Early Expectations.

June 30th, 2010 | by: Jean-François |

This is the first post I have written since the World Cup started, and I am sorry I have not helped the other bloggers keep this blog up to date. I’ve been hiding and just waiting for this storm to end. I am aware that it is far from over, but the French have many things going for them right now. Things can only go up from here (I certainly hope).

Let’s look at our current situation:

First off, everyone should be aware of the fiasco that was France’s 2010 campaign. I won’t get into details but it certainly wasn’t pretty

The match against South Africa was Raymond Domenech’s last match. His reign of insanity is finally over!

Many senior players, such as Henry, Anelka, and Gallas, are expected to retire…. in disgrace…

FFF President Jean-Pierre Escalettes has announced his resignation

Former Bordeaux Coach and French Defender Laurent Blanc will sign a 2 year contract with the FFF to become Domenech’s replacement.

With that being said, France plays Norway in Oslo on August 11th. That is only 6 weeks away, and I’m not sure how much Blanc can do in such a short amount of time. However, I do have high expectations from Laurent. I do expect France to win this match. If they don’t, I will not blame Blanc, so long as he doesn’t make crazy decisions like Domenech would.

4246034313 I see a strong side under “Le President”, he has the knowledge and the background to create a good team atmosphere. I would love to see as many new faces as possible, and a resurgence of attacking football in France. Blanc will probably call up many of his former players from Bordeaux, which some think is bias. It may be bias, but it could certainly go to our advantage, because he knows these players strengths and weaknesses. So we should expect players like Michaël Ciani, Marc Planus, Benoît Trémoulinas, and Alou Diarra to be given a chance. Also, players like Benzema, Nasri, and Ben Arfa need to be incorporated into the team.

Rumor has it that David Trezeguet will be making a move to Bordeaux, where he will receive much more playing time. I would also like to see him given another chance on the National Team. He certainly deserves it more than most of the other senior players. Trezeguet has always been a player I respected, and has shown interest on a return from retirement.

With many of our senior players retiring from National Football. We’ll certainly need to find a player that can captain the team. Unlike Evra, France needs a player who will respect the coach and the FFF, no matter how much they frustrate him. I’ve been contemplating for the last few days and am having a hard time coming with a decision. Not because we have so many options, but because a lot of our older players have proved to be hooligans. Who do you think should captain the team?

I will try to keep this blog up to date, especially over the next few weeks as everything unravels. I can not wait to see who will succeed Jean-Pierre Escalettes!

With that being said, what are your early expectations for Blanc? What should the French Team look like at the beginning of 2011? Who should Blanc cut and who should he call up? Please let me know by commenting below.

Here is a list of France’s remaining matches this year:

Mercredi 11 août 2010
Match amical
Norvège-France

Vendredi 3 septembre 2010
Eliminatoires Euro 2012
France-Biélorussie

Mardi 7 septembre 2010
Eliminatoires Euro 2012
Bosnie-Herzégovine-France

Samedi 9 octobre 2010
Eliminatoires Euro 2012
France-Roumanie

Mardi 12 octobre 2010
Eliminatoires Euro 2012
France-Luxembourg

Mercredi 17 novembre 2010
Match amical
Angleterre-France

France World Cup Blog RSS Feed

Aleksander

Can't wait for a new start! With Benzema and hopefully Ben arfa!
JeanFrancoisRacinet

Ben Arfa deserves to play for France. I really hope Blanc can incorporate him into his squad.
http://twitter.com/numaRomero numa romero

I think Toulalan should be the new selection captain! he has shown the right attitude and a strong personality.. I say that Henry and Gallas have some gasoline left in his tank, but Trezeguet…
Gourcuff should be the referent of the team..
If I were Laurent, this would be my team! :
Gk: Lloris
Def: Sagna, Mexes, Squillacci, Clichy (Evra)
Mid Def: Diaby (Alou Diarra), Toulalan
Mid Off: Gourcuff, Nasri (Ribery), Malouda
Fw: Benzema (Gignac)
ahhh and Govou (haha, just kidding)

well, that's my humble opinion!
JeanFrancoisRacinet

Numa, I love your defensive selections! Toulalan would probably be one of the better choices for captain, especially with the starting XI you've chosen. Nasri could be France's future “playmaker” and I really like how you have Gourcuff next to him. They'll make a great pair, especially if Yoann moves to Arsenal and they can learn to play together.
Aditya

I think Toulalan would be a choice for captain given his standing in the team.

If I were Blanc I would pick the following squad:

Lloris
Sagna Mexes, Ciani, Clichy
Toulalan, Nasri
Valbuena, Gourcuff, Malouda
Benzema

Mandanda, Carasso, Rami, Tremoulinas, Squillaci, Mavuba, Sissoko, A Diarra, Ben-Arfa, Cisse, Gameiro, Briand would make the rest of my squad.

I really want him to call Benzema, Nasri, Ben-Arfa and sort out any animosity between them at professional level. Evra, Ribery go on probation.

We don't really have too many choices for a natural captain.
Nicolas

Sorry, I meant to post this as a “normal” post and not as an answer to Aditya's (good) lineup.
Why do you pick Mexes ? He has never proven anything with France.

Lloris
Sagna (Fanni, Chlamé) – Squillaci, Toulalan (Rami, Sakho, Planus, Escudé as extra centerbacks), Clichy (Trémoulinas, Cissoko)
A.Diarra (Lass Diarra) – Ribéry, Gourcuff, Malouda (Valbuena, Nasri and Diaby could be other options among the midfielders)
Benzema, Briand (Rémy, Hoarau, Gameiro)

As a captain, I don't know. Alou Diarra or Toulalan ? Malouda isn't a great option IMO. And I'm convinced Toulalan's future is in the back

Out : Evra (for a while), Abidal (forever). I don't know about Anelka. If he's really good, le Président could give him a chance after a probation.
And we should give Ribéry and Malouda a chance, because they can be excellent. I think that under Blanc's authority they won't act like divas or he'll do without them.
And I'm sure a lot of young players from ligue 1 will be added. Sometimes iti s better to have young and willing guys that tired stars.
Youare

I expect good things from Blanc. I thought he did well in Italy when he managed Juve. He showed a good understanding of tactics and managing players
Dave

Malouda would make a good captain.
Dave

I'd love to see Henry in the non-playing David Beckham role, if he does decide to retire.
pierrot

blanc never coached juve – didier deschamps did.
Jean-Michel

I suspect Malouda to be a malcontent and possible crap disturber for the next group. He definitely fits the Evra jr. mold. I remember him constantly crying about being played out of position. Good strong player for club. Good guy to have on NT but I'm thinking fresh start/21 and under talent making their way to the squad. Good bye old guard.
JeanFrancoisRacinet

I think that the best thing to do with Malouda and Ribery and possibly Evra is to keep them off the team for 6 months or so. Call them up after that and bench them, make them EARN a spot on the team so they won't feel entitled.

There is a huge problem with the Ribery-Gourcuff rivalry (It does seem to be one sided though). If Blanc can't solve the issue, I choose Gourcuff over Ribery.
JeanFrancoisRacinet

I would too, so long as he doesn't instigate anything. I think the younger players will respect him. However I think it would be a more stable atmosphere without him.
http://www.adidas.fr/om Justin C.

A national call-up needs to be earned, Jean-François… It's not a matter of deserving or not. It should be based on merit.

Based on their play, and recent league-form, these two guys “deserve” a shot:
Samir Nasri
Kevin Gameiro

As far as keepers, Stephane Ruffier's name needs to be mentioned, again.

Benzema's only knock this past year was lack of playing time at Real Madrid. Well that's what happens when you go for the big-money team that already has the services of Gonzalo Higuain. Hard to unseat that guy, really. I think we'll see Benzegol under Blanc, very soon.

Hatem Ben Arfa, well okay… If you want to see him dribble and lose the ball consistently, his trademark move, stick him in the squad now. His on-field decision making is not the best for an attacking midfielder. He still needs to grow as a footballer, and mentally. The guy is a good example of wasted potential, but the silver lining is that he's still young enough to salvage a career. Even my Tunisian neighbors admit that the problem with Ben Arfa is not his feet, the problem is in his head.

And do you really want to put a guy on the team that already in his short career has instigated conflicts with Abou Diaby, the aforementioned Karim Benzema, Sebastien Squillaci, Florent Malouda, Djibril Cissé, Modeste M'Bami, Eric Gerets, Didier Deschamps, and perhaps others that weren't caught on film or reported…

Do you want to put a guy on the team, after only being on the terrain for a minute as an endgame sub, in a Europa League match, gets a red card for kicking a Benfica player. Okay, enough about Ben Arfa… maybe in a few years, perhaps in time for Euro 2012 or the next World Cup…

I won't argue that he's a good option as an 85th minute substitution, but as a starter, he's just not ready.

Blanc's no dummy. He watches everything, and I'm sure he'll have a chat with DD and many other players about Ben Arfa's numerous meltdowns at Clairefontaine, Lyon, and Marseille…
Megame

It's official, bye bye Escalettes and hello Blanc.
Rather than taking the same people again and again, bar the worst offenders, why not open up to fresh talent? Because fresh talent there is, and not necessarily in the big clubs.
In French rugby, upon arriving the French coach Marc Lièvrement called over 70 players from all clubs before narrowing down to his top 30. And some regular starters now were pretty much unknown back then, except by true connoisseurs…
Forget about Ribery, Evra, Abidal, and others, at least for a while. We can find a string of promising replacements among the number of clubs with french players.
Nicolas

Today after the meeting of the Conseil fédéral (the board that rules the federation) Lilian Thuram who stands for the professionnal players said that Evra should be banned forever from wearing the blue shirt.
Danny

Ben Arfa is the last player that needs to join this group. And I say this as a Marseille supporter. If he can't get a game for l'OM, how does he possibly deserve to get in the national side. He has tremendous talent, but his mentality is nowhere near what this side needs. I personally think Nasri needs to get some starts in Gourcouff's place. Gourcouff has never been anywhere near his best for Les Bleus. For me, Nasri has performed better in his limited chances.
Danny

Gourcuff, not Gourcouff. I don't know where my head is at today.
JeanFrancoisRacinet

Yeah, I really hope Blanc can find a way to incorporate a way to have both Nasri and Gourcuff on the squad. But then again, he can't be like Maradona and play 6 forwards/attacking midfielders. Blanc knows best and I'm sure 2011-2012 will be a lot better than 2010. Maybe we will actually, you know…..beat teams like China?