The French national team will not be able to count on two of its most experienced players for their sternest tests in European Championship qualifying for Poland-Ukraine 2012 as a result of the decision of the disciplinary hearing held by the country’s football federation this week. Franck Ribery and the man who captained Les Bleus in South Africa Patrice Evra will both miss the trip to Bosnia-Herzegovina on September 7th and remain unavailable when Romania come to the Stade de France at the beginning of October. The Bayern Munich playmaker received a three-match ban whilst the Manchester United left back will have to sit out internationals for the rest of the calendar having been handed a suspension for five games. It is these players along with Nicolas Anelka, Jeremy Toulalan and Eric Abidal that are believed to have been the main perpetrators in the revolt against outgoing national manager Raymond Domenech. Though the charges and sentences differ it appears to be the opinion of the French Football Federation that these five men in particular shoulder the blame for the dismal performance at the World Cup.
Do the punishments fit the crimes? Have these disciplinary actions meted out by the men upstairs shot the French national team in the foot? More importantly, how much more difficult have they made matters for new coach Laurent Blanc? Only time will tell. The former Bordeaux manager has already gone on record saying anything less than qualifying for the EUROs will see him resign admitting defeat. Irish fans will not want us to forget that Domenech’s side only reached South Africa by foul means, a fact reflected perhaps in Thierry Henry’s notable absence from the latest Gillette adverts. By hook or by crook France reached the greatest show on earth and then the Federation made its first mistake. They announced Blanc would succeed the longest serving manager of Les Bleus after the World Cup. Were Domenech a widely respected figure in the game this move would have been no problem, but as he wasn’t, isn’t and never shall be the news of the appointment of his successor was a gaffe most serious.
Why Blanc stepping into the hot seat had to be made public before the tournament is something I could not understand at the time and still it baffles me. The decision lacked common sense and so I believe the federation cannot point the finger at the players with an entirely clear conscience. Their own shortcomings now exposed that does not detract from the fact that the twenty-three failed to behave in a professional manner, but no matter how well the squad performed changes were going to occur before their friendly with Norway. In no sense am I trying to defend the actions of Anelka or the others but there is a combination of factors at work here.
Turning our attention to the man in charge, it is an understatement to say Domenech is a controversial figure. I will not pretend I know anywhere near as much about astrology as he does but it my view it has no relationship to or place in football. If we look beyond the reasoning behind his tactics at his achievements and measure him against the man who has replaced him then new light may be shed upon the manner in which he was and remains despised. As a player Domenech won the French Cup with both Lyon and Bordeaux, the French championship with Strasbourg and amassed eight caps for his country. Blanc on the other hand easily matches these achievements and can add the UEFA Cup Winners Cup from his time with Barcelona and a Premier League title whilst at Manchester United, not to mention nearly a century of France caps and a back-to-back World Cup and European Championship to boot. As managers although Domenech has guided Les Bleus to a World Cup final on his CV his club management credentials show no titles, no cups, nothing. The solitary silverware he has lifted is the Toulon Tournament whilst in charge of the French youth side, a glorified series of friendlies. Blanc won the Ligue 1 championship and French league cup in his second season in charge at Bordeaux and though he failed to defend either during the last campaign he is widely regarded as a talented and relatively young manager.
If you were a French footballer who would you respect more? The incoming hero who has translated success from the pitch to the dugout or the stargazer who believes those with a Leo rising can’t play in a 4-5-1? Domenech sadly was a victim of the talent that he helped to bring through to the national side from his days in the youth setup. They may have played for him in the Toulon and reached the 2002 European Youth Championship final but since going to the same stage in the 2006 World Cup France have been on a downward spiral. France had to work for their place in Austria/Switzerland famously losing 1-0 to Scotland and James McFadden’s strike in Paris. From there they finished bottom of their Group in the EUROs with a single point. In spite of his unpopularity and repeated failures the federation never sacked Domenech and these constituted opportunities to do so.
As I have already said the players themselves cannot be ignored either. Nicola Anelka’s eighteen match ban is not much of a loss. Whatever his good form and wherever he plays for Chelsea an international record of fourteen goals from sixty-nine games is nothing to write home about. Les Bleus have also lost record goalscorer Henry as he retired from internationals and is in effect semi-retired altogether plying his trade in the MLS for the New York Red Bulls. There is cover at left back for the suspended Evra, the likes of Arsenal’s Gael Clichy and Aly Cissokho will provide a similar service. These suspensions give Blanc the chance to blood some younger talent which is definitely a way forward for France.
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