Les Bleus News Roundup

Play players who are in form now. Cisse’s broken legs a few seasons ago should be irrelevant compared to his current goal-scoring form. Henry’s blistering form of a few years ago doesn’t matter much compared to his recent poor performances for club and country.

Hi Sarah. I was just wondering what you make of all the fuss over Algerian/French players and the FFF and FAF battling over them.

Kazi: Im not sure I would classify this debate as a battle. Basically, a lot of french players whose parents or grandparents immigrated to France have frequently chosen to play for Les Bleus instead of their ancestral country. The FFF doesnt have to do much fighting to get the best players-most of the time the players want to play for France because its their home and they may feel they have a better chance of success with France (Benzema, Nasri, Ben Arfa, Zidane the list goes on and one).

Now, there has been some rancor among supporters of the alternate countries (mostly former French colonies) about taking players who indicate that France is their first option, but opt to play with their parent’s country after the FFF doesn’t call them up (ex David Ngog was criticized by Cameroon supporters for this recently and eventually declined Cameroon’s call-up for the ACN). There are also several players who are born in France who want to play for their parents country of origin because they feel a connection to that country, they want to honor their parents or they may feel they have a better chance of breaking through to the first team in a less competitive national team setup (Marouane Chamakh, Ziani, Erding etc).

So what is my opinion? I don’t get into the politics of the matter-because on this blog that has frequently regressed into racist and xenophobic insults. Until a change is made by FIFA, FFF or the French government these individuals have the right to opt to play for any country for which they are citizens. I am concerned about some of these kids getting called-up too early by countries wanting to secure the services of young talents who have the option to play for multiple countries. For example, as much as Domenech frustrates me, I was glad he did not call-up David Ngog when Cameroon indicated they were interested. Calling up a player once that may not fit into the team’s long-term plans,especailly when he has the option to play for another team who could use his services,is tragic. It could potentially prematurely end his international career-which is a loss for the player, hurts the integrity of international competitions (it is suppose to be the best of the best) and takes away the fans ability to watch the players develop and play.

Jeff: But, we arent just taking Henry for his goalscoring- he has some intangible assets to provide to the team through his leadership, experience and reputation. If there is a person on that team who can manage the enormous egos- its him.

Also- Domenech is still refusing to shut the door on Vieira (please note that Vieira injured himself in the warmup last weekend when he was due to start for Man City- the mans body is rebelling against the idea of him playing for France, really!) Domenech reportedly said that if he had to pick a team today for the WC, Viera would be part of it…http://goal.com/en/news/1863/world-cup-2010/2010/04/13/1876957/world-cup-2010-florent-malouda-should-be-a-role-model-for-france-

Two thoughts:
1. In terms of including Cisse, what have we got to lose? The total lack of firepower so far has been very discouraging – although one is never quite sure if its the players involved or RD’s bizarre conservatism. It’s like the players are never unleashed to show their true talent but are always playing scared. So perhaps a “confidence injection” is just what the team needs. I believe it was Napoleon who said “An army that stays within its fortifications is already defeated.” And that seems to sum up how RD approaches football.
2. In terms of racism and xenophobia on the blog, I’d also like to say that the multi-cultural, diverse make-up of the French team is one of the reasons why it is such an attractive side to follow. I’d also like to say it is in keeping with the greatest traditions of France and what she has meant (in her more enlightened moments) to the world at large.

Thanks Sarah. See that’s what I thought about it recently too. But then you get the likes of Nasri, as well as Benzema, who hardly play nowadays for the French NT and alot of Algerians get really ticked off by that. But then again, it was the player’s original choices to do so.

Thanks anyway.

“I’d also like to say that the multi-cultural, diverse make-up of the French team is one of the reasons why it is such an attractive side to follow”
what multi-cultural?
98 team was diverse, this team is not.

I agree with Jeff. Coaches that are worth anything know how to make the difficult decisions that will only help a club/country. We as viewers can afford to be sentimental for various reasons but not coaches. If they do and it works then they are geniuses. If they fail then..

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/fifaworldcup/france/story/2010/04/13/sp-domenech.html

Jean-Michel: I dont think recognizing leadership off the pitch is being sentimental- we need someone who can bring this team together…I just dont think we can afford to bring more than one of those players who cant also make huge contributions on the field (so Titi or Patrick, but not both). Henry has been the teams captain for the whole campaign-I just cant imagine that 4 weeks before the tournament-barring some major catastrophe- that we will have another person leading the team in South Africa.

Foreverzidane: Domenech talks the big talk (sort of)- but he is the king of saying one thing and doing another….basically, Ill believe it when I see it (regarding him not taking players who arent 100% fit). His “belief in great players”could also be called denial- and that denial has led us to the predicament we are in now…

Now – I wish we could approach this injury crisis like this – its so much more uplifting and optimistic – http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1679/us-national-team/2010/04/13/1877528/the-tackle-are-injuries-to-the-us-team-a-blessing-in

When you consistently go into tournaments as the underdog, you tend to adopt the “nothing to lose”/optimistic attitude the U.S. and other teams have. France has been spoiled with undeserved high FIFA rankings and continue to rest on their laurels to get by in the post Zidane era. Probably one of the reasons why we all complain about their lack of ambition on the field.

If Gallas and Abidal are healed by June 11th and aren’t on the World Cup squad I will be very upset….

I understand that everyone is pessimistic going into the World Cup but we can’t forget that we still have a very powerful side.

We have some great players in the middle of the field (Gourcuff, Ribery, maybe Nasri?)

Florent Malouda is having the best season of his career and Anelka had a great match yesterday.

We also can not forget Hugo Lloris, he really is the star of the French Team. We also have plenty of very skilled backup keepers.

France have very strong Left & Right Backs as well(Sagna, Evra, Abidal.

I think that France has less problems than the media claims. Of course we have a terrible coach. Henry and Vieira are over the hill. France have a few injuries to, all we can do is hope they’ll heal rapidly. The last problem I can think of is Benzema & Gignac, I understand that their recent form is awful, and that Domenech will still probably call them up, but we should still have some faith in them. Often a player’s NT form does not reflect Club form.

I believe that instead of fretting so much we should forget the problems and support our team (I am trying very hard to do so myself). If the fans don’t support their National Team then there is no reason to win.

In terms of the multi-cultural makeup of the team, all you have to do is read the post on ranking the top 50 French players. It’s like a roll call for the United Nations! How is that not diverse?

@ Scott
“read the post on ranking the top 50″
i only read players selected by ray not some top 50 someone randomly select base on favouritism.

united nations? are you joking?
98 team had players from all over the republic that represent france. you had players from dom,tom, metropolitan and small number of foreign origin like pires, vieira, djorkaeff, and zidane.
now this france team mostly represent the urban areas of paris and marseille.

Are any of you faithfuls planning to go to the World Cup matches? I did some research and the only thing that’s holding me back is the number of vaccines required to take and the dreaded long awful flight which could be anywhere from 25 to 31 hours from Toronto Canada.
If I had two weeks of holidays I would have gone for sure. The last block of tickets are going on sale today.
Have fun if any of you are going.

@Michel-Olivier:
Thanks for clarifying what you mean by diveristy in this context. Very helpful! I think this is largely a question of how we define our terms. I totally agree that if your definition is centered on “representing a wide variety of physical areas within a country,” this team is not nearly as diverse as the ‘98 squad. Point well taken! However, there are other ways to look at the term that are more in line with how we use it here in the States; e.g., “representing a wide variety or ethnicities, religions, and world views.” Please remember that I was speaking to the original posting which referred to the racism and xenophobia being directed at the French team. I don’t think that kind of ugliness is because they are all from Paris and Marseilles! So my original comment was very much in that context. But no need to argue about it! Let’s just look forward to a hopefully successful tournament this Summer. All best! Scott

Scott – You, sir, are a gentleman. Please keep posting.

I’m with JF and Sarah with the Lloris optimism. Did you see that save against Bordeaux near the end of the CL quarterfinal 2nd leg? I was rooting for Bordeaux, and I was already celebrating the goal that would have sent them through.

As a supporter, I like having at least one player who inspires confidence, and I think the other players need this too. This kid Lloris looks like he’s ready for the World Cup. I know that’s a bit of hype, but I see him as the form player right now, along with Ribery.

Regardless of what Domenech says, WC squad, pending health, is still easy to predict. Cisse’s the only question mark. Domenech doesn’t have the bravery nor fortitude to exclude Titi.

I agree with Jao, regardless of all the “debate” I will not be surprised next week when Domenech puts together a list of players we are all accustomed to seeing.

My analysis of the keepers that should go to South Africa – http://tinyurl.com/28f6ham – no real surprise.

I think there is a real issue at central defense and striker…more to follow on these topics.

lloris
sagna gallas toulalan evra
lass
gourcuff nasri
ribery anelka malouda

THIS TEAM CAN GO TO THE SEMIS

Cisse, why not, he sure wants to play bad and will give everything he has. Better than Gignac at this point. Henry has so much experience and talent. Just the right inspiration at the right time may make the difference. Ditto for Viera. Defensively, the team is not that strong. Having someone sweeping as many balls as he does would be great. Offensively, he often is at the right place at the right time.
Christian Loriau

thanks for your information

wholesale shoes,hangbag,T-shirt,jeans..etc.

If I had two weeks of holidays I would have gone for sure. The last block of tickets are going on sale today.
Have fun if any of you are going.