Comments on: Barthez Dukes It Out With Nantes Fans, Then Leaves Town

By: Inara

Inara — Tue, 01 May 2007 16:57:17 +0000

Oops, forgot to post the link.

By: Inara

Inara — Tue, 01 May 2007 16:56:31 +0000

Barthez says he still wants to play on for a couple more years, even in Ligue 1.

Good to see he’s feeling better.

By: Rach

Rach — Tue, 01 May 2007 12:13:23 +0000

Really? Wow. I always thought the whole thing about senior players influencing team selection for the 2006 World Cup were just rumours. I thought that choosing Barthez over Coupet was Domenech’s idea considering he’s, uh, you know, the manager.:P

By: sandrahn

sandrahn — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 21:33:38 +0000

Rach, blame that on Zidane and Domenech’s tense relationship with Coupet. Zidane still calls Barthez the world’s best goalkeeper. He’s just blind when it comes to Barthez, he loves the guy, understandably. I think Barthez was a superb keeper but he’s just been a pale shadow in the last couple of years.

By: Inara

Inara — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:04:44 +0000

On both goals, Barthez was far away from his line. It’s a tactic that works sometimes, fails horribly on others.

It’s unfair to blame Nantes’s collapse on him, though I think he came to the club more as a way to get glory as the guy who saved Nantes than to really help them out.

Nantes has been having internal problems for a long time, and relegation was bound to happen. Barthez should have done a background checking before signing a contact.

And speaking of contacts, how can Barthez just unilaterally decide that he no longer wants to play? Didn’t he sign an agreement for six months?

By: Rach

Rach — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 11:57:36 +0000

Awww, Fabien Barthez .

Although he’s not in good form now he has made some great saves for Les Bleus over the years (see France vs England Euro 2004) and was part of both the 98 world cup and 2000 Euro winning teams. Though I have to confess I’m not sure how he was no 1 choice over Coupet at the most recent World Cup.