France - Togo: Last Hurrah or First Step Back?

Will we see many (at least 2) of Henry celebrating today? As we enter the last day of the first round of the World Cup, Les Bleus once again find themselves in a difficult situation. 4 years ago after scoring no goals in the first two games, including a loss to Senegal the French had to beat the Danes by 2 goals to go through. We all know what happened...losing 2-0 and crashing out of the world cup.

This year the situation is similar: France must win by 2 goals to guarantee a place in the next round. If they only win by 1 goal they will need much help from the Swiss - Korea game. And they must do all this without Zidane....then again that might be a blessing. France will line with with two strikers (what a novel idea) in a traditional 4-4-2 line up. Without the aged Zidane they have Malouda and Ribery on the wings, with Makelele and Vieira in the middle. I think this could be a strong offensive team. With two stikers up front, Trezeguet and Henry, Togo will have to defend deeper and cannot only focus on Henry. Ribery and Malouda have the legs that the old gaurd - Wiltord and Zidane, no longer enjoy. They can run at the defense forcing errors and giving the stikers chances. The defense stays the same, which has been fairly solid so far. The telling sign will be Sagnol and Silvestre, will they have the space and time to make runs in support of the offense?

I think this game will be much harder than some believe, Togo has been fraught with issues since qualifying, but they played Korea tough (Really deserved a point) and gave up a very late goal to the Swiss otherwise were hanging in that game until the end. In addition, Togo has the former colonist motivation to beat their old colonizer!

Prognostic: France 4 - Togo 1 (Togo scores early but France wakes up, Trezeguet scores 2, Henry 1, and Ribery 1)

South Korea 2 - Switzerland 2

France play Ukraine
Switzerland play Spain

Of course I would not be surpised to see France struggle, score a late goal and then push for the second only to see Togo counter attack, to level the game at 1 seeing France crash out of another world cup....

France - moving forward

I have to dedicate an seperate piece to my beloved Les Bleus. I must admit that prior to the start of the tournament I had some guarded optimism about how far the French could go in this tournament. They won 1-0 versus a tired Mexico team, played great against the always tough Danes, and looked lethergic versus China (due in large part to the horrific injury to Cisse). I felt that maybe, just maybe Domenech had righted the ship, despite himself. The defense looked solid (I really like Abidal on the left side), Barthez looked like the good Barthez not the clown Barthez, Henry was strong and seemed to work well with Ribery, Zidane seemed to accept his role as passer no longer being able to beat 2 -3 players with his former dazzling footwork....alas after two lethargic games France look poised for a dramatic crashing out of their second world cup.

First, I think that Domenech has not been the right manager since day one. He came in under a cloud. Santini had underachieved at the Euro, losing to the eventual champions Greece but the French looked lethargic the entire tournament. Santini insisted on keeping an aging and ineffective Desailly to anchor his defense, forced Zidane to play on the wing, and did not bring in enough youth to give the team a semblance of the next generation. France beat England 2-0 mainly due to English stupidity and poor penalty taking (fouling Makelele at the 18, setting up Zidane's masterful direct kick? Gerrards beautiful through ball to Henry? Beckham's missed penalty shot?), barely drew with Croatia, and struggled to beat Switzerland (thinking of it I would have LOVED to struggle to beat the swiss this year....). Santini left after the Euro (he had announced that prior to the tournament which I think was terrible for the team) to manage Spurs. Then started the fireworks - some players asked for Laurent Blanc to manage, others like former World Cup winning manager Aime Jacquet pushed for his buddy who managed the youth team Domenech. We all know who emerged. Then we saw the veterans retire - Desailly, Lizarzu, Makelele, Thuram and the biggest - Zidane. Domenech was not the universally accepted choice, and was not a strong enough personality to pull the team together.

Second, the team has been in flux. The French tried to establish a new system to work around the lack of a true number 10. Still possessing a wealth of talent they could not figure out what system to play with players staring for their clubs such as - Henry, Trezeguet, Saha, Anelka, Guily, Micoud, etc. They struggled with qualifying, however things could hvae been very different early on. The France - Switerland match in Paris had at least 3 clear times when the French missed point blank chances. That would have changed everything. The French did not know how to build a team around Henry or Vieira .... they needed the old guard of Zidane, Thuram and Makelele back to ensure qualification. Domenech has not been able to resolve this issue.

Third, the 2002 debacle still weighs heavily on the team. With many players returning from that debacle, many are afraid to lose. They do not want to live throught that humiliation again. There is no leader such as Blanc or Deschamps that can motivate and push the team. the old guard lead by example and are not the most vocal players.

Finally, the team is old. With 6 players from the 1998 world cup team - Barthez, Thuram, Henry, Trezeguet, Vieira, and Zidane, as well as aged stars - Wiltord, Makelele, Sagnol, and Dhorosso - the team is getting on in years. This is one of the oldest teams in the tournament, and it shows. Against both the swiss and the koreans it was apparent in the second half when the French were lethargic. It is a little to late to select more youth but maybe it what youth is there needs to be leveraged (which appears to be the case with Trezeguet and Henry up front, Malouda and Ribery playing the wings against Togo)

What does this mean? The French, should qualify for the second round. They should be able to defeat Togo by at least 2 goals. Then again they should have scored in the 2002 world cup...

France qualifies, barely, for the next round....but loses, badly to a red hot Spain side.

World Cup - It has been a long time

I have been absent for too long on my Blog. General laziness is to blame. But how could I not share some thoughts and ideas during the biggest tournament for futball fans of the world? So are some musings as the first round draws to a close:

• England, they are through to the next round but not impressive. Doing what they needed to do but not convincing me that they can go far. This is compounded with the apparent loss of Owen for the tournament. This only makes the selection of Walcott even more glaring. While I am all for selecting a young player to give him a taste of the big stage, preping him for future greatness. But when your strikers are Walcott (young and apparently not trusted by Erickson), Crouch (completely useless unless you drop 15 crosses on his head, otherwise does nothing), and Rooney (when healthy one of the most dangerous strikers in the world, but he is still recovering from a broken foot). England gets to the 1/4 finals and crashes out against a superior Holland squad
• Brazil, Ronaldo, Adriano both look lethargic. I have faith that Adriano will turn things around, but Ronaldo is fat, out of shape and does not care. They will have a hard time against a tough Czech or Italian squad in the second round...upset special - Spain will defeat Brazil in the 1/4 finals.
• Germany: Won all three of their games and let out a collective sigh of relief when England did not lose to Sweden avoiding a Germany-England game. They will face a tough match against Sweden, but due to the home field they will make it through, only to run into the buzz saw that is Argentina.
• Holland: Van Basten has picked a solid team, unlike others (Domenech) he is not afraid to drop players - Seedorf, Davids etc - to build a team that the deems worthy. He has them clicking and they will be dangerous. They have pace - Robbens, finishing - Van Nisterlrooy, all round talent - Van Persie up front. With players loke Cocu bringing some veteran leadership they will go far.
• Argentina: Anyone who watched them demolish Serbia knows these guys are for real. The beat a tough Ivory Coast team 2-1 and then demolished Serbia. All this with players like Messi and Teves coming off the bench....how deep is this team???? Defensively they are solid. Offensively they are scarey. With Riquelme running the midfield they will go very far.
• Espana: The perennial underachievers, appear to have finally gotten things together. They also have a wealth of talent, when you can bring Raul and Fabergas off the bench you are embarassingly deep. Torres will drive teams crazy. Their midfielders all know their roles - Alonso, Xavi etc. The old Spain would have folded like a house of cards after being down 1-0 against Tunisia, instead they kept pushing, stayed within themselves and earned a well deserved 3-1 win.
• Czechs: Tale of two teams, versus the US they looked like a machine. Rosicky and Nedved completely controlling the midfield, Koller dominating up front. Against Ghana they looked like an old team, depending on Cech to keep the loss to a 2-0 defeat rather than a 4 -0 or 5 -0 .... With Baros and Koller back, they will remember how to play and find their way to the semis.
• Italia: I was not impressed with either of their games. They looked out of sorts against the US, allowing the Yanks to dictate the pace. Down to 9 players in the second half, the Americans actually looked more dangerous. Where is Toni and the rest of the strikers? Del Piero is the only one that looked dangerous on Saturday. They limp into the next round and lose to Brazil.
• Ivory Coast: Knocked out already, but looked dangerous. Had they been in France's group they would be in first place and throught to the second round. Their defense is solid based on the Toure boys. Midfield is solid, and Drogba does less whining and diving and more playing...something he should try for Chelsea
  
• Ghana: Also looks dangerous. The team is more than Essein, they play well as team, tackle hard and run people into the ground. Will end with a hard earned victory against the US.
  
• United States: Looked out classed against the Czechs. They had no fire. Against Italy they got lucky...both ways. Lucky to get the own goal, and unlucky not to score another one. They took the game to the Italians, and played the style an underdog needs to - physical. The defense tackled hard, pulled jerseys etc, but did so up the field, preventing truly dangerous free kicks but also breaking up the rythm of the Italians, and allowing their team to reset on defense. Will end the tournament with 1 point, not a bad tournament considering the group they were in, but bad in light of the irrational exhuberance from the American pundits who saw America getting to the Semi finals...
  
• France: Worst for last....they are terrible. Domenech is aweful, Zidane is done, Henry has brought his whining game not his scoring game from Arsenal....but I cannot do my rant justice in this section so more later.....

Finals - similar to 1978 Argentina plays Holland
Third Place game - Spain vs Czech Rep

Holland champion
Spain 3rd place

Chelsea - classes whiners

Anyone who watched this weekend's game between Fulham and Chelsea would have seen the clown prince of the Premiership, Mourinho, putting on his usual act on the side lines. After the game the Clown Prince complained that the referees cost his over paid compilation of footballers a win versus the struggling Cottagers. His primary complaint was that the Drogba goal was only disallowed after the referee sucumbing to much harassment from Fulham consulted with the assistant referee and ruled that Drogba had played the ball with his arm.

First. The referee did the proper thing, there was doubt as to the validity of the goal and he took the time and consulted with his assitant, after simple discussion they got the call right.

Second. If anyone should complain it is Fulham, there was a clear penaly in the first half that should have been called on Terry who blatantly hacked down the Fulham striker in the box.

Finally. The Chelsea team acted in a classes manner at the end of the game, Gallas' foul was inexcusable and his actions as he left the pitch even more sophmoric.

Chelsea is the football class of the Premiership, but they are showing that they are completely classes in all other aspects. And this starts from the top, Mourinho is a complete clown. From his self made rivalry with Weger, where he slinks off the pitch without shaking Weger's hand, to his whining and showmanship versus Barca, all he has done is demonstrated that he is a poor loser and and ingracious winner. The rest of the bunch do not shower themselves in glory either. Drogba constantly complains about every call that goes against him, Essein has demonstrated some lapses in sanity with his tackles, Robben dives and complains at every turn....As was stated on FoxSports, Chelsea are rapidly becoming the most hated team in football. They are destined to flounder under their own weight, I will only be too happy to watch them do so.

I only wish they were not getting Adidas to provide their kits next year.....

International Friendlies

Yesterday was a day full of friendlies. Some reactions:

England - Uruguay: I was able to watch the game thanks to FoxSoccer. England looked okay, they scored late in the game when Crouch did about the only thing he is good for which is out jump a smaller defender. Cole looked good running around the midfield. But overall I was not impressed with England. They have the pieces but are still looking for the right formation.

Italy - Germany: What can I say, Italy completely destroyed Germany. That does not bode well for the host naton of World Cup 2006. Italy showed that it does have the fire power to go far in the tournament, and all this without Totti, if and when he comes back this team will be very scarey. No one doubts that Italy will be able to play defense, but if they can score look out. For Germany this continues a run of poor games, they have not yet demonstrated they are a true contender. Germany has not done well against stronger opponents and this just continues with this lose.

Now the big one for me....

France - Slovakia....How could the French lose to this team? Actually I am not at all surprised. While I was not able to watch the game, I did watch the game cast on the web. It appears that the first40 minutes were dominated by the French. The combo of Anelka and Trezeguet appeared to work very well. Zidane seems as if he was controlling the distribution of the ball while Vieira was his usual workhorse in the midfield. However once again the French did not capitalize on their opportunities, this is dangerous. The other problem is the French started with 3 defensive midfielders. Why not play Wiltord on one of the wings or have Malouda support Zidane. Dhorasso still does not convince me on the international level. The French lost due to a set play, but should have and could have won the game had they capitalized the first half. I think that there is still time for France to figure out what they are trying to do, but that time is fleeting. Maybe France should play with Trezeguet - Anelka up front, Zidane and Henry behind (allow Henry to roam the field), Vieira and Makelele as holding midfielders, Gallas - Thuram in the middle, Sagnol and Undetermined on the wings....and please have Coupet in net....

SOl is AWOL

Sol not on the squad, threatening retirement? what is going on? Maybe dating Elle is not healthy....

Arsenal...the lost season

Once again the bete noire that is Bolton beats Arsenal. Having been knocked out of the Carling Cup (scarey how the Carling Cup has some importance for Arsenal this season) and now the FA cup, as well as being completely out of the running for the Premiership this would appear that the 06 - 07 season is a washing for Arsenal. Granted they remain alive in the Champion's League, but with the daunting task of having to defeat Real Madrid would appear that this could be the first season in many years without any silverware.

Let us hope that the youth movement by Arsene pays off sooner rather than later. I think that moving into the new stadium, infused with young talent means that Arsenal should be back in contention sooner than its rivals would like to see. However, they need to sign Henry, need veteran leadership, and need to figure out a way to compete with Chelesea's billions of wealth. Until Arsenal can demonstrate they can do so, they will remain second fiddle in London

Arsenal, hard slog ahead

The beginning of the New Year and Arsenal remain in turmoil. The 0-0 draw with Manchester United was a small victory (sad that is small victory). A couple of issues. I watched the Arsenal-Chelsea match a few weeks ago. A game that showed the divide between the new rich kid on the block and the old guard Arsenal. That game showed that Arsenal's midfield remains either young and in flux. Without Vieira and Edu the team has little leadership. Gilberto remains the senior statesman for central midfield, and his best days are behind him. Chelsea rolled out Lampard, Makelele, Essien, etc completely controlling the midfield. Robbens running up and down the flank tore apart the Arsenal defense. Granted the game might have been different had Van Persie's goal been rightfully called a goal and not off sides. But overall it was clear that Flamini, Fabergas etc are far from becoming a dominating force in the middle of the pitch.

The Arsenal-Man U game, gave me a little more hope. With Reyes and Pires on the pitch they seemed to have more possesion and control, granted Wenger started 5 midfielders. The one problem is the lack of solution up front outside of Henry, and that might be a fleeting option next topic. The problem during the Man U game was a complete lack of "killer instinct" Arsenal tried to pass the ball into the goal rather than taking their chances when Man U was giving them space from outside the 18.

Now on to Mr Titi Henry. With the rumors of his departure to Barca swirling with greater intesity, I fear that it is inevitable that the Arsenal leading goal scorer will soon ply his trade in the warmth of spain. This will mark another name leaving arsenal after Vieira (will cole be another one to leave?) Speaking with fellow Arsenal fan, Mr Stern, yesterday we discussed the need for Wenger to get some $$$ to spend once they move into their new stadium with the added revenues. I hope that is the case and that it is not too late to save some of the recent Arsenal glory to be pushed to the history books. It is not unreasonable to foresee Arsenal becoming the third team in London behind Chelsea and Tottenham....how the mighty have fallen.