Sound good?

Oh, and last, I’m hesitant and a little embarrassed to bring this up, but I’m among friends, right? My Galaxy blog over at The Offside was nominated for a Best Blogger of 2007 award over at SoccerLens. (And don’t judge the Galaxy blog by the fact that the most recent posts are pretty much all about Landon Donovan peeing on the pitch in Jalisco, Mexico.)

I have no problem with not winning (especially if Chris from the Roma blog wins it instead), but to be honest, I would really prefer not to come in last. It’s a pride thing. If you feel inclined to keep this from happening, here’s the link. And if you don’t, I’ll still love you.

(Please, please, please do not let anybody get injured.)

Tuesday, May 27
Friendly
France-Ecuador at Grenoble, Stade des Alpes

Saturday, May 31
Friendly
France-Paraguay at Stadium de Toulouse

Tuesday, June 3
Friendly
France-Colombia at Stade de France

It just got a little less so for France fans with the announcement that les Bleus will be playing a friendly against Uruguay on November 19. Stade de France at 21h00.

Uruguay is currently ranked 28th in the FIFA rankings. Anybody in the top 30 can make things happen, so this could be a good game.

It will take place in the middle of World Cup qualifiying and should give Raymond a chance to tweak a few things before everything heats up again in ‘09.