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."
Deschamps has already announced that none of the players from La Liga will be starting against Uruguay. Meaning Benzema, Rami and Mathieu will be at best on the bench. Makes sense since their season was the latest to end and they could use the time off. So what does that leave Deschamps with for his starting team? Apparently DD will also opt for the usual 4-2-3-1 to face the former World Cup champions.
All signs point to Mandanda getting the nod in goal. The defense would appear to be a whole new line up with the new call up from Portugal - Mangala getting the nod at central defense. I am a little surprised by this since I would think Deschamps would want to get a Kos - Sakho pairing together for more time on the field. Of course that could be what is in the cards when France face Brazil. No surprise that Bordeaux left back Tremoulinas gets the nod with Sagna on the right. Interesting choice for right back, is Deschamps opening the discussion between Debuchy and Sagna as to which will be his preferred right back, and does that mean Jallet is back to third in the hierarchy?
The holding pair of Capoue and Matuidi is expected. Question is how much time Matuidi gets, he has been leaned on heavily by both club and country this season and could use some down time.
Up front is composed of not the usual suspects. With the re-introduction of Gourcuff,
Rebirth with Les Bleus?
possibly on the left. This will be interesting to watch. Gourcuff is more of a central of the park midfielder, even a deep lying player. Not certain he has the ideal profile for a wing - not particularly pacey. In addition, that spot is Ribery's in the near term. So is Gourcuff playing for a spot on the bench where he would act as the offensive joker who could slot in at left or center? It will be interesting to watch how he and Valbuena interact. The Petit Velo appears to be Deschamps first choice to pull the offensive stings from the center of the field. But his natural tendencies are to drift a bit to either wing, will he and Gourcuff develop an understanding? When Valbuena free lances will Gourcuff slide to the middle of the pitch to provide the necessary cover? We should see Payet playing a traditional wide role from the right. Up front it appears that Deschamps is leaning on the Arsenal striker - Giroud. I would assume we might see Gomis as well.
An interesting line up, many things to watch for. To me the most interesting will be the role Gourcuff takes up and if he can find his way back to a regular spot on the French national team.
The potential line up based on practice sessions - Mandanda - Sagna, Koscielny, Mangala, Trémoulinas - Capoue, Matuidi - Payet, Valbuena, Gourcuff - Giroud
First game down for new manager Deschamps...nothing gained nothing lost. France v Uruguay ends in a 0-0 draw. France had the most clear chances, but lacked a certain efficiency in front of goal. Not too much to take from the game, but here are some thoughts:
The Good:
Bright future for the TFC midfielder?
Ribery looked lively and was a real creative threat. There was a move in the first half where he was caught between three defenders some how pivoted off the first defender and tapped a perfect pass through the legs of the other defender while the third player was trying to find his jock. He stayed on his preferred left side but did float around the pitch appearing in the center and on the right. Let us hope that the Kaiser keeps this form, France will need him to get through qualifications.
The new kids - Mbiwa and Capoue - demonstrated some real interesting elements. The first was calm and cool for his first cap, considering the role he plays that is impressive. He made some very cool tackles around the 18 yard box that demonstrated a level of talent and a coolness under pressure necessary for the role. He was unfortunate to not open his goal count as well, calling for a fantastic finger tip save from Muslera. Something to keep an eye on. The TFC midfielder came on in the second half and I was struck by his dominating size but also his fluid play - dare I say a "box to box" midfielder a la Vieira??? Okay this might be a stretch, right now. Not sure if Capoue will have the offensive ability that the former Gunner had, but again something to watch in the upcoming France matches.
The Bad:
What to do with the strikers? There is much debate on how to get Benzema to play like he does for Real Madrid...or even how he played in the past for France. There was very little connection between Benzema and Giroud. However, Benzema, as we suspected, could not help but drop deep on the pitch. At least with Giroud on the field the Uruguay central defense had to respect this threat. Unfortunately, like what happened in the Euros, Benzema did a lot of work, but for few results. Frustrating.
Midfield linking players...or lack thereof. Not having Cabaye in the midfield was apparent. With Gonalons and Mavuba there was a lack of link between defense and attack. Something that we knew was a concern heading into the game. I realize this pairing was not necessarily one Deschamps will look to lean on, but it also emphasises how important the play of Cabaye is for France.
The Ugly:
Finishing anyone? Anyone? Sigh, I think we were spoiled when we had the likes of Henry and Trezeguet patrolling the pitch with Zizou feeding them the ball...France has yet to really find players of that finishing level. I realize these types of players do not grow on trees. But Benzema clearly has the talent to put more goals in for France. Les Bleus need to get some results from all the chances they are creating for themselves!
Overall a typical first international match of the season, cautious, lack of real extended flow, some bright spots ... but otherwise forgetable. Deschamps will have some things to think about, but there is also much work ahead for Les Bleus!
In about 30 minutes, Les Bleus will take to the pitch again, this time under former France captain Deschamps. The last time we saw France on the pitch it was a lackluster 2-0 defeat to the eventual European champions - Spain. So what should we expect? Not too much.
These friendlies are always difficult to navigate, especially coming on the tail of a big summer international tournament. Most clubs have not started up their seasons yet, only Ligue 1 has started it official games. Add to this the suspensions of Menez and Nasri and you have a situation where what we see on the pitch will be difficult to truly judge.
No big surprise, we all knew that Deschamps was looking to start a 2 striker formation. Le Petit Velo, Valbuena on the right makes sense. It will be interesting to see how the two holding midfielders will do. Both Mavuba and Gonalons have played for Les Bleus in the past, but the reality is they are both seen as "newcomers." It will be interesting to see how they play and how they take on the responsibility of the position. Both will be called upon to carry some of the linkage between the defense and offense halves of the field. In addition, without Mexes, who is a very offensive minded sweeper, more pressure will be on their shoulders to push high up the pitch. This will be an interesting part of the match to watch.
The back pairing of Mbiwa and Sakho will also be something to look at. Both are young, could be seen as the future for central defense for Les Bleus. Let us see how they do against the likes of Forlan.
I have a feeling we will see a more timid side from France, trying to figure out what they need to do on the pitch. The veterans such as Evra, Robery and Benzema will be called upon to manage the field and the new blood.
The news from Clairefontaine is that Deschamps is leaning towards rolling out Giroud-Benzema up front. Hallelujah! If there is was one thing that was apparent during the Euros was the fact Benzema cannot help himself from dropping too deep on the pitch. This left too much space at the top of the formation, allowing the defense to pack in the space and snuff out any oxygen for the offense. With Giroud on the pitch, France will have a striker who will sit on the last defender's shoulder. This will allow for crosses to be more potent as well as opening up space for the midfield and finally give Les Bleus a "fox in the box" someone that can pounce on rebounds.
Hope to see some lethal crosses on Wednesday
So will Deschamps run a 4-4-2? Seems that way. But it may look more like a 4-2-3-1...stay with me on this. First let's look at what could be the following team Deschamps rolls out:
This would be a "traditional" 4-4-2...but stay with me...look for Benzema to have the freedom to do what he did at the Euros - drift deeper. Look for Payet and Ribery to push higher on the pitch, playing the wide offensive roles. This would allow for Benzema to drift and fill the hole behind the striker. Matuidi and Gonalons will act as the holding midfielders (Mavuba might also be an option to start in that role).
Deschamps could look to slot Martin on the right, but I think his tendency would be to drift back to the center of the park - potentially infringing on Benzema's space.
This formation would also allow Benzema to slot higher up the pitch, allow Ribery the freedom to drift to the middle in support of the two strikers.
If Deschamps does opt for the two strikers, it will be even more imperative for the right and left backs to push up and bring width to the attack as well as provide the adequate services of crosses to take advantage of the presence of Giroud. I will be interested to see how things work out during the training sessions.
Deschamps released his first list this morning for the Aug 15th friendly versus Uruguay. Some new faces, old faces and new old faces...the list:
The list for France (notice all the typos!)
Some interesting names have come back into the fold as well as some names that have been left out.
First, no Menez or Nasri, due to the disciplinary ruling from the FFF. Deschamps also did not retain Ben Arfa and M'Vila from the Euro squad, while both escaped the wrath from the federation, with Deschamps not calling them up it could be interpreted as a message from the new manager as to his lack of tolerance for such shenanigans. It will be interesting to see how Deschamps deals with these players as qualification for the World Cup starts.
What about other players left off the list? Rami, Mexes, Cabaye, Diarra and Malouda are all missing from the Euro 2012 squad. Rami and Cabaye have been left off the list because of rest/injury. The door might be closed on the likes of Mexes and Malouda. The AC Milan libero struggled in the last games we saw while his replacement Koscielny was one of the only players to have shown up against Spain. Malouda has no club right now and is getting a tad long in the tooth. Diarra played for Deschamps at OM but is currently refusing to show up for training with his club (forcing his way to West Ham), could Deschamps be sending a message?
Let us look at the players that Deschamps did select. Many on the roster are to be expected - both keepers, Clichy, Evra, Debuchy, Koscielny, Martin, Matuidi, Valbuena, Benzema, Giroud and Ribery. All main stays. So what about the new faces.
None of the players on defense that are new are a huge surprise. Yanga-MBiwa was one of the last cut from the Euro roster and deserves another call up. Jallet was in the running for the Euros as well and with Revelliere getting up there in age, look for the PSG right back to compete with Sagna and Debuchy to be on the squad. Sakho was left off the Euro squad but has always been in the conversation for central defender for France.
Have not seen Mavuba in Bleu in a while
In the midfield - Gonalons was called up by Blanc, he deserves to get another call. No surprise. What is interesting, and positive is seeing Capoue getting the nod. The TFC midfielder has leap-frogged his fellow Toulouse midfielder Sissoko to be in the conversation for Les Bleus. Finally, the call up for Mavuba. The player born at sea, was call up as a 20 year old, but been stuck in purgatory for France for the better part of the past 6 years. As the captain of Lille and the way he has played, the call up is over due and well deserved. He is the engine room for Lille, down the road could he partner with Cabaye? Recreate what they did with Lille?
The strikers, this where I was a tad surprised. Briand, Gomis and Payet all called up. All three have been in and out of the squad over the past few years. Payet makes sense to give Deschamps the winger he needs without Ben Arfa, Nasri and Menez on the squad. However Briand and Gomis, coupled with Giroud and Benzema is interesting. Does this indicate that Deschamps is going to look for a two striker formation? Or is he just vetting who would be his depth at striker.
As we approach the 15th a couple of questions I will be looking for Deschamps to shed some light on:
Who will be the captain?
What formation will Deschamps look to lean on?
Who are Deschamps' core?
We shall see if we get more information on these questions in the upcoming days.
48 hours away from the World Cup finals, the first one on the African continent...haven't heard that statement made over the past month. We will have a first time winner and the first time a European nation wins away from their home continent. Overall this has been a good World Cup, not a great one - similar to the 1986 or 1982 versions. It has been head and shoulders above the 1990 or 1994 versions. So we have 2 more games:
3rd place game - Germany v Uruguay: The "mini finals" tends to be the most anti-climatic game of the entire tournament, except for fans of those nations. But since the World Cup only comes every 4 years I would suggest everyone watches the match because after Sunday we will have to wait another 4 years for the Brazil 2014 World Cup. What to watch for in this match? Klose might be out, taking away his last chance to try and match Ronaldo as the all time highest World Cup goal scorer with 15 goals. Klose could be back in 4 years but doubtful - at 36 years old. Mueller will be back and will look to solidify what should be the young player of the tournament. Unless the Bayern player goes out and scores 2 own goal and receives a straight red card for mooning Angela Merkel, he is the odds on favorite to retain that title for Germany (Podoloski was voted young player of the 2006 World Cup). On the other side of the pitch, Suarez returns from his red card ban due to the "hand of god II." However, his attacking partner Forlan may miss the match, although latest reports are that he has recovered from his leg injury. In the end I think that Germany will be too strong for the South Americans and will retain their 3rd place title from 4 years ago. Germany 3 - Uruguay 2
The finals - Holland v Spain: Ah a final between two teams with the "best team to have never won" monkey on their backs. Spain kind of started to get that monkey jettisoned by winning the European cup 2 years ago (Holland won in 1988). However both nations, Spain in particular, have always let down during the biggest sporting event. The Spanish have entered tournaments with high expectations yet never reached the semi finals (at least not what is considered a true semi finals), let alone the finals. For the Dutch they had back to back finals - 1974 and 1978. Unfortunately both times they faced off against the tournament host - Argentina and Germany. Losing both times. The Dutch also made the 1998 semi-finals losing to Brazil (losing to Croatia for the 3rd place match).
The team that wins will remove a huge albatross from their neck, the team that loses will have to suffer at least another 4 years of "greatest team not to win." I also think the pressure is greater on the Spanish. Not only will they be playing in their first World Cup finals but they have a chance to be only the 3rd nation to hold both the European and World championship at the same time (Germany 1972 Euro/1974 WC - France 1998 WC/2000 Euro). So what will happen in this historic final?
Holland has reached this with 6 straight victories, including the 2-1 upset of Brazil. They have not shone offensively but have done what you needed to do to win a game. With De Jong back in the midfield to partner with Van Bommel, the 2 destroying midfielders will be hard for Spain to break down. Sneijder is one of the best players of the tournament and Robben has replicated his fantastic Bayern season, no one has had an answer for him. For Spain they showed a glimmer of all the pre-tournament hype during the semi - finals. The midfield - Iniesta, Xavi, Alonso et al controlled the pace of the match and put tremendous pressure on Schweinsteiger and the rest of the German midfield. Pedro was a good replacement for Torres adding width and pace to the Spanish attack. However there were some situations where Spain was caught on the counter - notably when Ozil broke down the middle and could have been awarded a penalty kick when Ramos clattered into him in the box. Or middle of the second half when Kroos' weak, but framed, attempt was saved by Casillas. Germany did not take advantage of these lapses, Holland will.
Spain will try to pass their way around the Dutch, however the 2 holding Dutch midfielders will be difficult to break down. On the flip side Holland has proven clinical on the break. Not sure the Spanish will be able to contain Robben either. Finally Casillas has been playing better, but I am not sure he is not showing signs of decline.
I need to apologize to my college buddy, Jose, but I think 3rd time is the charm - Hup Oranje.
Okay sorry for the poor play on the number 4. First happy independence day for all my American based fans. Of course there are 4 more teams left in the chase for the World Cup trophy as well. What is surprising or ironic or funny is how a few days ago all the talk was of the dominance of the South American nations. With Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay all finished top of their group add to the mix Chile who finished even on points with group winners Spain but were second due to goal difference and all 5 nations from the South American region were through to the final 16. Throw into the mix the United States and Mexico from CONCACAF reaching the final 16 and you saw a heavy "Americas" flavor to the final 16. Of course after a few games the Old Countries are back in a position of dominance with 3 out of the 4 semi finalists from Europe, and you could argue were it not an egregious hand ball or a missed PK and South America would have no representation in the final 4 teams. So let us look at the 2 matches to come this week:
Uruguay v Holland: Uruguay must consider themselves fortunate to have defeated Ghana in penalty kicks. After Suarez used his hands to save what was a certain goal from Ghana off the line in the 120th minute, and then seeing Gyan miss the subsequent penalty kick. Ghana dominated much of the match, getting a wonder blast from Mutari but also giving up a poor goal from a long distance free kick - again a goalkeeping error in my mind. However La Celeste did force their way into the semifinals playing solid defense and relying on Suarez and Forlan to carry the offensive push. Can this continue against Oranje? Not sure. The Dutch pulled off a minor upset by defeating the Samba Boys. After what appeared to be a one sided match against Brazil - the first 20 minutes looked like it would be a Brazilian route. However the Dutch weathered the storm and headed into the half only down 1-0. The second half it was clear that Brazil did not know how to react to the attack of Robben et al. Without offensive options outside of Kaka or the runs from the fullbacks, which were hampered because Bastos had to sit deeper to handle Robben and Maicon was controlled by Kuyt. Holland took their chances and could have scored another 2-3 goals after Melo was shown a straight, deserved, red card.
So who will come out of this semi final? I have to go with Oranje. Uruguay will be without Suarez, who represents 50% of their offense. The captain Lugano is most likely going to miss the game and Lodiero has a broken foot. On the Dutch side none of their key players are missing. The Dutch have not dropped a single game so far, winning all their matches. Granted they are not playing beautiful flowing "Total Football" of yesteryear, but they are doing what it takes to get the results. With so many key players missing for Uruguay I cannot see how they will be able to keep the Dutch in check for the full 90 minutes. Even if they try to play for extra time and penalties, I think that Robben will be too difficult to check and Sneijder is pulling the right strings in the middle of the park, throw in a late sub like Elia and there is too much creativity and pace for the Uruguayan defenders to hold off for the entire match. Holland 2 - Uruguay 0
Germany v Spain: For the 3rd match in a row, Germany will find itself in the middle of the most intriguing match up (After Germany v England and Germany v Argentina). Germany did have to go, on paper, through a very difficult gantlet of beating England and then the much fancied Argentine squad. What they did against both nations was surprisingly simple and effective. Playing a solid defense with quick strike counters they took apart both England and Argentina. Much of this revolved around, who I think is so far the player of the tournament, Schweinstager. The Bayern midfielder has done his best job mimicking Pat Vieira circa 1990s with Arsenal - a box to box central midfielder both destroying opposing team attacks and providing the link between the defense and the offense. He was able to stymie Messi and was key in the attack versus Argentina. The much heralded Argentine attack could never get going with the German midfielder slowing tempo, breaking up attacks and launching the German counter quickly and surgically. Spain's midfield, which is their strength, appears to be a little out of sorts. Xavi, Alonso and Iniesta have not looked as if they are on the same page at times, errant passes, poor runs etc. Torres still appears injured, he was a non factor against Paraguay. The South Americans also demonstrated that high pressure and energy can throw the Spaniards off their game, or at least not concede a goal!
So will the real Spain show up against the Germans? I hope so...but I still think we will have "90 minutes of football and then German wins." What will be interesting for Germany is how they handle the loss of Mueller - suspended for yellow cards - who has, next to his Bayern teammate, been the most important player for Germany the past few games. His pace, creativity and goals will be sorely missed. Of course with Klose and Podoloski Germany will have the pieces to find goals. The question for me is can Germany hold off a team that will attack with width, something they have not faced in this tournament. With Ramos and Capdevila making runs from their fullback positions, the Spanish will throw an offensive angle that Germany have really not faced yet. Also, unlike against Argentina, who will Schweinstager focus on - Iniesta or Xavi? In the 1/4 finals the Bayern player just followed Messi around, this time he will need to pick and choose who he shadows. Also, what if Spain, which is what I think they should do, starts a midfield of Cesc - Xavi - Iniesta, then who do you man mark? Of course German is content to sit back and absorb the Spanish attack, while Spain is content to hold the ball and pull and Arsenal - pass pass pass pass pass pass and try to pass the ball into the goal. This will not work against Germany. This will be a tight match, but in the end...as the saying goes "90 minutes of football and then Germany wins.." Germany 2 - Spain 1.
Which would set up a monumental final - German v Holland. A long standing footballing rivalry, which would need no pregame hype! I would see Oranje ridding themselves of many years of ghosts and demons and defeating the Germans 3-2 in a memorable final! Jop Oranje!!!
