France's #1 keeper tore knee ligaments today in a practice session and will be out for 4 months. This is difficult news for the 6 time French league champions,
they are heading into the season with a new manager, their back up keeper for 4 months, and a number of new faces to integrate.I think that Lyon will be okay without Coupet for the short term, more on that this week when I discuss the upcoming Ligue 1.
As for France, they have a very capable #2 in Landreau. They are heading into some difficult qualifiers - Italy and Scotland. Landreau has played a handful of games for the French but mainly against lesser opponents. These matches will be his first true highly competitive matches for Les Bleus. However, he has a long resume as a professional and has been very successful. He was one of the primary reasons PSG stayed in the top flight last season putting together some impressive games.
The positive is that Landreau will have time to prepare physically and mentally for the challenges ahead. What will be interesting is whether his performance against Italy and Scotland, assuming they are solid, will put into question the #1 spot for the French. Coupet is no spring chicken and Domenech has demonstrated he has no problem relegating Coupet to the bench (granted he did so by favoring an older Barthez). So let us hope that Landreau has some good matches and that France has the good problem of having 2 top national keepers.
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