@Frederic: You were absolutely right. According to the FFF, Abidal was the captain during the friendly against Turkey in June when Henry was injured and in 2007 against Morocco when Thuram was subbed out. I don’t know much about his personality except that he seemed to be well liked by his teammates both at Lyon and Barcelona.

@Sandrahn: Re: Gallas — I agree that I love Gallas’s heart and passion for the game, but when you are managing people you have to adapt your motivation strategies if the first strategy clearly isn’t working. Not all people respond to his type of leadership and “conflict resolution” positively- and it can actually make people unmotivated and frustrated. Another tiny thing that bothers me about him is his obsession with respect- especially about the younger generation showing respect to the older generation- it almost comes off as an insecurity to me. It just seems like he is trying to create a power dynamic actually fractures the team (along generation lines) rather than promoting team unity. That said, I think he is a great informal leader and you need people like him on any team (I’m just not sure if they should be the formal leader). I don’t think the captain has to be friends with everyone, but I do think they have to be able to get along. I’m sure he has learned from the experience, but at the end of the day a lot of this is just who he is.

Re: Anelka – I’m sure his behavior was exaggerated and there are a million players who act the same way and don’t get the media attention he received. But even Wenger has said that his impatience was his undoing in the early parts of his career– and Wenger hardly ever criticizes his players (even past players). Clearly he made some bad professional decisions and he was not getting the best advice from the people he trusted most (his family). I’m thrilled he seems to have mellowed out a bit and seems much more flexible. I always feel bad for young players who are completely misunderstood and misrepresented by the press– I think their “arrogance” and “impatience” is actually a normal reaction for any perfectionist put under that much pressure, but because they are so young they don’t know how to express it in a health way. Great story, thanks for sharing! Clearly that was before Ben Arfa came on the scene though.

@Jeff: Re: Viera – Hmm, interesting point about Viera. I don’t watch Serie A, but I have seen a few articles about him staying at Inter to “fight” for his place. If he can’t play regularly in the next 4-6 months than there is no way he will go to the WC. If he doesn’t go to this WC then I think he is out– too old and not enough playing time (I know, blasphemous words!). I know Henry wants him in the squad so maybe he will get chosen for that reason, but Domenech seems to be holding out…

Re: A. Diarra – interesting story about the World Cup final. Did he indicate the reason why no one would pass the ball to him? You housemate is right that Alou is more of a consistent player than a flashy player, but in Bordeaux’s last two games against Bayern and Juventus I was really impressed.

@Jean-Francois: Lloris is a really timid guy- Patrice Evra just recently gave an interview where he disclosed that the team needs Hugo to be more vocal. I think that if a goalkeeper is the captain, he has to be really loud and aggressive– such as Olive Khan or Casillas. I also wouldn’t say he is an automatic choice– he has a lot of competition from Mandanda.

@Jason: Re: Anelka – Anelka has been playing well and consistently for France for this WC Qualification, but I do think that perhaps we should look at slightly younger candidates to avoid high turn-over in the captain’s position (old age=more likely to be injured, less likely to hold your position and more likely to retire). Having a consistent captain for several years helps to reduce the chaos.

Re: Toulalan: Personally, I think Toulalan is too timide to be a really great captain. I also think he is going to lose his place to Moussa Sissokho soon.

Re: Gourcuff: I don’t think that Gourcuff has the right personality to be a captain– I always hear his personality described at being very “Breton” (a reference to where he is from- Bretagne). I think this means that he is somewhat reserved, cold and aloof– and he has described himself as having a bad temper and really bitter. Lucky for him he has such a sweet looking face to hide those things behind. But, he could grow and evolve.

@Michel-Olivier: I refuse to agree with any post-WC2010 France team that doesn’t have Ben Arfa in it. I would also like to see Cheyrou and Valbuena called up as well. And Nasri might be playing well enough to get a first team position as well too. What about Patrice Evra- he is only 28.

Read this everyone.