World Cup 2010 : France

Our memories of World Cup 2010

FourFourTwo Team — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 10:42:00 GMT

Now the curtain has come down on the 2010 World Cup, we thought it would be nice to share our abiding memories of the tournament with you...

Gary Parkinson - Editor, FourFourTwo.com

Best game I'd love to say Slovakia v Italy, but I didn't see it: I was covering Paraguay 0-0 New Zealand. Of the 50-odd games I did see, perhaps the best story was the oddly enjoyable Germany-England match. History in the making, it was statistically quite an even game, packed with drama – That 'Goal', England's plucky semi-fightback, Germany's skilful assassination – and tactical intrigue. I took no pleasure from England's defeat, but I took plenty from Germany's performance.

Best goal The magnificence of its pointlessness only improves Quagliarella's chip as Italy crashed out. Sublime in thought and execution, especially as his team-mates had just let loose the chains on All Hell.   

Best moment Iker Casillas's tears as Iniesta & Co. celebrated the World Cup-winning goal. Having led from the back by almost single-handedly keeping four clean sheets in the knockout stages, the captain richly deserves the honours bestowed upon him.

Funniest moment Tempting to go for Rob Green's fumble – oh come on, it was hilarious - or Yakubu's miss. Or John Terry hurling himself in front of Slovenia's late shots like an Essex-sent missile. Or Heskey lumbering on to conquer the Germans. But that would be to ignore the comedic tour de force that was the French squad's refusal to train and Domenech's impromptu recital of a handwritten ransom note from his own players. Highlight: that coach's Fawltyesque throwing away of his FIFA accreditation as he stormed from the deserted field.

Biggest surprise Capello's v-sign to the media in playing a 4-4-2 (actually more like a 4-2-3-1 but let's not carp) against Slovenia. "Our sources have told us it'll be a diamond," said the crisp salesman. "I've told you, as your manager: You're playing on the left wing, son," said Capello to his captain.

Biggest disappointment Spain. Such abundance of talent and domination of possession should yield far more than four successive 1-0 wins in the knockouts. It worked for them, but it didn't do anything for me. This was a laboured World Cup win on a par with France in 1998, and although that side had Stephane Guivarc'h instead of David Villa, the new Barcelona man's five goals all came in matches where he'd started playing off the plainly unfit Torres - illustrating the great paradox at the heart of the clamour for 4-2-3-1: you need a superb, on-form line-leader, or you're going to struggle. Few in Spain might agree today, but a few in England need to bear it in mind while naming their No.9.

Player of the tournament It's much harder to argue with FIFA's choice of Diego Forlan than it is to argue with wazzocks who haven't seen him since his spell at Old Trafford. Some of those wazzocks hold down highly-paid jobs as alleged experts. They need to lose those jobs.  

Young player of the tournament Again, FIFA made the right call in ennobling Thomas Müller. Fast, accurate, savvy and adaptable, he epitomises the future of forward play.  

Lesson I’ve learned It's possible to get by without much sleep, as long as you have the support of a good family, both at home and at work.

Hugh Sleight - Editor in Chief, FourFourTwo

Best game Germany 4 England 1. Goals, drama, controversy, brilliance - it was a game with everything. Worth 12 hours in a coach to and from Joburg to see it. We'll still be talking about it in 40 years time when Sepp Blatter Jr again refuses to introduce goal-line technology.

Best goal Technically, Luis Suarez's curler was the best, but my favourite has to be the Shearer-at-Blackburn-esque effort from Asamoah Gyan against the US. Defenders bouncing off him like it was a cartoon, followed by an old-fashioned larrup.

Best moment Tshabala's opening game scorcher to assuage doubts that the hosts would get roundly stuffed in every game. And Michael Carrick's very respectable mum suddenly blasting out "I'm England til I die" against Germany.

Funniest moment France's disintegration. They made England's players look like wise old owls. At what point do you decide to sacrifice potentially your only shot at the World Cup because you don't really like that bloke over there because he's slightly younger/posher/less like Patrice Evra than you?

Biggest surprise Germany's football. Even accounting for never writing off the Germans, no one expected such irresistible football. Who knew that Holland were the new Germany and Germany the new Holland?

Biggest disappointment Rooney, Torres, Ronaldo and the other stuttering stars.

Player of the tournament Xavi. Throughout the tournament, all the talk was that Spain hadn't really played well. Jesus. If only England could not play well as well as that! At the heart of this truly great team are the smart feet and sharp brain of Xavi.

Young player of the tournament Vladimir Weiss looks about 12 but excelled for Slovakia, Thomas Muller and Mesut Ozil were both exceptional but I'm going for Gyan again (even though he's 24...). He led the line brilliantly. His great misfortune was that England didn't top their group and give him the chance to double his goal tally against ’JT and Upsy‘.

Lesson I've learned That an awful lot of players win 100 caps these days.

David Hall - Editor, FourFourTwo magazine

Best game Japan vs Paraguay. Just kidding. Ghana vs Uruguay had it all. It was football with heart and soul… and a bit of cheating. It had the lot.

Best goal The first one of the tournament scored by South Africa’s Siphiwe Tshabalala. Had the whole office out of their seats and buzzing about the start of the World Cup.

Best moment Wesley Sneijder running to a TV camera to celebrate his goal against Brazil. A big star with a bit or personality. That’s what we like.

Funniest moment Seeing France’s bizarre World Cup build up (kart racing, road cycling and mountain climbing anyone?) degenerate into a farcical sulk-off between players and management.

Biggest surprise Diego Maradona. Aside from the expected fractious comments aimed at everyone from the Argentine press to Bastian Schweinsteiger, he conducted himself with a level of decorum that I certainly didn’t expect. It was a shame. I thought he’d chin at least one FIFA official.

Biggest disappointment England. I had the dubious pleasure of attending England vs Algeria, the highlight of which was buying a vuvuzela. Yes, it was that bad.

Player of the tournament Wesley Sneijder. Coming off the back of a treble-winning season with Inter, tiredness didn’t appear to be an issue for the Dutchman who pretty much ran the show for Holland. Winter breaks or not, he had a long few months at the office and consistently delivered.

Young player of the tournament Mesut Ozil. We had identified him as one to watch long before the World Cup started and our prediction rang true. Silky skills, great vision and surprising turns of pace made him one of the most complete midfielders at the tournament.

Lesson I’ve learned To never again get excited about England’s chances going into a major tournament. My anticipation and disappointment were significantly heightened by becoming FourFourTwo’s editor in January of a World Cup year. It was a rollercoaster… mainly travelling downwards.

Gregg Davies - News Editor, FourFourTwo.com

Best game Slovakia 3-2 Italy. Fascinating final 15 minutes, in which the holders looked dead, buried and set to bow out with barely a whimper, only to rally out of nowhere and finish a single goal short of qualifying. Super-sub Kamil Kopunek scoring with his first ever touch at a World Cup finals and Fabio Quagliarella’s delightful late chip added to the late drama.

Best goal Okay, so it may not have been everybody's pick for goal of the tournament, but I really enjoyed Nicklas Bendtner’s leveller for Denmark against Cameroon. A simple but brilliant move from the back, featuring two inch-perfect deliveries from Simon Kjaer (diagonal 50-yard effort) and Dennis Rommedahl (pin-point square pass across the penalty area).

Best moment The last-gasp goalline madness between Ghana and Uruguay ending with Luis Suarez’s handball and Asamoah Gyan squandering the chance to rewrite African football history books from 12 yards.

Funniest moment It's difficult for it not to be the French, with a pair of shambolic performances against Mexico and South Africa sandwiching their laughable conduct off the pitch. Some solace for the Republic of Ireland, but not much.

Biggest surprise Brazil hitting the self-destruct button the one time they faced adversity in the tournament. Having cruised through to the quarters, Felipe Melo - sorry, Wesley Sneijder’s equaliser was all it took for the Samba Boys to lose both the plot and their heads.

Biggest disappointment Wayne Rooney, above the plethora of big names who didn’t dazzle. With a season behind him that had filled England fans with so much anticipation, the forward looked like a lost soul in South Africa, one shot against Slovenia that struck an upright aside.

Player of the tournament Without David Villa’s goals Spain wouldn’t have come close to going all the way. But my vote goes to Diego Forlan – carrying his team and his country through to the last four, and one of the few players to truly master the wretched Jabulani ball.

Young player of the tournament Thomas Müller. Two caps and no goals before tournament began. Now five goals in eight appearances, netting his fifth goal of the competition against Uruguay with only his sixth shot on target of the tournament. Badly missed against Spain in the semi-final.

Lesson I’ve learned Bet against Paul the octopus at your peril.

James Maw - Features Editor, FourFourTwo.com

Best game Holland’s quarter-final victory over Brazil had everything - some great football, some atrocious defending and three - count ‘em - THREE moment of madness from Felipe Melo which resulted in Ronaldo advising him via Twitter not to return to Brazil.

Best goal Having lost their opening match to Switzerland, Spain were labouring a tad in the opening stages of their second match against Honduras. That was until David Villa embarked on a powerful run down the Spanish left – cutting inside and beating three men using a combination of power and guile before working the ball onto his right foot and driving it into the top corner.

Best moment Slovakia’s victory over Italy will live long in the memory, and the highlight was undoubtledly Kamil Kopúnek’s 89th minute goal. It was his first ever touch of a football in a World Cup finals and earned his country their first ever finals win. Oh, and it knocked the reigning champions out…

Funniest moment Argentina’s Gabriel Heinze giving a television camera an almighty whack after inadvertently smashing his face into it moments before.

Biggest surprise Fabio Capello’s use of substitutes during the Germany match. The baffled look on the faces of everybody in the packed southwest London watering hole in which I watched the match when England’s biggest goal-threat Jermain Defoe was replaced by Emile Heskey was hilarious, yet telling.

Biggest disappointment The reaction to Luis Suarez’s last minute handball against Ghana (above). I felt the way so many fans and pundits were willing to just accept this blatant act of cheating as ‘part of the game’ and the popular insistence that ‘anybody would do it’ is a damning indictment on the modern game. If the punishment isn’t enough to dissuade the offence then the punishment isn’t severe enough. Bring back hanging, or failing that, just award a goal for blatant and deliberate handball on the goalline.

Player of the tournament Maybe I’m just being contrary, but I felt Bastian Schweinsteiger displayed a consistent level of subtle brilliance as Germany marched to third place. The way he was so willing to sacrifice himself for the team by playing in a more disciplined and withdrawn role than he plays at club level is worthy of high praise (Steven Gerrard take note).

Young player of the tournament I’m not sure you can look beyond Thomas Mueller. For a player of his age and relative inexperience to so quickly become an integral part of such an impressive football machine is not something you see often. His willingness to support both the fullback and centre forward set him apart from most attackers in the tournament.

Lesson I’ve learned That honking a vuvuzela at full blast in a small kitchen in an abandoned office building at gone 10 on a Friday evening will make a noise not dissimilar to those heard in Jurassic Park.

Chris Hunt - Journalist, FourFourTwo.com’s man in South Africa

Best game Germany 4-0 Argentina. Just to see the look on Maradona’s face at the press conference afterwards. He just didn’t see it coming and he still has no idea why it happened.

Best goal For the emotion and for the occasion, it would have to be the first goal of the World Cup. Hammered into the net by Siphiwe Tshabalala, it gave South Africa an unexpected lead over Mexico in the opening game. The crowd went crazy and anyone who was in the stadium at the time won’t forget the experience.

Best moment Frank Lampard’s goal against Germany – well, it was my best moment when he scored it and my worst when the referee continued to play the game without reaching for his whistle.

Funniest moment When Joan Capdevila went down like an extremely heavy saco de patatas, it was Portuguese defender Costa who took the rap, but the TV replays showed a foot of clear air between to the two players, leading fans around the world to believe that it may have been the work of the ‘elbow of god’.

Biggest surprise The form of the Germans from their opening game even surprised the majority of their fans in South Africa, who had been conned into thinking they were crap by Joachim Löw. It’s just a shame this brilliant young team didn’t show up when it really mattered against Spain. It promised to be the game of the tournament but ended up an intriguing game of cat and mouse.

Biggest disappointment The performance of the French, who even managed to give those past masters of infighting, the Dutch, a lesson in how to destroy your team’s chances from the inside.

Player of the tournament A hard call as several players have unexpectedly shone at this World Cup, but I would say Arjen Robben. He may have missed the opening games, but along with Wesley Sneijder he has been a constant danger and the inspiration behind Holland’s charge to the World Cup final.

Young player of the tournament Pivotal in Germany’s run through the tournament, my vote would go to Mesut Ozil.

Lesson I’ve learned That the Dutch have reached the final of the World Cup wearing Nike shirts made from recycled plastic bottles. Apparently it takes eight bottles to make each shirt. Imagine what Johan Cruyff could have done with a shirt made from plastic bottles – although he probably would have demanded one with a different sponsor’s logo on it!

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Mutinous black sheep taint French flock

James Horncastle — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:52:00 GMT

It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon outside the sleepy town of Knysna and amidst the rolling hills that distinguish the countryside of the Western Cape, a solitary bus is parked, its curtains drawn, its engine turned off.

The slogan written across its windows, “All together for a new dream in blue”, mocking those inside who had just staged arguably the most notorious mutiny in World Cup history.

Minutes earlier, the French team had shocked 250 assembled journalists by announcing their intention not to train and to instead go on strike in protest at the treatment of Nicolas Anelka.

The disgraced Chelsea forward had been sent home the night before after he apparently refused to apologise for telling Raymond Domenech to “Go f**k yourself, you son of a whore” during the interval of France’s now infamous game against Mexico on Thursday night.

Anelka’s foul-mouthed tirade had somehow found its way out of the dressing room and onto the desk of French newspaper L’Équipe, who used it as their front-page splash on Saturday morning, throwing another bone of contention to an already divided pack of players.

Domenech’s mother was even quoted as saying: “I’d like to meet Monsieur Anelka and give him a piece of my mind.” However, despite a survey showing that 81.3% of people agreed with the French Football Federation’s decision to send Anelka home, the team predictably had another Bête Noir.

“France’s problem is not Anelka, but the traitor among us,” said a menacing-looking Patrice Evra. “We must eliminate the traitor from the group because he wants to hurt the team.” Initially, it looked as if Evra had found his traitor on Sunday when Raymond Domenech had to separate him from France’s fitness coach Robert Duverne, who stormed off into the distance, only stopping to throw his whistle and accreditation badge into the bushes with Gallic aplomb.

The pair would later deny the claims with Duverne going so far as to say: “I am of Italian origin, I speak with my hands, and if I got carried away, it’s because I wanted to convince them to train, because I am obsessed with the idea of beating South Africa 4-0.”

Meanwhile, the squad retired to the bus for crisis talks. A sheepish-looking Domenech emerged soon enough with a statement from the players scribbled on a piece of paper, which they forced him to read, leading sections of the French press to liken him to a pitiful hostage.

In their statement, the players laid out three points: 1) they affirmed their opposition to the decision taken to exclude Nicolas Anelka 2) they expressed their regret that the incident had been divulged to the media and 3) they added that at no point had the French Football Federation tried to protect the squad.

France’s team director Jean-Louis Valentin took the dignified and widely praised step of resigning in the hope that it would set an example for others to follow. “I’m sickened and disgusted,” he said before heading back to the hotel to pack his bags.

Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, even felt compelled to ask his Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot to meet Evra, Domenech and the President of the French Football Federation, Jean-Pierre Escalettes, to call for “dignity and responsibility”.

The charismatic former Marseille boss Rolland Courbis greeted the turn to diplomacy with derision. “Without realising it the herd that is the French team has been tainted by two or three black sheep and these sheep influence the group,” he laughed. “Maybe Bachelot will find vaccines to fight against these black sheep.”

So who are the black sheep? Just weeks after being handed the captaincy, Evra hasn’t be able to put a foot right. Monday’s L’Équipe accused him of “confusing the captaincy of the French team with that of a team of boy scouts”, sometimes acting like a “gang leader” and “showing neither the dimension, the charisma, the standard or the stature to wear the armband.”

Instead of acting with a cool head after the Anelka debacle and respecting the Federation’s decision like his predecessors had done, the Manchester United full-back went on a vendetta, looking for a mole, which only served to increase the paranoia within the camp.

His somewhat surprising appointment also caused notable disruption within a squad that was selected under the misguided assumption that egos would be put to one side. Feeling snubbed, William Gallas inexplicably called a press silence and even gave Téléfoot journalist David Astorga the bird after Friday’s match against Mexico.

Franck Ribéry also had some explaining to do amid reports that he had a fight with Yoann Gourcuff on the plane and even got him off the team. The Bayern Munich winger arrived for an impromptu chat with Téléfoot just hours after the players’ strike and his eyes appeared to fill with tears as he defended himself: “When I see certain journalists on TV talking about me as if I am a school bully, I’m hurt. I’m not like that as a person,” he said. Even so, Ribéry’s very public campaign to play in his preferred position on the left when the balance of team would have been better served with him on the right, suggests otherwise.

The usually sphinx-like Zinedine Zidane had a blatant pop at both of them yesterday. “I didn’t agree with their decision not to participate in training,” he said. “When I was a player I never gave my opinion on the composition of the team. Sure, I was the captain, but I had a coach above me and I respected that. I followed the rules and that’s how it should be. We will remember two things about this World Cup: the winner’s name and the fact that the French team refused to train for their match against South Africa.”

Zidane should know of course, having provided arguably the most memorable moment from the last World Cup. Ultimately, though, the buck must stop with Domenech, whose methods have come under so much fire that by now they’re shot to pieces.

Shortly after mocking him as the French team’s new press attaché, L’Équipe wrote: “Raymond Domenech is at the bottom of the hole that he created. On a sporting and a media-related level, he is the origin of the greatest fiasco in the history of the French team.”

France were back in training yesterday wearing the scars of Sunday’s strike on their kit, which had disastrously lost four of its major sponsors. The suits at Crédit Agricole and Carrefour obviously agree with Domenech’s latest assessment of the strike as “unspeakably stupid.”

Nevertheless, Les Bleus can still qualify for the second round if they beat South Africa by a big scoreline tonight although they are dependant on Uruguay and Mexico not recording a draw. However, some are already looking to after the World Cup. “Laurent Blanc’s got a huge job to do,” said Paris-Saint Germain midfielder Claude Makélélé.

Luckily Le Président appears up for the challenge. When asked to comment on reports that he turned down Inter Milan yesterday, Blanc said: “I’d rather rebuild a side that can’t get any worse than manage one that can’t get any better.”

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Why Domenech is right – and Henry isn’t

Paul Simpson — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 09:33:00 GMT

Let’s start with an easy question: is Raymond Domenech bonkers?

Most of us – on the evidence of his allegedly astrological approach to team selection, the way he sometimes seems to be smiling at a private joke while havoc reigns on the pitch in front of him, and the fact that his reaction to national disaster at Euro 2008 was to propose live on TV to his girlfriend – would probably conclude that he is, as they say in the north country, as barmy as a sack of badgers.

But let’s ask a trickier question: even if Domenech is bonkers, does that mean he is always wrong? The answer to which is err, actually, no.

Domenech is the man of the tournament; the eye of a hurricane that will only abate when les bleus are knocked out; the grassy knoll around which countless conspiracy theories rage; the theatrical student who has inspired one of the World Cup’s greatest melodramatic farces, a production which pundit Jean-Michel Larque, only partially motivated by a desire to promote his new book on France’s outgoing coach, says le foot will take years to recover from.

Domenech’s infamy back home is such, Larque suggests, that some amateur players have given up the game. Surely, if they’re that easily swayed, French football is better off without them?

And yet in the matter of Domenech v Henry, I agree with the coach. Henry’s internal exile to the bench seemed to be the spark that ignited the discontent that has simmered among the players throughout Domenech’s reign. And Henry’s omission has baffled many British pundits who subscribe to Alan Hansen’s theory that “form is temporary, class is permanent”.

The ugly truth is that class isn’t permanent – not in the competitive sense. Even great players decline. And the evidence of Henry’s decline is stark. His major contribution to France’s qualifying campaign was to give journalists, pundits and commentators grounds to indulge in a frankly inexcusable number of “helping hand” gags.

Last season, Henry started 19 games for Barcelona – he featured in nine others as a sub – scored four goals and racked up 12 assists. In 319 minutes in the UEFA Champions League, Henry couldn’t score, but then he only had one shot on goal.

Although publicly Pep Guardiola defended Henry, by February the French striker was behind Iniesta, Pedro and Bojan in the team selection. In March, the Barcelona coach warned Henry in public: “I need him to have the same ambition that made him the best over many years.” The striker tried to deflect talk that his legs were gone by blaming knee injuries but it was, as Guardiola hinted, his spirit that troubled many supporters at Camp Nou.

Karim Benzema – like poor excluded Robert Pires – is a Scorpio and didn’t make Domenech’s squad. With Benzema out (and out of form), not taking France’s record goalscorer to this World Cup would have been politically impossible but, given free rein, Domenech might have wanted to be so bold. And that may, actually, have been the right move.

It’s not as if we haven’t been here before. When he’s out of sorts, Henry can lower morale faster than a British Airways boss. In 2006/07, Henry was the sulky underperforming skipper in a dysfunctional Arsenal side that finished 21 points behind champions Manchester United.

In 2010, his marginalisation seems (and we can’t be certain because the unravelling of this French squad is, like Rashomon, a tale that differs dramatically according to the identity of the teller) to have been a catalyst for insurrection, revolution and hissy fits.

With the anarchy in the French camp, I wouldn’t be surprised if Henry plays tonight. The team against Mexico smacked of desperate political compromise: Yoann Gourcuff, arguably the best creator in the team, omitted so that Franck Ribery could not just play in the hole but disappear into it.

For all the good he’s done for football in a long and memorable career, I hope Henry scores a hat-trick against South Africa. And then does himself and France a huge favour by announcing his retirement from international football.

Until then I would suggest Henry consider the words of the great Italian striker Luigi Riva who is still revered for his courage, skill and discretion: “In a World Cup, the greatest are those who can go on the bench without breathing a word”.

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Why frustrated Anelka is firing blanks

James Horncastle — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:55:00 GMT

A month after Aimé Jacquet decided against including a precocious young Nicolas Anelka in his final squad for the 1998 World Cup, L’Équipe went to visit the then Arsenal striker in Trappes, the town just half an hour outside of Paris he calls home.

They found him watching France’s second round match against Paraguay, which had the entire nation on the edge of its seat. The game went to extra-time and was ultimately decided by a strike in the 113^th minute from Le Président himself, Laurent Blanc.

When asked if he would like to have been a part of it, an indifferent looking Anelka apparently replied: “It’s not that I don’t care about Les Bleus, but, at some point, you have to say stop. Otherwise you spend your life in front of the TV.” Anelka was just 19.

Four years later in 2002, an unconvincing spell on loan at Liverpool meant he was overlooked again despite performing well at the European Championship in Holland and Belgium. When Jacques Santini called Anelka up to replace the injured Sidney Govou in November, he point-blank refused, saying that he didn’t want to be ‘a stop-gap’. Anelka later demanded that Santini “get on his knees and apologise.”

His international career already appeared to be over and under Raymond Domenech it didn’t look like being resurrected as Anelka was ignored again in 2006. “I will not watch the World Cup,” he grumbled. “I feel Domenech called me back just so I could show my potential. I even scored. I think that right from the start, he had no intention of taking me on board anyway. I deserved a place.”

However, since November last year when he scored the winning goal in the first leg of France’s controversial play-off against the Republic of Ireland, Anelka has become a pillar of Domenech’s side. In fact, if he plays tonight, Anelka will set a personal record of starting eight consecutive matches for Les Bleus.

Nevertheless, his troubled history with France means the 31-year-old’s commitment still frequently comes into question. Wednesday’s L’Équipe even inquired whether Anelka really considers this summer’s World Cup in South Africa to be the pinnacle of his career, it of course being his first.

If Anelka does consider it to be so, why then is he having so much trouble working for the team as a lone central striker in both a 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1 formation? In each of France’s last four matches, Anelka has persistently dropped back into midfield to find the ball instead of maintaining his position and acting as the reference point for the attack as both systems clearly demand.

It’s the sort of role David Trezeguet excelled in; often disappearing, not playing any part in the build up, just being there when the move needed finishing. But Anelka, out of a need to touch the ball and feel included, can’t or maybe won’t make it work. The net result: he hasn’t recorded any shots on target in his last four matches and Les Bleus are struggling for goals.

“A centre-forward must call for the ball to be played deep and get on the end of crosses like Miroslav Klose did on Philipp Lahm’s ball for Germany’s second goal against Australia,” explained Bixente Lizarazu, left back of the great side of 1998 and 2000.

“Anelka does what he wants. He does what he likes. He will play the same match in whatever position you put him. If you put him at right-back, he would still play as a false nine.”

Statistics from France’s opening game against Uruguay last Friday show that Anelka received the ball just once in the opposition penalty area, but collected it 13 times around the half-way line. Luis Fernandez, his former coach at Paris-Saint Germain, claims this is indicative of the fact Anelka has never liked playing on his own up front.

“He grows frustrated very quickly in this position and rapidly ‘unhooks’ himself from the attack to find the ball. In Paris, with Jean-Louis Gasset, they were always saying to him: ‘Call out to the wings for the ball, then move, and ask for it in the box’. He didn’t want to. He always wanted to touch the ball.” Anelka’s apparent reluctance to play any other way supposedly led one former France manager to believe he didn’t like football at the highest level because of its emphasis on executing tactics to the letter, restricting his freedom of expression.

However, as Roger Lemerre’s former assistant René Girard countered: “It’s difficult to say that a player who is a regular at Chelsea with an Italian coach doesn’t like constraints.” World Cup winner Christophe Dugarry also believes Anelka has no problem playing as a lone striker, as he used to do everything required of him in that role when Zinedine Zidane asked him to do so; the implication being that there currently isn’t an authority figure within the French camp.

Of course, all the blame for France’s problems up front shouldn’t be left squarely on Anelka’s shoulders, even if his record at international level stands at only one goal every 300 minutes. Domenech has lined up seven different attacks in his last 12 matches, preventing his strikers from developing an understanding of each other’s movements and responsibilities.

It’s likely to be different again tonight against Mexico even though Domenech will persist with the 4-2-3-1 he used against Uruguay. Thierry Henry looks set to return to the starting XI as France’s central striker, but Anelka won’t be dropped. Instead, he’ll move to the right-hand side where he featured regularly during qualifying, taking the place of Sidney Govou

Anelka’s Chelsea team-mate Florent Malouda is certain to be back after his spat with Domenech last week. He will play on the left-hand side, meaning Franck Ribéry moves into the hole behind Henry at the expense of Yoann Gourcuff, undoubtedly the biggest casualty of France’s recent travails.

Expected France line-up (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Sagna, Gallas, Abidal, Evra; Toulalan, Diaby; Anelka, Ribéry, Malouda; Henry.

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Why France might change for Diaby

James Horncastle — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 09:00:00 GMT

Abou Diaby has been compared with Patrick Vieira ever since he joined Arsenal four years ago. The similarities were there for the laziest of observers to notice: their club, position, lanky gait, marauding runs and ability to recover the ball like a diver looking for pearls.

Like Vieira in 1998, Diaby looked as if he would be going to his first World Cup as a substitute. However, his last three performances from the bench against Costa Rica, Tunisia and China have been so pulsating and full of drive that they have led to calls for him to be given a starting berth.

Almost 90 per cent of L’Équipe readers feel he deserves such a chance, crowning the appraisal Arsène Wenger gave in February that his protégé is “going step-by-step higher and higher.” Diaby made 40 appearances for Arsenal this season, the most since his transfer from Auxerre in 2006, and also scored seven important goals.

The physical frailties that marred his first three years in England, the nadir being a fractured and dislocated ankle that required three operations, finally appear to be behind him. “I'm a lot more rigorous in the physical sector and less lax in training,” Diaby admitted last month.

The 24-year-old has always been a prodigious talent. He started his career as a No.10, but found competition from Hatem Ben Arfa at the National Institute of Football [INF] in Clairefontaine, which may have contributed to a much-scrutinised scrap.

Rush of young blood: click to watch

Diaby was moved deeper, but the experience helped him. Claude Dusseau, his mentor at the INF, said: “It’s simple. Abou is the hybrid player par excellence. At the INF I made him play on the right. Abou didn’t like it at all.

"Yet he went on his merry way without a fuss or any soul-searching. It was at that moment that he became conscious of his qualities. He then progressed at a crazy speed.”

Guy Roux, his former coach at Auxerre who had Diaby for just 10 games in Ligue 1 before Arsenal came calling, naturally agreed with Dusseau. “He’s the kind of player that catches the eye of football experts straight away. It’s not something you can explain, it’s like being drawn to the charms of a beautiful woman.”

Former Arsenal team-mate Kolo Toure has a less flattering nickname for Diaby, calling him ‘The Spider’ because he spins his web all over the pitch.

The question for Raymond Domenech is whether the rise in Diaby’s stock will be enough to force a change in his plans. Diaby came on for Malouda on Friday night, playing on the left of midfield in France’s much-discussed 4-3-3.

If he were to start there, Domenech would move Malouda to the left-hand side of France’s attack and face the unenviable task of asking Franck Ribéry to swap flanks and play on the right, something the Bayern Munich star has complained about in the past.

The second option, advocated by former Nantes boss Raynald Denoueix, isn’t exactly palatable either, as it involves dropping Yoann Gourcuff. “I would rather see Gourcuff replaced,” he said, “because the Evra-Malouda- Ribéry triangle works well.”

However, what Denoueix ignores is that the triangle often gets congested and renders France more predictable, whatever the individual talent available on that side of the pitch.

Domenech could yet change the system, like he did four years ago when he swapped a 4-4-2 for a 4-2-3-1 on the eve of the finals because of Djibril Cissé’s injury against China. However, too many chops and changes could leave France at risk of death by a thousand cuts.

“Domenech mustn’t change the system,” insists Christophe Dugarry, who believes that the experimentation should have started two years ago and not two weeks before the World Cup.

Naturally the best person to ask about Diaby and his place in France’s team was Vieira. Speaking to Canal +, the Manchester City midfielder went with option No.1. “For the good of the French team, I think that Ribéry must sacrifice himself and play on the right because it’s the team that should come first and it’s the team that benefits from the change.”

That would mean dropping Sidney Govou, who has operated as a first defender protecting Bacary Sagna rather than offering anything in attack – which is partly to blame for the imbalance between the left and right going forward.

Diaby’s reputation as a “hybrid midfielder par excellence” would bring steel and silk to the midfield; Gourcuff would benefit from having another player with defensive qualities beside him, but he wouldn’t lose one who’s technically gifted in the final third either, as Diaby’s assist against Costa Rica showed.

The remaining training sessions will reveal whether Domenech intends to make the change. Diaby’s inclusion would be welcome against Uruguay on Friday, but as his former mentor Dusseau says: “He alone can’t revolutionise the team’s play. He needs to be given time.”

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Group A: France

FourFourTwo Team — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:41:00 GMT

Winners in 1998, finalists in 2006 - but as Jean-Claude Malet explains, the French aren't fancied by many this time...

It’s hard to remember a time when fans, pundits and former players were so down on the national team.

A mediocre qualifying campaign which saw Les Bleus having to rely on that handball by Thierry Henry to get past the luckless Irish in the play-offs, coming off the back of a desperately poor showing at Euro 2008, has most French pundits rating the team’s chances of bringing the Jules Rimet trophy back to its spiritual home at somewhere between slim and none.

Disenchantment with the class of 2010 erupted at the March friendly against Spain, at the same Stade de France where 12 years earlier Zinedine Zidane inspired the greatest night in the national team’s history. As France got the runaround from Xavi & Co, the Paris crowd were merciless in their booing - not only of coach Raymond Domenech, the habitual butt of public dissatisfaction, but of a team who seemed to lack any coherence.

Not even Franck Ribery, the man closest to assuming Zidane-style levels of popularity in the current side, was spared the abuse.

The last eight of the Champions League featured more players from France than from any other nation, but there is a total failure to translate that individual quality into a coherent framework.

Jogging the memory: the current crop run from the past

“This team can’t play together,” argues Emmanuel Petit, just one of the veterans of France 98 whose criticisms of the current set-up have rankled with some of their modern-day successors. “When you see the individuals with their clubs, there is a world of difference with what they achieve in the French shirt.”

He’s got a point. The only position not currently under scrutiny is goalkeeper, thanks to the excellence of the now undisputed No.1 Hugo Lloris.

In attack, Henry looks a fading force, his wide-left place under threat from Ribery’s insistence that that is his best position - not that the Bayern Munich man has been on top of his game of late, what with certain events off the field proving a distraction.

Meanwhile, Karim Benzema has faced such a struggle to justify his reputation since moving to Madrid that Domenech has preferred to hand Djibril Cisse an international recall after two years.

The defence is also unconvincing. Philippe Mexes, the man once supposed to be the next Laurent Blanc, has been unable to get a game and missed the cut. No one in the current side carries the authority of Blanc or Didier Deschamps, men capable of willing the team to get over the line.

In one respect – the creation of an ‘us against the world’ mentality within the camp – Domenech appears to have been successful. There are parallels here with ’98, when few rated Aime Jacquet’s chances of lifting the prize beforehand. But set that against the poverty of recent displays, and the prospects of a repeat performance 12 years on seem at best debatable.

"Please be good, Franck." "What do you mean?"

Strengths
Given France’s aforementioned representation in the latter stages of the Champions League, surely there have to be 23 players good enough to do a job at the World Cup finals? On paper at least, the team look as good as just about anyone.

In Hugo Lloris, they have perhaps the outstanding young goalkeeper in world football, and if Yoann Gourcuff starts to play for France like he does for Bordeaux, comparisons with Zidane won’t seem so far-fetched. Meanwhile, for one reason and another Ribery hasn't played too much football this season, and might well arrive in South Africa in good nick.

Weaknesses
The current team simply does not add up to the sum of its parts. There is a complete lack of confidence, and the better players are either past their best or have spent too long on the treatment table. And with nobody replacing the fading Henry as a key influence, who will get the goals?

Henry is not a natural captain, and neither of the two Diarras or Toulalan have yet acquired the stature of a Didier Deschamps in the middle. Perhaps most pertinently of all, coach Domenech has yet to reveal an ability to shuffle his pack or deliver the telling substitution or tactical switch to turn a situation around.

The Coach: Raymond Domenech
Domenech, a feisty defender as a player, is quite probably the only Frenchman more unpopular than Nicolas Sarkozy right now. Who can forget his cringe-making proposal of marriage to his girlfriend moments after France’s pathetic elimination at Euro 2008?

More substantially, the charge against him is that, despite the playing riches at his disposal, his team continue to deliver sub-standard performances. Domenech continues to insist everything will be fine once the action starts in South Africa, and let’s not forget that without that infamous Zidane headbutt in the last final, chances are he’d be going into these finals defending the trophy.

Key Man: Franck Ribery
The most popular French footballer since Zidane retired, the little dynamo has had an indifferent season by his standards, and will know that these finals offer him his best chance to make his reputation truly global.

Probable Team (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Sagna, Gallas, Abidal, Evra; Lassana Diarra, Toulalan; Ribery, Gourcuff, Henry; Anelka

World Cup Talentspotter: More details on the players
INTERVIEW: Yoann Gourcuff on Zidane, South Africa and Domenech
Q&A: FFT interviews a player from every nation

Fixtures
Uruguay June 11, 7.30pm, Cape Town
Mexico June 17, 7.30pm, Polokwane
South Africa, June 22, 3pm, Manguang/Bloemfontein

Qualified Via play-off after finishing runners-up in UEFA Group 7
Austria (A) 1-3
Serbia (H) 2-1
Romania (A) 2-2
Lithuania (A) 1-0
Lithuania (H) 1-0
Faroe Islands (A) 1-0
Romania (H) 1-1
Serbia (A) 1-1
Faroe Islands (H) 5-0
Austria (H) 3-1
Play-off
Republic of Ireland (A) 1-0
Republic of Ireland (H) 1-1

World Cup record
1930 1st Round
1934 1st Round
1938 Quarter-Final
1954 1st Round
1958 Semi-Final
1966 1st Round
1978 1st Round
1982 Semi-Final
1986 Semi-Final
1998 Winners
2002 1st Round
2006 Runners up

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Watching the Cup with the Europeans

Jarek Zaba — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:49:00 GMT

It was just a few weeks ago that I felt we’d officially crossed the line into the ‘World Cup Zone’.

By this, I mean the period of the year in which if you don’t hear the words ‘World Cup’, or a variation thereof, over the course of a day, you either live an admirably sheltered life or you come from one of those weird countries where they pretend it’s not happening, like Scotland.

Admittedly, we entered into the ‘pre-game’ a long time ago. It feels like it was at least 18 months ago that Ian Wright and his fellow Cockney tabloid harbingers of doom were imparting on us sage wisdom along the lines of "If Rooney plays, we’ve got a chance for sure" and "If you don’t think England are gonna win it, what the hell you watching for?!"

For me, the first signs we were entering into 'WCZ' proper was when Pepsi decided to unleash the improbably rapid voice of Thierry Henry – 'canwegetzepepsimax?' – in the latest attempt to ensure that the Loads Of Footballers Playing Football In An Usual Environment genre of advertising remained.

This has become a cornerstone of any major tournament since the Brazil boys of ‘98 larked about in an airport, with ‘hilarious consequences’.

But the final confirmation that the relentless ultra-marketing of the game we love had hit full throttle was when Carlsberg rolled out its full minute and a half of stomach turning In-ger-land jingoism, complete with all your favourite sporting icons (and that bloke from Kasabian) and probably the best cliche-ridden ‘inspirational’ team talk in the world –Sir Bobby would undoubtedly be proud to see his image exploited for such a noble cause...

Enough to make Clarkson mess his 20-year-old blue jeans...

The World Cup’s sudden saturation of the nation’s televised advertising made me realise that I still had a great deal of planning to do.

For once the tournament itself begins, I will be avoiding all talk of WAGs, the dulcet tones of Venables and the inevitable furore created by the ‘it’s political correctness gone mad’ brigade, as they pretend other people are repressing them by being offended by England shirts the flag of St George. Instead, I will be sampling firsthand how the greatest sporting tournament on Earth is enjoyed elsewhere across the globe.

Unfortunately, logistical and financial restrictions dictate that a trip to the Ivory Coast, Honduras or Japan just wasn’t possible, so instead I will be concentrating my efforts on Europe.

To be precise, I will be taking in, across their bars, cafes and public squares, at least one match of the respective national teams in Greece, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, Holland and most probably Spain and Portugal. Sorry Danes, if there are any of you reading – Denmark is just in too awkward a place on the map.

My method of transport will be an Interrail global monthly pass, my mission to simply to have an adventure and learn a few things while I’m at it. Granted when most people go travelling they go to learn a few things about culture, art and ‘themselves’, but frankly I’m more interested in learning about how the Serbs remember Savo Milosevic.

I’d like to know if any other countries beside ourselves have a media possessed with a bizarre compulsion to stick the boot into their national side at any given opportunity, and whether anyone outside of our country rates England’s chances in South Africa – or whether, as I suspect, they reply in a Pele-like manner to that line of questioning.

As far as backpacking plans go, this particular jaunt is generally met with one of two reactions when I share it among my peers. Those who like the game, or at least have an appreciation for the World Cup and its effect upon a country, generally give it the thumbs up, knowing full well that if I was ever destined to travel, I was probably destined to travel from bar to bar watching a bunch of millionaires kick a ball around.

It's unlikely we'll see scenes like these in Trafalgar Square...

Those who have nothing but disdain for football, however, and deplore its effect upon the TV schedule, tend to react with bemusement, perplexed at how something as arbitrary as a fixture list can dictate what otherwise would have been a lovely month in Europe.

Frankly, I’m thankful for the fixture list – it has essentially done all the planning for me. Up to a week beforehand, I will still have no idea where I shall be spending 2nd July onwards – I will just be getting on the train towards whichever countries are left in it. Essentially, it is glory hunting on its most literal terms - a leech upon other nations’ success, hoping to suck on all the joy of quarter and semi final victories almost as if they were England’s.

Don’t think I’ve forgotten little old England however. In my head I’ve already calculated a series of scenarios ranging from the ‘Complete Catastrophe’ worst case scenario - losing my passport and wallet on the first day or getting arrested for not bribing a Serbian bobby - all the way to what I call the ‘Icing on the Cake’ scenario. This would involve each and every team I go and watch winning their games in style, creating a carnival mood wherever I tread.

In between those extremes, I’ve considered a series of events which would essentially satisfy most of my desires – an entertaining incident-packed tournament, friendly and passionate natives and table-topping success for my fantasy football side, David Cameroon.

But the vast unpredictability of it all only entices me further. Considering I’ve barely done so much as cross the Channel without a parent or schoolteacher alongside me, I figured it makes sense to start my trip in the one country on my hitlist with an entirely different alphabet, mired in a savage economic crisis which has already turned violent and whose football fans have a reputation for nothing short of volatility.

To Thessaloniki, Greece it is then (on British Airways no less – my flight is currently outside of the strike period by about six hours). Should anyone reading be based in these cities (see full schedule below), or know some friendly football loving English speakers who are – or if you just know these countries well and wish to recommend the best places to watch World Cup matches - it would be grand to hear from you, as I seek to put together a network of continental contacts.

Not because I fear for my safety, more that I fear the ‘don’t quite know anyone at this party’ feeling...

So by all means get in touch, and not just if you are of tangible use to me. I’m happy to hear suggestions on things you’d like from this blog – photos or souvenirs you feel I should obtain, questions you want answered by the locals, any quirky challenges you want to set me.

'Who do you think you are kidding Mr Blatter...'

Full itinerary:

10th June - 12th June: Thessaloniki, Greece.
(GREECE v S Korea; 13:30, 12.6.10)

13th-14th: Belgrade, Serbia.
(SERBIA v Ghana; 16:00, 13.6.10)

14th-17th: Bratislava, Slovakia....
(SLOVAKIA v New Zealand; 13:30, 15.6.10)

17th-19th: Ljubljana, Slovenia.
(SLOVENIA v Usa; 16:00, 18.6.10)

19th-21st: Bologna, Italy.
(ITALY v New Zealand; 16:00, 20.6.10)

21st-22nd: Zurich, Switzerland.
(SWITZERLAND v Chile; 16:00, 21.6.10)

22nd-23rd: Strasbourg, France
(FRANCE v South Africa; 16:00, 22.6.10)

23rd-24th: Munich, Germany
(GERMANY v Ghana; 20:30, 23.6.10)

24th-29th: Amsterdam, Holland
(HOLLAND v Cameroon; 20:30, 24.6.10)

29th: Madrid, Spain (Unconfirmed)  Spain likely to play in 2nd Round at 20:30

2nd/3rd July: Remaining European Quarter Finalists

6th/7th July: Remaining European Semi Finalists

11th July: Remaining European Finalist

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