Let’s All Worry About France’s Central Defense

May 26th, 2008 | by: Laurie |

I think it’s safe to say that most of us get a little frisson of concern when we think of Raymond relying on the old guard of William Gallas and Lilian Thuram as central defenders for the entire tournament. (Gallas less than Thuram. I adore Lilian, but he’s thirty-six years old and wasn’t a regular starter at Barcelona this year.)

To add to that, Julien Escudé was called up, but he’s been hampered recently by a long-term incidence of “pubalgie.” (Aka a groin injury.)

And now we get the news that Philippe Mexès is not training for France because he picked up a knee injury in the Coppa Italia. He’s being examined by physicians for the EdF to determine whether or not he’ll be able to take part in Euros.

A Mexès injury combined with a lack of fitness for Escudé would leave us with…who, exactly on central defense?

Thuram
Gallas
Squillaci
Boumsong

Does this strike intense fear in your heart if you’re an attacker? Yeah, me neither.

Eric Abidal can play in the center, which would bring Patrice Evra onto the field. This might be a good thing.

But should Raymond call somebody else up? Just in case? And if so, who?

What a decision to have to make two days before the final list is due.

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http://italy.worldcupblog.com Chris

Mexes took a beating like no other in the Coppa Italia. Went knee to knee at least once (wanna say Vieira, who makes those collisions a regular part of his routine). Think he got a hell of a dead leg from Pele too. Wouldn’t be surprised at all if he’s tossed away in an ice bath for the next week and a half. He’s probably walking around like more of an old gimp than Thuram.

But he was MOTM by far and a true warrior.
http://lyon.theoffside.com Inara

If Mexes misses this tournament, it might really hamper his chances of nailing down a more permanent spot on the NT (no WAY Thuram is going to play for France next year…right?). In terms of timing, nothing could have been worse for Mexes.
Aditya

I liked him a lot since his Auxerre days. I think he should have been given preference over Boumsong and Givet in the World cup as well. I hope he gets fit in time and plays in the Euros.
Miles

I dont think we should underestimate Thuram. I think he could be a great solid asset to the team. A true veteran with talent and experience to help keep the defense in order, and calm the young. He is a monster on the field. I understand he hasnt started much with Barcalona, but maybe its a blessing in disguise. More health and energy for the Euro? Who knows. But i dont think his age should be used against him.
http://lyon.theoffside.com Inara

Honestly, Domenech knows how to get the most out of his players. We all criticized him for fielding such an ancient team during the WC, and in the end, France had one of the fittest squads. So if he thinks Thuram and Makelele can still hack it, they probably can.

Laurie, do you remember that whole slave debacle that happened last year between Mourinho and Domenech? I distinctly remember Makelele saying that he would only help France qualify but not participate in the actual tournament. I wonder what changed his mind.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SPORT/football/09/30/france.makelele/index.html
http://france.worldcupblog.org Laurie

Inara, I was just thinking about the slavery comment the other day, as I was reflecting on Domenech’s propensity for pissing off coaches. I never did hear a story on why Makelele is in Euros, but for one thing he’s still playing well, and for another it would have to be hard to go through qualifying and NOT go to the tournament.

Plus it seemed that Mourinho was the one who had the biggest problem with Makelele as an international — he kept saying that Make couldn’t do serve both club and country well, and using that as an excuse for not starting him all the time. When Grant came in I never heard anything else about it.

As far as Thuram, I hope you’re right. I remember thinking he was awful in one of the later games last year — Morocco, maybe? Or possibly Ukraine? But I thought he was pretty good against England in March. If he were getting progressively worse due to the combo of age and not playing regularly, it would be more the other way around. Right?