Post-Match Thoughts From Laurie

June 1st, 2008 | by: Laurie |

(From now through Euros, all of our France page bloggers who are able to see the games will be weighing in with post-match thoughts. Keep checking back for more, because each of us will see the game differently. This one is from Laurie.)

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No need to panic. Yet. I’m thinking that today’s game was a bit like an Impressionist painting. Surely the Impressionist painters had to think, “How much can I take out of a picture and still leave the image I want to convey?” And surely they got it wrong sometimes by taking out too much?

Today was kind of like that. How much could Raymond Domenech take out of what we’ve come to think of as “The French Team” over the past couple of years, while still allowing us to see what we want to see?

The answer? Not this much. Apparently you can’t take out Ribéry, Thuram, Gallas, Makélélé, Vieira and Henry, as we did in the second half, and still expect this to be the team we know and love.

Some thoughts:

– When Domenech took Toulalan out and put Nasri in, effectively going from 4-4-2 to 4-3-1-2, it didn’t add that much to the offense and really underscored how weak the defense was. I don’t think I drew a full breath after this change until the final whistle.

– But the damage from substitutions started before that. Makélélé + Ribéry > L. Diarra + Govou. Not sure how this breaks down individually, but the equation holds.

– Backpasses are not always a good thing!! I think I counted at least three today that came close to going horribly wrong. Let’s reiterate that they should be a last resort, and that they should be undertaken with great care and attention toward accuracy. Have we got that, boys? This is a good lesson to learn now, before Euros.

– Bafé Gomis has fascinating potential. He thinks differently than what we’ve become used to and sees the field of play differently than our standard players. And this is a good thing. But will he have time to assimilate into the team before it’s too late?

– Franck Ribéry has to play every second of every game. This is non-negotiable.

– Coupet wasn’t tested much today, but when he was it was from his own players. (See: Backpasses.)

– I’m not seeing either Squillaci or Boumsong as long-term replacements for Thuram and Gallas. Am I wrong here? And am I wrong in wishing we had other backups?

– And finally: With this much talent up front, how can we go an entire game like this without scoring? I’m agreeing with reader/commenter Doumé: We need a Zidane, a person to take charge. So who’s going to step up, and will it be in time?

That’s it for me. Check back later for more of our blogger post-game thoughts.

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frenchnetherlandsfan

do u really see vieira as “can’t be took out” ?
ok he was great few years ago but not since 2,3 years
but what is changing now is there’s another player
toulalan is according to me unmovable,
and i won’t be surprised if domenech against holland and italy, play with the three defensives midfields, maké, toulalan, vieira
behind two wingers and only one striker.
I didn’t see nasri’s match as bad.
he added technical skills on the field, carried his vision, and had few opportunities to score.
i think he could be a very good solution to sub on the left ‘ghost-malouda’ or one of those three defensive mid. if there are in a 4321 line up.
Doumé

I thought in general that the Paraguayan team had a good technical level in all departments, and they really were able to read the game and get in the way. And even then, a 2-0 wouldn’t have shocked anybody (if Ribery and Govou had shot an inch to their right). Also, we have to remember that the score was 0-0 in WC 1998 in regulation against Paraguay, that should say something.

Eventually Ribéry will step up more as person in charge, but I think now he is a little bit young for the role. I’m wondering whether Henry isn’t going to try it for now, the way he was working with Benzema.
lefutur

laurie, i disagree with your assertion that bringing nasri into the game was a bad thing. it took him a few minutes to get into the match but the end of the second half was much better, offensively, than the rest of game following the break. france actually came close to, you know, scoring.
Mohamed

Will nasri get a place in the first 11, what do you think guys (and girls)
intan

i so agree about the ribery point; he is the glue that seems to be keeping the front together. i don’t know about this, but to me he has the potential to be the next zidane? (and if he does, i really hope he steps into those big shoes before the euros start).

it was a pretty frustrating game seeing that we have so many talents upfront–kinda like the germany vs serbia game, but at least neuville and ballack managed to set things right there at the eleventh hour.

i think gomis + benzema will be an awesome striking pairing if given the chance.

but meanwhile, i’m still kinda worried for france; domenech doesn’t have time to “watch” his players play–he better solidifies his XI to have a chance of getting out of the Group of Death for the quarters. beside, winning a friendly is always good as a confidence booster for players and fans alike (;
http://france.worldcupblog.org Laurie

I think I was unclear in what I meant when I talked about substituting Nasri for Toulalan. What I meant was with the lineup that was on the field, we needed the defensive cover of a second DM. Nasri adds a lot, but without more defensive cover from the midfield, our defense was frightening. It’s hard to get creative up front when you’re leaking at the back. (But the team still managed a few burts of pretty-yet-unlucky creativity, which was fun.)

Would this be true with some combination of Thuram, Gallas and Makelele (and possibly Vieira) on the field instead of the players we had? I have no idea. All I know is that the last part of the game felt defensively scary to me.

And FrenchNetherlandsFan, Vieira is a big question mark for me. I have no idea what he offers to the team at the moment because he’s played with them so rarely recently. That’s why I was hoping he would be healthy for these last friendlies — so we could see if he still deserves to be one of the untouchables.
Intan

I’m sorry, I just have to add this:

Patient’s Name: France, National Soccer Team of

Patient suffers from a rare ailment known as the Post Zidane Trauma. Patient exhibits lack of coordination of limbs and does not make full use of his true potential. A potential cure still in clinical trials may come in the form of the FranckRibery and it is noted that in order for this cure to work perfectly, continuous dosage of the FranckRibery is to be administered. Meanwhile, temporary treatment includes the Makelele, the Vieira, the Benzema, the Gomis, therapy to help patient to restore defensive instincts and therapy to help patient aim to reach his goals.

Physician-in-Charge: Domenech, Raymond
ian

one thing i would like to see after watching the game is the pairing of makelele and toulalan in the “real” games. i believe those 2 will give ribery and whoever the other winger is the chance to roam more. i am starting to think malouda can be replaced. anyone have any ideas. govou is not bad but can dissapear, i was thinking nasri could sub in at that posision. just some thoughts. oh and up top it needs to be benzema and henry to start. they had some good connections in limited time. I really also would like to see gomis given a shot over anelka. we all know what anelka can do, it seems like gomis’s potential outweighs that.
http://france.worldcupblog.org Laurie

Intan, you have made me smile.
Aditya

lol Intan. but it is true.
sandrahn

Critical comments like the one from Intan are welcomed. Wish all the idiot trolls could be censored.
j

While France looks brilliant at times they seem to lack the leadership to pull together and that is quite obviously the loss of Zizou. They don’t seem to have the type of person who can really unify the squad. It seems Portugal is suffering the same problem as although they have tremendous talent, without Luis Figo they seem to be lacking the maturity, experience and leadership needed.