Team news: Who’s in, who’s out , who’s angry

February 28th, 2006 | by: Chriso | Comments Off

With the World Cup closing in players are jockeying for positions in their country’s squads and France’s friendly with Slovakia tomorrow has left some happy, others disappointed and some clubs teedoff with the coach.

Lyon are still upset with Raymond Domenech for calling up Eric Abidal, who has just recovered from an injury picked up playing for France. Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas thinks Domenech has used the pressure of making the World Cup squad on Abidal to turn up this time saying ‘ I am worried with the nature of the talks he had with the national coach…..I know Raymond, he is persuasive’.
Abidal himself said ‘If I don’t play in this match, it could penalize me’.
Just hope he doesn’t get injured or Domenech will be catching it from Gerard Houllier.

One player who’s pretty pleased with himself is Jeremy Toulalan of Nantes, who’s got in as a replacement for William Gallas, out with a thigh injury.
Toulalan said ‘it’s a big and beautiful surprise and it makes me immensely happy. Maybe he’ll get a runout in the second half in place of Vieira or Makelele.

Winger Franck Ribery is disappointed to be left out, ‘people talked so much about me in the French team that I thought I would be called’. He also said ‘I am somone simple, I will go on working’, a good attitude and he still gets to play in the under21 game tonight.