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."
For once I am on Roy Keane's side - he statement on the Irish loss was spot on - best quote: "They can complain all they want but France are going to the World Cup. Get over it." I complete agree with Keano. The former Irish captain has never been scared to speak his mind, good for him. I think that he mirrors some of the statements that this blog has made....surprising since I am usually a critic of the Irish man.
Well 24 hours on from the "Hand of Frog" - I did not come up with that but will gladly "borrow" it! I have enjoyed reading and listening to the reaction of fans and pundits (it was even talked about on ESPN's PTI and Rome is Burning shows...I even heard it mentioned on my local sports radio show). Some of it is rational and well thought out, most of it, understandably is emotional, funny, true, heartfelt, sometimes crass and overall what makes sports so interesting. I particularly enjoyed the following video:
I guess the voodoo burning of Titi's picture is some Irish witch doctor trick. What I really love is that he is a Chelsea fan! But I do agree with him - country over club...always! This typifies the emotion felt by Irish fans and deservedly so. The way the Irish lost this match is no way to be left out of the World Cup. However sports, much like life are not always fair. The best team does not always win. Advantages are sometimes allowed for those that disregard the rules.
It stinks, trust me. I still shed a tear every time I watch, read about or think about the 1982 World Cup semi finals between RFA and France, where an absolute blatant foul by Schumacher on Battiston in the penalty area, put the Frenchman in the hospital and saw the German keeper suffer no punishment (it should have been a red card and penalty kick!!). That was an absolute howler of a missed call by an official...in a World Cup semi final. That by no means excuses what happened yesterday, but demonstrates that sh*t happens.
Not that this will make things easier for my Irish friends, but a couple of things to keep in mind:
Had the goal been disallowed, which it should have, there remained a good 15 minutes of the match. At that stage of the match Ireland was clearly playing for PKs so who knows if France would have not scored a goal...I do not think the Irish had any intentions to look to get the second goal at this stage of the match.
Even if France had not scored the goal, the game would have gone to penalties, and while many, including myself had little faith in France winning on PKs since when have Ireland been deemed the "Germany" of PKs? It would have been a crap shoot at best.
Ireland can blame Henry and the referee....as well as themselves. If they capitalize on the other clear chances they had on goal, O'Shea is left all alone on the far post a the restart - he has the time to chest down the ball and tee up his volley only to put it into the upper stands, Keane sees Lloris make a desperate save on him midway through the first half, Evra makes a scrambling clearance on a Keane cross at the 50th minute, Keane finds himself alone versus Lloris with 15 minutes to go in regulation but cannot control the speed of the ball, and Duff sent through alone on goal with only Lloris to chip, the French keeper had gambled and covered the low shot, but instead the Fulham man sees his shot cleared by Lloris, again in desperation (Sagna's back tracking efforts also contributed to the miss). Score on one of these clear cut chances and we never go to extra time and never see the "hand of frog."
Bottom line, Ireland were the better team in Paris, no doubt. The goal should not have stood, should Henry have admitted this to the referee...um...would Robbie Keane have done so had the tables been turned? Doubtful. Will Henry's image be "tarnished" will he become too toxic for endorsements...no. Hey there are athletes who did far worse who still get endorsement deals - Kobe Bryant anyone? Henry will be fine, his image will be fine and fans of Barcelona, Arsenal and France will support him. When he comes play for the New York Red Bull all the fans and the MLS will talk about how great it is that he is here...after they mention the hand ball...
France will go to the World Cup next summer, they will be seeded (most likely in the first pot) they clearly have the talent to go far...or pull a World Cup 2002 and crash out in the first round. Either way it will have nothing to do with Henry being a "cheat" but everything to do with Domenech and what he does over the next 202 days. I am sure if France do well we will hear that it should be Ireland enjoying that run...if France do poorly it will be "karma." Germany seems to have done okay for itself after Schumacher blatantly cheated in 1982 and got away with it....
Ireland should feel robbed, yes. Should they complain, absolutely. Will there be a replay, highly unlikely. Do they need to get over it...yes.
No surprise, the Irish are asking FIFA to call for a replay of the game due to the Henry hand ball. Um are you serious? Should England ask for the same to replay the 1/4 final game against Argentina in 1986? Should Australia ask for a replay of their Italy game in the 2006 World Cup for an incredibly poor decision to grant a last minute penalty? Or maybe France should petition for a replay of the 1982 World Cup semi finals when Schumacher should have been red carded...how about the Hurst goal in the 1966 World Cup finals...was it a goal or not?? Missed calls and poor referee decisions are part of the game, move on.
Take a look at Schumacher's foul on Battiston in the France v RFA match from 1982...every team suffers and gains from referee's calls it is part of footie.
Okay okay, might not have been in the World Cup in a knock out stage game between two nations that had recently fired their weapons against each other in anger....but this, in Ireland will be seen much as Maradona's hand ball is seen by England - a major travesty of justice! For France the essential is done, albeit under extreme duress, and they will be in South Africa next summer. The Irish can only feel extremely disappointed and let down, they were the better team tonight and yet they head back home and will not get to experience the first African world cup. A video recap first:
Truth be known I "watched" the match in a hodgepodge manner - Setanta's terrible video stream, the live text updates from numerous sites and the audio stream from RTL. With that in mind let us look at the match:
The Good:
The Irish fighting spirit, clearly Ireland did not feel there was anything they could not accomplish and the fact they had to win by 2 goals away to France was not seen as an insurmountable mountain. Kudos to them. They came out and dominated the first half, clearly the better team. While the possession would make one believe France were dominating, watching the match it was clear that Ireland was allowing France to play their game but the French did not know what to do, routinely turning the ball over to the Irish and making huge mistakes. Keane rightfully punished the poor french defense in the 32nd minute when no one decided to pick up the Tottenham striker who was camped out in the French 18 yard box, everyone decided to watch as Duff drove the ball to the end line and calmly crossed to Keane who surgically finished. He could have had a goal a few minutes earlier but Lloris made a brave save punching the ball away just as Keane took a might whack at the loose ball...again a result of terrible French defending. The Irish could have had a second when Duff went through and once again the French keeper had to save his teammates from a summer vacation next year. Ireland fought bravely, Ireland believed they could win and Ireland's fight should have seen them get to penalties...kudos to the men in green shorts.
I also have to call out Keane. I stated that he was invisible in the game in Dublin, which was the exact opposite in Paris. He was a major threat to the French goal, his goal was absolutely deserved and he was unfortunate to not getting another goal a few minutes sooner. Had he played like this in Dublin it might be the men in green packing their bags for South Africa next summer.
The only player from France that can hold their head high is Lloris. After last match I stated he was clearly France's #1, after this match I think he has clearly cemented his place as France's backstop for the World Cup. Once again his serenity, bravery and ability was what prevented France from taking what could have been a 2 or 3 goal defeat. His save on Keane, mentioned above, was superb and saved the French house. His save after 60 minutes on a break away on Duff also saved the French bacon. The goal was unstoppable and on his defenders not him. Lloris also demonstrated a coolness needed at the end of the match to keep the game under control. Bravo Hugo, tu est lenumero 1.
France is going to South Africa....ok might not be good for the Ireland or the fans of the green, and having the Irish fans and team in South Africa would have been good for the event. However France remains one of footie's power houses and not having them in South Africa would have been a big loss. Now Les Bleus can go to South Africa and play their 3 games and come home...
The Bad:
The French defense. It looked like the Maginot line at times, completely standing still and being by passed by the Irish offense. Too often they were too slow and in poor position allowing the Irish to run around them. On the Keane goal, 3 French defenders were caught flat allowing Keane to receive the cheeky Duff cross and calmly slot home the shot. Neither Diarra covered themselves in glory either giving the back 4 cover. Were it not for the heroics from Lloris they would be carrying the title of French Goat.
Gourcuff once again seemed slow and was never the offensive and creative presence we expect of the French playmaker. I realize the Irish defense as well as his time off due to injury play a role but a player of his talent needs to make himself more influential in such matches.
Without the creative expression from Gourcuff, the French offense suffers and once again does not cover itself with glory. Henry, Anelka and Gignac all appeared to grow frustrated at the Irish defense and never got into a rhythm offensively. There is too much offensive talent available for Les Bleus to not show more offensive prowess.
The Ugly:
Um no surprise...but the Gallas goal. Okay it was not Gallas' goal but the assist from Henry. Clearly he handled the ball with his forearm and then seemed to gently palm it into his feet to give a nice pass to Gallas who just had to tap in for the goal. Clearly on the video you can see Henry handles the ball before giving Gallas a soft pass to easily head in the tying goal. However watch the play at regular speed and think about where the official is standing.
He has at least 6 to 7 bodies in front of him all scrambling towards the ball and Henry has an Irish defender blanketing him, so at full speed it is not as clear as to whether or not he handled the ball or if just bounced off his chest or upper leg. Does such a play add fuel to the fire to add more officials? Have video replay? Absolutely. But Henry did what we are all taught...play to the whistle. Should France be penalized for Henry's actions? Um...seriously? Should the Yankees give back the AL East title to the Red Sox in 1978 for Bucky Dent using a corked bat? Should Argentina give back the 1986 World Cup title because they won a game on the "hand of god?" Does Manchester United need to give back the game that Roy Carroll "saved" a ball clearly over the goal line? This carries more weight because of the stakes, no doubt. Let us not forget that had the goal not counted all that was guaranteed is that the game go to penalties, while everyone was favoring the Irish in this exercise, it is by no means a certainty. Maybe it was karma since a few minutes earlier there appeared a clear foul by Given on Anelka in the 18 yard box that was not called (as well as one on Evra in the game in Ireland). At least Henry has admitted the digression.
The overall game from France was ugly, I realize I already called many parts bad...but the entire match was ugly! If Les Bleus play like that next summer it will be a very short trip. There are still some ugly holes that the squad needs resolved - Who will be the central defensive pairing? What is the best formation for Les Bleus? Gignac or Benzema? Will Govou play an important role? What about players such as Mexes, Flamini, Nasri, to name a few. This qualifying campaign did nothing other than get France to the World Cup, they have not found their "soul" nor their system and the players are not clearly defined as to who are the building blocks.
So I can finally breath a small sigh of relief. France will be part of the celebration next summer. I do not have much faith that they will be able to do much - a 1/4 final appearance for me would be an over achievement! Domenech has had this team since 2004, on paper his record is not terrible - World Cup finalist 2006 and qualified for the 3 major tournaments he has had control of the squad. However that is on paper, in reality he has survived what should have been a sackable offense - his showing during the Euros 2008 - he has struggled to qualify, needing the old guard in 2005 to come back, has not clearly demonstrated a grasp of the talent he has at his disposal and has yet to give this squad any soul.
I realize this will never happen, but for France to have any chance next summer I believe they would need to sack Domemech now and put in a manager that can take the talent at hand and get a team together. Figure out how to get the likes of Mexes, Nasri, Benzema, Henry, Anelka, Diarra, Gourcuff, etc etc to work together and how to build a team. Unfortunately that will not happen. So we will go to South Africa with 2 holding midfielders, a right winger who is really a striker, a left winger who is more a left forward, a question mark at left central defense.....and a player such as Benzema on the bench, Mexes at home....and a whole host of other anomalies.
Congratulations Les Bleus you made it to South Africa....the real work starts now.
Congrats to Ireland...they deserved better. It should have gone to PKs were it not for the referee's poor decision to allow the French goal to stand after a hand ball from Henry. Les Bleus are the last team into the World Cup in South Africa...they do not get points for style, just for results...ugh. Need to think about what this all means...for now I need to regroup and catch my breath.
Ugh...Ireland up 1-0...deservedly after a terrible and lackadaisical start from Les Bleus. Were it not for Lloris France would be down by more. I am getting a very bad feeling about this...If this first half is any indication. I think this reflects on...Dumbenech. I think that the French are the more talented collection on the pitch but their manager is a joke. The only good thing about France not going to the World Cup is getting a new manager!
Not sure what this means for the game being shown on TV5 or other channels in the United States, but a good sign. The story from L'Equipe. Otherwise it would appear that one can watch it via the streaming feed on rte.ie.
For once I am on Roy Keane's side - he statement on the Irish loss was spot on - best quote: "They can complain all they want but France are going to the World Cup. Get over it." I complete agree with Keano. The former Irish captain has never been scared to speak his mind, good for him. I think that he mirrors some of the statements that this blog has made....surprising since I am usually a critic of the Irish man.
