Les Bleus: Cisse IN; Saha questionable

February 28th, 2010 | by: Sarah |

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FYI: I’ve joined Twitter (OffsideSarah) where I’ve been posting minor stories and photos I’ve come across such as Les Bleus playing footie tennis, when Henry thinks the FFF should announce the new coach or which game Gignac will make his return from injury. I hope you will all follow me there as well- I promise, there won’t be any updates on what I’m eating or other vapid nonsense that other people seem to post.

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As I mentioned last week, both Louis Saha (Everton) and Djibril Cisse (Panathinaikos) have had very successful seasons at their clubs- both scoring over 15 goals in their leagues. However, with France’s bench already full of strikers (Henry, Anelka, Benzema and Gignac)- they have had a hard time getting Raymond Domenech’s attention. Especially considering their age, proclivities to become injured and inconsistency (historically). But, with the France game against Spain approaching and Benzema and Gignac out with injuries, both had every reason to expect to be called by Raymond.

When the list came out, Louis was on the the list and Djibril was not. As I have said before, Raymond is known for being a bit of a snob about the clubs of the French players. Domenech can hardly bring himself to step foot into a Ligue 1 stadium- prefering to attend games in England and Spain. So you can imagine the disadvantage that Cisse faced considering he plays in Greece. Considering it was Domenech making the selection decisions, it really wasn’t surprising that Saha was chosen over Cisse- even though Cisse has scored more goals in his league (20 vs. 15).

The day the list of Les Bleus was revealed, Cisse sent Domenech a message when he led his team to a double victory against Roma (home and away) to advance to the final 16 of the Europa League.

And, fate has intervened…Louis has picked up a few knocks on his hamstring and achilles muscles [Credit to Jean-François for the news tip]. He will be traveling to France where he will be assessed by France’s medical team on Monday. So, Domenech has called on Djibril as a cover for Louis in case he is declared unfit. I hope this is a win-win for both players. I am thrilled that both players are back to their best after several bad years and bad luck. It appears that Saha’s luck hasn’t improved- the minute he gets a break, his body threatens to break down on him again. I would hate to punish the player for something he has no control over, but this begs the question over his fitness and reliability. There is a possibility of a win-win situation: Louis passes his fitness test and Cisse stays to show Raymond what he is capable of producing. We will know the answer soon enough…the players should arrive at Clairefontaine tonight or tomorrow!

Also, I’m contemplating doing a liveblog on Wednesday during the France vs. Spain game- would anyone be interested? The game is on Wednesday at 3PM EST/21h Paris time.

UPDATE: Les Bleus will be wearing a new jersey for the game against Spain- a white jersey! Check out Gourcuff modeling the new look. [Credit: FFF]

Update #2: Louis Saha flew to Paris to have his medical condition assessed by the FFF staff. However, a scan revealed a thigh muscle injury and he did not pass the medical exam. Hehas since returned to England. [Credit: L'Equipe]

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Jean-François

Once again, Great article Sarah.

I would absolutely LOVE to have a liveblog for the France v Spain match

Alors, I have practice during the game Wednesday and I will not even be able to watch the match! I am very sad. I am trying my best to get around it.

In the future I would love to maybe try something other than a liveblog. Maybe we could use some sort of program such as Skype(I really don’t know which is best) so all us fans could actually talk. I feel like it would be a lot more fun, considering I never get to actually talk to other French fans. What’s your opinion on the subject?
Jao

Yeah, I would have preferred Domenech call up Frau or Gameiro, though the latter’s picked up an unfortunate injury. Maybe he likes Cisee’s experience that he bring. He’s probably a longshot to make the WC though.
http://www.adidas.fr/om Justin C.

I’m glad he called up Cissé. Let’s see what he can do for Les Bleus.

The new white jersey sucks in my opinion, why break up the three stripes? It looks like a design flaw. I hope adidas has something else for us come the WC…
Jeff

I like both of those players a lot, especially Saha. Saha is fantastic in the air (when he’s fit). He’s really excellent with the flick-on headers.
Alex

Although Cisse has more goals than Saha, you cannot deny that he is in a much less competitive league.

In response to Justin C., I like the new kit.
Sarah

It is day 1 and Ribery is already absent from training– http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/breves2010/20100301_184144_ribery-absent-au-decrassage.html
http://www.adidas.fr/om Justin C.

Well Alex,
Panathinaikos is still playing in the UEFA Champions League and they stuck it to Roma pretty hard. Even if you believe some leagues are weaker, any team that plays well in the UCL must have some good players, at least in my eyes. He’s a good finisher. Let’s see what he can do…

Brazil won a World Cup (1994?) with a few players from the J-League, so I’m not going with the “less competitive league” argument, sorry.
Jeff

There’s definitely something to the strength of the league, but I’d normally rather have a striker who scored 25 goals in Greece than 10 goals in England because they would be in the scoring habit. The level of competition at the world cup is wildly sporadic, so someone who can score, regardless of the opponents, is an attractive proposition. Cisse led Ligue 1 in scoring for two or three seasons – there’s no question that he’s a top striker when he’s in form.
Jean-François

Well put Jeff and Justin. As for the new kit, they are alright, noting beats 2006 away jerseys in my opinion. Anything is better than those god-awful red jerseys we had, I don’t see France wearing red personally. I’ve always wanted to see France in a black jersey.

Check this out, Zidane finally discussed the headbutt today. http://www.goal.com/en/news/1863/world-cup-2010/2010/03/01/1812718/zinedine-zidane-id-rather-die-than-say-sorry-to-inters-marco I love how he continues to remain adamant about it.
Sarah

We aren’t the only people worried about Henry’s lack of playing time– http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/03/01/henry.france.ap/

Regarding Saha/Cisse- I think the debate is moot. Even if both players play extremely well, I doubt that either of them will end up going to South Africa unless there are serious injuries to Henry, Anelka, Benzema or Gignac. Maybe Gignac might be squeezed out. But, I agree with Jao that Frao would have been interesting to see as well. Cisse has a very fiery personality- I hope he doesn’t cause internal tension.

I don’t mind the white jersey – it’s just sort of blah and boring.

@Justin: Panathinaikos is in the Europa League- not the Champions League. But, he has scored a few goals in the Europa League- which is still very competitive this year. I do agree that the difference in difficulty of the league is splitting hairs at this level- but my criticism of Cisse is more of his character. The guy only succeeds when he is the big fish in a small pond- whenever he has competition he fails to perform!

@Jean-François: I’ll think about the Skype suggestion and try to come up with something. I am taking French lessons at my local Alliance Francaise and I tried to talk to my instructeur about Ligue 1 and Les Bleus. But his knowledge about French football begins and ends with Zidane. Such a disappointment- so I can relate to not having anyone to talk to…Hope you get a chance to watch the game (live).
http://www.adidas.fr/om Justin C.

Sarah,
Yes of course, I meant the Europa League (what I meant). Also, could any of Cisse’s failures to perform have anything to do with injuries? I like his fiery attitude and that he’s a good finisher (heck, we need goals any way we can get, including easy tap-ins). I think Les Bleus could use a dose of Djibril in the WC.
Alex

It’s one thing to play against one competitive team twice a month. It’s another thing to play competitive teams week in and week out.
Jean-François

Reasons Saha and Cisse will most likely not be called up:

1. Thierry Henry – The king, after everything he’s done we can not let him go.

2. Nicolas Anelka – One of the hardest working players we have, also, Him and Sagna were the only two to put on an impressive performance against Ireland.

3. Karim Benzema – I just received a Benzema jersey and I would be angry, because I plan on wearing it during the WC. Don’t make me Angry.

4. Andre-Pierre Gignac – Is on fire for France, I do think he does terrible under high pressure situations (see France v. Ireland). However, he is young and I believe that if he remains a regular on the French scene, he will blossom.

@Sarah: I know how you feel because I have almost nobody to talk too about French football, I know a fellow fan, but she doesn’t know all that much. Good luck with the French. I will not be able to watch it live. Oh well, there are more matches in May, ones we are more likely to win. I see a tie tomorrow. We’ll see. Either way it will be low scoring.
lefutur

Cissé is a speedy player but he’s not a technical one. His ball skills and finishing aren’t great. He can be used effectively as a late sub to wear down tired defenders and create mistakes but I dont think he would ever be useful in a starting 11.
Sarah

I think Saha had his chance and since he failed his medical he probably won’t get another one.

I look forward to seeing Cisse- if anything, he is good entertainment and bring some style to the team (though some might say he brings too much…)
Jao

yeah Sarah, Saha is done for the WC. This will be all of the new players last chance to impress as Domenech will give his squad on 1 May (or has he changed it?) meaning the friendlies ahead of the World Cup will be nothing more than tune ups unless an injury (Cisse against China for example in 2006) happens.

I just hope Domenech plays everybody, excluding Mandanda and Carasso because I want to see Lloris play the entire match against the Spanish attack.
http://france.worldcupblog.org Laurie

Fyi, the game is on TV5 Monde in the US!
Sarah

Laurie: Thanks for the update. It is also being broadcasted on ESPN Desportes (the spanish ESPN) at 2:45 EST tomorrow. They will repeat the game later that evening.

FYI: I’ve joined Twitter (OffsideSarah- twitter.com/OffsideSarah) where I’ve been posting minor stories and photos I’ve come across such as Les Bleus playing footie tennis, when Henry thinks the FFF should announce the new coach or which game Gignac will make his return from injury. I hope you will all follow me there as well- I promise, there won’t be any updates on what I’m eating or other vapid nonsense that other people seem to post.

Jao: Hmm, Im a Mandanda fan myself but I will admit he has been inconsistent this season (at least compared to Lloris). I was just thrilled to see Cheyrou in his first Les Bleus jersey (for that picture plus more, follow me on twitter)
Jean-François

@Sarah: I’ll check out your twitter

I just ordered Espn Deportes for tomorrow’s game. I am watching it at 7 so it won’t be live. It is going to hurt so bad not looking up the score.
Michel-Olivier

fr 0-4 esp
Michel-Olivier

non, 5
Wai

You are going down !
Jean-Francois

So happy! I can watch the match live! Sarah are you going to have a liveblog?
http://www.adidas.fr/om Justin C.

Liveblog? The match is on TF1 so I don’t have to go to the bar tonight and can chat with y’all on here!
Vanash

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