Welcome to the "Frog," my little piece of cyberspace to talk about my passion - le foot (or soccer for my North American friends) especially anything around French football. Of course I will have some guest contributors that might want to discuss other aspects of footy!
I support Les Bleus, Arsenal and PSG but really just love watching, analyzing and following the beautiful game.
"You have to trust your teammates, always. If not we are lost."
So our good friend Domenech is slowly emerging from his shell and addressing some of the topics that have dogged him since that fateful day in South Africa where Les Bleus dropped a final game to the hosts. For the interview on L'Express click here. Overall he, no surprise, refuses to take on too much responsibility for the disaster that was the World Cup. He does call out his players for being spoiled brats for refusing to practice. What is surprising, is his admission that maybe he should have resigned or been sacked after the Euro 2008 fiasco - 1 draw versus Romania and 2 losses against Holland and Italy - that was the famous tournament where he decided to propose to his girlfriend at the end of the Italy match.
«Avec le recul, effectivement, je me dis: "Pourquoi n'as-tu pas démissionné?" Tout était faussé. J'ai manqué de lucidité. Je me demande même pourquoi personne ne m'a obligé à démissionner.»
With hingsight I told myself 'why didn't I resign?" Everything was wrong. I was missing some clarity. I even asked myself why didn't anyone force me to resign.
Sigh, in hindsight I also wish he has left in 2008, maybe the trip to South Africa could have been a little more than an exercise in ineptitude. I guess not being a moron means one can be honest about one's past...first step to recovery is admitting a problem! Better late than never.
So we have had month of international football, I must admit it has been great to have 2 games of footy to watch (during the group stages) and some great matches during the knock out stages. It was a good World Cup - not great - more on this later. There have been some questionable referee decisions, some great goals, terrible goalkeeping, overrated nations, soap operas and lots of footy!
First congratulations to...Espana. They will be able to add a star to their kit and have removed the 800lb gorilla completely off their backs, they started doing so 2 years ago when they beat Germany for the European championship title. I must admit I felt it was a little distasteful to have Spain don their red kits with a star already emblazon over the national crest, even before receiving the trophy. However Spain has been the best football nation over the past 3 years and deserve to hoist the trophy.
So here are some thoughts on the tournament:
The Good:
Espana, first time winner: Spain started off looking a little shaky losing to the Swiss 1-0 in the opening game. They never really got into their top gear the entire tournament winning all their knock out matches 1-0 and seemingly were not able to show off the finishing and domination that we have become used to from La Furia Roja. They beat the Dutch by the same score after having to go into extra time. The finals was not a
masterpiece to say the least, but Espana did what they needed. Clearly they missed a healthy Torres, maybe they would have been more dominating had the Liverpool player been healthy and contributed. Spain also missed numerous chances in the finals - Ramos 2 clear headers one was well saved by Stekelenburg the second one was a horrific miss from a point blank position. Cesc missed on a break in extra time, Iniesta missed a chance when he refused to try and take a left footed shot and Villa missed from close in the first half. Granted Robben missed two clear break aways, the second of which was in the dying moments of the match he clearly was held by Puyol, Webb did allow the play to go on since Robben had the advantage. Robben could have gone to ground, surprisingly he did not! He took his chances and Casillas made a wonderful save anticipating that Robben would cut right (to the keeper's left). However, they did what was necessary and on a great pass from Cesc, Iniesta calmly volleyed a bouncing ball into the back of the net. Congrats to Espana, they are deserved winners. I know my friend Jose is finally breathing a sigh of relief!
Well hosted first tournament on the African continent. While there were some glitches, more on that later, overall the tournament went off without any major hitches. After a few nervy months when many thought that South Africa might not be able to get all the infrastructure in place the pulled it off admirably. Even the host team showed well for themselves, could have won their first match and easily handled France in their last game. Good job.
Good youth showcased - players such as Gyan, Ayew, Mueller, Ozil, Bradley to name a few all under 24 played major parts in their team's and the tournament's outcome. Their future is bright for these players and their teams. Even Messi, who will be remembered for not scoring as his nation lost in the 1/4 finals, still had a decent tournament and would have been viewed better had his team not lost 4-0 to Germany.
Team football won out over the individual. Teams that clearly had a system in place, players who knew what was expected of them and were able to execute were duly rewarded - Spain, Germany, Uruguay, Holland, Paraguay, South Korea, Japan and Ghana demonstrated that to do well in the World Cup you must have the right system in place and players that believe and work to a common end. This trumped teams such as France, Ivory Coast, Portugal and England who had super star players but no clear esprit de corps.
Only 2 games went to penalty kicks - granted I do enjoy the drama, as long as France is not involved! The Paraguay v Japan and Ghana v Uruguay matches went to the spot kick drama. If Gyan had converted his penalty kick at the end of extra time, then only the former would have been decided by penalty kicks. While the final looked destined to end this way, thanks to Iniesta it did not!
The Bad:
The pitches - many of the pitches looked absolutely in shambles for some of the matches. Some of the venues are usually used for rugby matches, and it showed. The fields started clumping and got chewed up very quickly, this was very apparent during the latter part of the knock out stages. Not good. The fact it is winter in South Africa might play a part in this, but for such an event the pitches need to be in better shape. Sometimes I felt I was watching a game being played at Wigan in February.
Some very poor officiating. I realize that being a match official in football at the World Cup...when you have HDTV that can slow everything down to show you beads of perspiration on someone's brow cannot be easy. However there were some very questionable calls - 3rd goal disallowed for the US against Slovenia, Tevez non
offside against Mexico, non penalty call on Cesc where he was clearly brought down by the Paraguayan keeper in the 1/4 finasl and of course the goal that never was from Lampard against Germany. Clearly there needs to be changes to ensure the officials have the best tools at their disposal to call the game properly. Goal line technology, yes. There are so few instances where you would need it, but those instances are so important it is a no brainer that it must be leveraged. Additional officials should also be considered - that should address all the shenanigans that occur off the ball, on dead ball plays, diving and even off sides. Why not have 2 on field officials that divide the field, you will always have one official in the middle of the action while one has a view from behind the action. The assistant officials are always looking for the "line" to determine off sides so are not 100% focused on looking for fouls. In addition, the official that is behind the play could have some electronic device they could send a signal to the assistant officials once a ball is played - this would make the off sides call more consistent. Too often I see off sides signaled when the assistant official reacts to the defense and to when they thought the ball was played, if they had another set of eye giving them a notice once the ball is played they can just focus on the off side positioning. I have stated it before, every other major sport use video and more than 1 official (I realize rugby has the same number of officials, but they do leverage video and unlike footy the center of the action does not change fields as rapidly) so why does the world's most popular sport continue to insist on 1 on field official? Maybe Sepp will finally wake up to the 21st century...
The Ugly:
Um France's "showing:" Granted I have written about this...ad nauseam. So I will not go on and on about it again...but let's just say Les Bleus deserve all the venom that has been heaped on them.
Poor showing from established teams. Italy, France, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Serbia all went into the tournament with different levels of expectations, none of which included not getting to the knock out stages. For the European sides they have to jump right back into the fire - Euro qualifiers start in September. For the other nations they will have to wait for 4 years until they have a chance to be back on such a big stage.
The vuvuzelas...um....I realize that they added some "ambiance" to some matches, but seriously I will not miss hearing what sounded like a angry hornets' nest or an elephant who has eaten too many beans...it took away from some of the atmosphere that accompanies some teams - the singing, cheering, jeers and chants. I will not miss those $7.99 pieces of plastic noise makers...
I have thoroughly enjoyed the past month of football. I did enjoy being able to wake up and turn on a football match. The best team in the world did win the tournament, the title stays in Europe for another 4 years. Overall this was a good, not great tournament. Unlike other versions there were no truly memorable matches, the closest thing for me might have been the Holland v Brazil match, having Oranje come back from a 1-0 deficit and the fact Holland completely threw Brazil off their game. However there were no France v RFA 1982 semi finals, England v Germany 1990 semi finals, Italy v RFA semi finals 1970 semi finals, Brazil v France 1986 1/4 finals, England v Argentina 1998 1/4 finals just to name a few off the top of my head...
Congratulations to Spain. Unfortunately Holland will have to live to with the moniker of "best team to have never won the World Cup" for at least 4 more years.
I realize that is no longer a news bulletin - that France and Italy both ended bottom of their group and are already home. However there are 8 games coming up over the next 4 days to determine who reach the 1/4 finals. So let us look at the match ups:
Uruguay v South Korea: South Korea surprised me by emerging as the runner up from Group B, they did get throttled by Argentina but still took care of business against Greece. South Korea, as they have in the past, play very disciplined and take their chances when given to them. They are facing a slightly surprising Group A leader - Uruguay. The South American squad looked like their typical plodding self against France, but the last two games with Cavani slotted up front shouldering Suarez, permits Forlan to slot back as a true #10 which has completely changed their dynamic. They remain strong defensively, have yet to concede a goal, but with the 3 head monster on attack are very dangerous. Forlan has been given the freedom to roam and set up the top two strikers. I do not see the South Korean's stopping Suarez and Forlan for 90 minutes. Uruguay 2 - South Korea 0
United States v Ghana: Ah how things change and how quickly...watching the US v Algeria game I was texting with some friends, staunch supporters of the US, clearly as the misses were piling up it was clear that the frustration was growing and not much was expected. Of course Landycakes, who I must say was completely invisible until injury time, scored a famous goal propelling the US into the last 16. This game is difficult for me to call. Ghana is the lone representative from the African continent, same as 4 years ago. They have looked good at times but the fact they have not scored from open play is a concern. On the flip side, the United States have been prone to the dramatic - coming from 2 goals down against Slovenia and the 90+ minute goal against Algeria. However let us not forget that Ghana is not Slovenia or Algeria....Throw in the fact that the United States had more disallowed goals than France had goals...I was listening to a footy podcast from France and they made a great point, is the US midfield playing the best of all the remaining nations? Could make the case for Bradley, Dempsey, et al. The key will be how Bradley will command the midfield, can he get involved in the offense without being burned by Ghanaian counters? If he is forced to hold defensively it will take away an important element to the US attack. I think this will be a very tight match, the US is prone to some defensive lapses but also ready for the dramatic. I think the latter will continue for one more game.United States 1 - Ghana 1, US through on PKs 4-3.
Germany v England: No need to set up this rivalry. Just waiting to see a British tabloid show Germany players with "pointy" helmets from 1914, or having some of the British players in the soup bowl helmets from 1939!! England probably never thought it would be in this position, but a poor showing against Algeria sees them through as the second place team, and the road to the finals include Germany and could include - Argentina and Spain...ouch. Of course now the "Capello is a genius" is back....sort of. Germany might be without Boateng and Schweinsteiger which could prove costly for the German midfield. Of course England have their own concerns with Rooney's ankle injury. Also, who on the English side will check Ozil? Barry? Not sure the Manchester City midfielder has the speed necessary to check the German creative player. I think the issues with England have really not been resolved - how to play Lamps and Gerrard, can Rooney turn it on, what about the defense and when will their goalkeeping cost them? I just see the German football machine overwhelming a English team still in turmoil and doing so in typical German fashion - penalty shoot out! Germany 2 - England 2, Germany win in PKs 5-3.
Argentina v Mexico: El Tri believe they are on the same level as their South American rivals - Brazil and Argentina - not sure I agree with that, but anyways. 4 years ago it took a Maxi Rodriguez lightening bolt to beat Mexico at the same stage.
Unfortunately for Mexico, I am not sure the game will be as close. Mexico did not look great in the second half against South Africa and not sure they ever really threatened Uruguay. Did they peek in their second game against France? Dos Santos will be the X-factor, not sure the Argentine back 4 has the right fullbacks to stop the young winger. However I am not sure Mexico can stop the offensive juggernaut that is Argentina. Messi - Higuain - Tevez will be hard to check. Argentina 2 - Mexico 0
Holland v Slovakia: The former other 1/2 of Czechoslovakia played an incredible match against Italy to knock out the 2006 World Cup champions and showed they are not afraid of playing the big nations of footballing...however Holland is not the Azzurri. The Dutch have won their 3 group games, but have not hit their peek...what you always need to do in a tournament like this - win and move on, build momentum. With Robben and Van Persie, getting Elia off the bench and Sneijder pulling some strings, the offense is something that Slovakia will not be able to match or check. Slovakia played their "finals" against Italy. Holland 3 - Slovakia 0
Brazil v Chile: This game might be tighter than it would appear. Brazil did defeat Chile twice in qualifiers on a combined 7-2 score line. However the Samba Boys might be facing some injury concerns - Melo came off today with what appeared to be a slight knock. Chile has played without fear during the group matches and have some offensive fire power, especially on the wings that might give the Brazilian full backs trouble. Maicon and Bastos are so prone to push high up the pitch, will that open up the space for the like of Sanchez who could punish the Brazilians. The question is can Chile contain - Elano, Kaka, Robinho and Fabiano...I do not think the Chile defense can. Brazil 4 - Chile 1
Paraguay v Japan: Um okay. I wonder what the odds were on this match up when the World Cup started. The South Americans topped their group with the defending champions, Italy,in last place. Not sure that reflects the ability of danger posed by Paraguay. On the flip side the Japanese have surprised many, especially myself. Scoring 2 great free kicks against a very lack luster danish side. Not sure what to make of this match, I think that Paraguay do not have the creative ability on the offensive side to break down the Japanese, while the Japanese have some great ability through the likes of Honda to break you down from set pieces. Japan 1 - Paraguay 0
Spain v Portugal: The Iberian derby! Spain has come into this tournament with the weight of a favorite clearly on its shoulders when it dropped its first game 1-0 to the Swiss.However they have since then put together 2 very solid performances. David Villa is completely unstoppable, Iniesta and Xavi looked like they did for Barcelona in their last match. If Torres ever wakes up, look out. On the other side, Portugal still have the same problems as to prior World Cup - who is their striker? Don't tell me that they scored 7 goals against North Korea so one should not worry about their scoring issues. They are playing Spain not North Korea next round. If the Brazil game is any indication, I think the Portuguese will play tough defense and look to counter through Ronaldo. While Spain will just keep the ball and bide their time to spring Villa or Torres. In the end I think Torres - Villa - Xavi - Iniesta are stronger than Ronaldo. Spain 1- Portugal 0
Should be a great round of 16, many teams we did not expect, but that makes an exciting World Cup. I think we should also have a World Cup 2006 replay between Italy and France, they both could use the practice!
The World Cup starts in earnest this weekend!
Ah the saga continues even after France have crashed out of the World Cup, actually I am getting somewhat excited about hearing all the dirty laundry being aired over the next few days as well as who writes the first book! The South African manager, Parreira, called the Domenech lame for not having the sportsmanship to shake hands after the match. I could think of some more appropriate albeit harsher terms! As suspected, Domenech's school boy protest stems from what Parreira said about the way France qualified. He called out Henry saying he cheated...well that isn't exactly a news bulletin. And for Domenech to not shake the man's hand because of a statement made months earlier that was echoed throughout the sporting world is completely idiotic. Domenech should have shaken the man's hand and spoken his peace then and there something such as:
"Good job coach, but I don't appreciate your public statements about my player, stick to you own business. However congratulations on a well deserved win."
Instead Domenech is caught by the cameras looking like a 5 year old that is going home with his ball so no one else can play. A great image to encapsulate who Domenech is and has been for France over the past 6 years. Someone who just doesn't get it.
Again, I keep saying this, but just when you thought it could not get any worse...wow. France started out well, looking motivated and as if they would be the team to score. Once again the set piece kills Les Bleus, this time Lloris making a terrible play on a corner allowing for a header into the vacate space. Granted Khumalo climbed all over Diaby to get to the ball. But not going to make that call against the host nation! Of course things completely fell apart with a straight red card for Gourcuff on a questionable elbow. There did not seem anything intentionally malicious in the play...Dempsey had a similar play in the last US game and did not even get a yellow. Smells like the fix for the host nation! South Africa added a second goal in the 37th minute to give the host a real chance of potentially sneaking into the knock out round....especially since Uruguay took a 1-0 lead versus El Tri. Should make an interesting last 45 minutes of the Domenech era.
If I were the French team I would keep pushing up, please try to score at least one goal this World Cup and if you give up another few goals, so what! Laurent Blanc has never looked so good....
Um okay...I guess the mutineers have been somewhat punished - Abidal, Evra and Henry kept on the bench. Gallas and Ribery still in the line up. And thankfully no Govou...although you know he will be substituted in at some point. The line up is back to a 4-3-3.
France : Lloris - Sagna, Gallas, Squillaci, Clichy - Gourcuff, A. Diarra (cap.), Diaby - Gignac, Cissé, Ribéry
ADiarra as the captain? I really do not understand that move. He is captain of his club, but has not even seen the pitch...Gignac as a right winger? Um Cisse is much more apt of controlling the wing and using his pace to exploit on the wing and Gignac is a pure CENTER FORWARD!!!! Does Domenech not realize this??? Ugh. Clearly this is one more inexplicable act from Inspector Clouseau. Hopefully Dumbenech also realizes that he will need goals and makes the appropriate moves along the match if he has a chance to increase his score line! A move like taking Diarra out for an offensive midfielder or maybe taking out a center back at some point....of course I am sure if France is up 2-0 at some point and let's say Mexico is winning 1-0 in their game, I am sure Clouseau will take out all of his strikers and put in all his defenders to "hold the lead" not realizing the match behind the goal difference!
After a night of tossing and turning, I think this team has no desire to play for this manager or the federation...game ends South Africa 1 - France 0.....
So we are about 10 hours away from what should be the last game Domenech will ever manage for Les Bleus and quite possibly ever - not sure even a team of 8 year olds would want him to oversee their team! We all know what has transpired in the dysfunctional French camp since last Thursday's Mexico game. The latest is that Dumbenech was the only one at the team's press conference and of course spouted off against the player strike, good idea heading into the last match. Maybe Domenech should have said "no comment" moved on, come Wednesday he will have plenty of time to spout off on what has transpired. Rather than dwell on that let us look forward to this match and what we can expect from Les Bleus.
First the only way they have the slightest of chances of remaining in South Africa beyond Tuesday, in a non tourist capacity, is to win by a large margin and hope that the Mexico v Uruguay game has a winner (preferably by more than a 1 goal margin which would bring the goal difference down as well) and do a lot of praying and hoping. Second, France cannot play Toulalan, he is suspended and unless Anelka really is not back in Europe, we will not be seeing the "incredible sulk" on the pitch. So what should happen? Go back to the 4-3-3...you only used this for the past 3 weeks prior to the World Cup!
Lloris in goal, not really any questions there.
My back 4 would consist of: Sagna, Squillaci, Planus, Evra. That's right let us change the central pairing! Abidal looks completely out of sorts as a center back...and he should be....he is a LEFT BACK. Gallas does not look fully fit, and let us face it, isn't exactly acting like a vice-captain or captain or good teammate. Sit him down and put in two players who are defensively sound.
The 3 midfield players - Malouda, Diaby, Gourcuff. Yup! Get Gourcuff the choir boy back in the line up. Why? Without Anelka out there maybe the Bordeaux man will have some space to work and will be willing to pass to the front 3...Diaby is your holding midfielder, I prefer him to ADiarra since Diaby has much more of an offensive side to his game. Malouda is the only player that showed effort against Mexico and deserves to be in there.
The top 3 of the formation - Ribery, Henry, Valbuena. I debated slotting Henry on the left and sitting Ribery, but watching and listening to the Bayern Munich man's impromptu press conference I believe that he is truly embarrassed, hurt and recognizes how this is impacting the fans. I think he will be highly charged and motivated to make ammends on the field. Henry should be a stabilizing force for the team the last hold over from 1998 and should be highly motivated to go out head held high. Finally, Valbuena needs to be given more than 15 minutes to show what he can do...if I see Govou on the starting sheet or anywhere near the pitch today I cannot be held accountable for my actions.
I would tell Titi to give it 100% and figure he will be taken out after 60 minutes, slot in Gignac. I would tell the same to some of the full backs. Assuming you will be chasing goals throughout, I would envision bringing in a Cisse around 60 - 70 minutes to try and get another goal, maybe go with the old Brazil formation 4-2-4, slot Diaby back into central defense (really have him sit in front of the back line), have Ribery wide left, Gignac and Cisse as center forwards and Valbuena wide right, supported by Malouda and Gourcuff. Hey you need to score goals!!! No reason to go home with any saved bullets!
Of course having said that, Inspector Clouseau will stick with the 4-2-3-1...stick with his two holding players, Diaby and ADiarra most likely. Probably have Malouda on the left, Gourcuff in the middle and Govou on the right. With Gignac as the lone striker. Domenech will come up with some nonsensical banter about the stars lined up and never playing a Toro to the left of a Virgo when the Summer Solstice has passed within 48 hours....
Oh well, in 24 hours we will no longer have Domenech impersonating a professional manager we will turn our eyes to Laurent Blanc. He of the seemingly Moses type figure leading us to a brighter future....let us face it....Blanc would have to try very hard to do worse than Domenech. There is only one way to go and that is up!
Allez les Bleus. Pour l'honneur, pour la patrie, pour le respect! Pour le Maillot!
Prediction - Les Bleus 4 South Africa 0, brace from Henry, 1 from Malouda and the last one from a Gourcuff 25 yard laser. Mexico v Uruguay ends in a 1-1 draw when inexplicably the Mexican goalie stumbles on a back pass from his defender to suffer an OG allowing both nations to advance and France to go home.....
