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It would be both trite and inaccurate to say that only World Cup winners are remembered. If that were true, then no one would talk about the Netherlands team of 1974 or the Mighty Magyars of 1954 or Zinedine Zidane in 2006.
However, for this post about World Cup winners… only winning the World Cup counts. Near miss? Not interested. Unfair refereeing decision? Doesn’t matter. All that matters below is who actually won the World Cup. Who is in that exclusive club. Read on for a list of World Cup winners:
1930 – Uruguay
1934 – Italy
1938 – Italy
1950 – Uruguay
1954 – West Germany
1958 – Brazil
1962 – Brazil
1966 – England
1970 – Brazil
1974 – West Germany
1978 – Argentina
1982 – Italy
1986 – Argentina
1990 – West Germany
1994 – Brazil
1998 – France
2002 – Brazil
2006 – Italy
Which makes the grand totals:
Brazil – 5
Italy – 4
Germany – 3
Argentina – 2
Uruguay – 2
England – 1
France – 1
Only seven different teams have ever won the World Cup. European teams have won nine World Cups and South American teams have won nine World Cups.
Individual players: Pelé is the individual player with the most World Cup winners medals. He has three (1958, 1962, 1970). However, he did not play in the 1962 final as he was injured in only his second game of the tournament.
Mário Zagallo also has three, but two as a player (1958, 1962) and one as a coach (1970).
Only two men have won the World Cup as both a player and a coach. Mário Zagallo was the first, as mentioned above, and Franz Beckenbauer equaled that feat by winning as a player in 1974 and as a coach in 1990. Men with the opportunity to match that achievement at World Cup 2010 are Brazil coach Dunga (1994 as a player) and Argentina coach Diego Maradona (1986 as a player).
Further reading: World Cup team histories
It is the most romantic of all the tournaments, when the allure of a bigger marketing profile and even bigger paycheck takes the backseat for the football, only the football.
Poppycock. It’s all about the money – it’s always about the money. Just ask Coca Cola and Kulula and the World Cup Blog (fancy that).
Or just ask FIFA when they try to sell the Selecao for €223m euros to pay for Sepp’s bikini wax treatments. (Would you do it for anything less? Exactly.)
A company named Frontier Economics somehow compiled an estimated valuation of the top 10 teams – or their starting lineups – at the World Cup. Presumably they would’ve done all 32 for us were North Korea not involved.
Without further ado…
Spain? Non!
How they determined the “estimated” value we do not know, but if David Villa isn’t valued at roughly €40m I’m storming the castle and declaring the whole thing null and void. And don’t forget World Cup squads haven’t exactly been decided yet. Will Spain drop Fernando Torres and lose their top spot? No. Will Marcello Lippi call up a #10 as an injury replacement and vault up the list? Unlikely. Will Diego Maradona cut Lionel Messi and send them tumbling out of the top 10 altogether? Don’t answer that.
They’ve given us the most valuable from each of the ten teams, and in the process tell us they think Kaka is almost half the man he was last year and a soon-to-be 32 year old Frank Lampard…well, I just don’t know what they wee thinking there:
Spain
Andres Iniesta – €44m
Fernando Torres – €43m
Argentina
Lionel Messi – €140m
England
Wayne Rooney – €59m
Frank Lampard – €46m
Brazil
Kaka – €41m
Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo – €95m
France
Franck Ribery – €48m
Germany
Bastian Schweinsteiger -€ 33m
Netherlands
Arjen Robben – €34m
Ivory Coast
Didier Drogba – €48m
Italy
Daniele De Rossi – €29m
Harmless, curious, inaccurate fun, much like JP Morgan predicting England will win the World Cup.
The 32 coaches named their preliminary World Cup squads just a week ago. Most chose 30 players, and don’t need to name their final 23 man squads until June 1st. However, like over-eager lumberjacks, a couple of those coaches have started making cuts early.
Yesterday France coach Raymond Domenech reduced his 30 to 24, with Marseille’s Hatem Ben Arfa being the most high profile player to get the chop. I imagine Ben Arfa and the five other players feel like those singers who get past the early stage of American Idol (where they separate the crazies from the proper singers) but then get voted off at the first proper hurdle. So close, and yet so far.
Why make the cuts so soon? Could be that Domenech himself was officially cut this weekend, in a fashion, with the FFF confirming that Laurent Blanc will be Les Bleus boss post-World Cup 2010. So maybe this was RayRay’s way of taking back the headlines?
Marcello Lippi’s reductions were arguably even harsher. The Italy coach picked out just two players from his original 30 man squad and told then to pack their bags and go home. The unlucky pair were young Udinese trequartista (on loan at Juventus this past season) Antonio Candreva and not so young Juventus left back Fabio Grosso.
Grosso was absolutely integral to Italy’s 2006 World Cup win under Lippi. As well as having an all around impressive tournament, Grosso earned that controversial penalty against Australia to win the game in the second round, scored that curling 119th minute goal against Germany in the semi-final and – last but not least – scored the trophy-winning spot kick in the World Cup final itself. He’s a hero. So you could argue that – more than anyone – the now 32 year old Grosso deserves another go at the World Cup. Marcello Lippi disagrees:
“It was tough for me to call him and say he was cut from the team to go to South Africa, as it was tough to exclude 14 of the 23 that were in Germany. But I had to do it,” he revealed in a press conference.
“I told everybody that I won’t take someone to South Africa just because I am grateful for winning the World Cup in 2006.”
Which actually makes a lot of sense. It’s been four years since 2006, and Grosso isn’t 28 anymore. But still, got to feel bad for the guy. Unless you’re Australian maybe.
France manager concerned by Arsenal defender's injury problems ahead of World
Cup.
If you’re unfamiliar with World Cup Blog, then allow me to explain: The blog you’re reading now is the front page, but the core of WCB is the multitude of team specific blogs, including one for each of the World Cup 2010 teams.
The authors of these team blogs have forgotten more about their sides than I’ll ever know, so I decided to tap that knowledge by asking each of them a set of 10 questions. Today it’s the turn of (in order of when I received their answers…) Laurie, Jean-François, Jeff, Sarah and Inara from France World Cup Blog. Read on for the Raymond Domenech love-a-thon…
1. Who is France’s best player?
Laurie: This question is tough. There’s tons of individual talent on this team that doesn’t always show itself in NT play. Nearly everybody went invisible at some point during qualifying. I guess I’ll go with Thierry Henry despite the age, the lack of current club form, and the handball controversy, just because he’s Titi. And Hugo Lloris has the potential to be a standout goalkeeper eventually.
Jean-François: France has a lot of talent, but I must say that Yoann Gourcuff is France’s best player, or at least our most influential player. Other players that will play a key role in 2010 are Hugo Lloris, Thierry Henry, Patrice Evra, and Franck Ribery.
Jeff: Ribery. I wish this category were more hotly contested. Ribery is France’s only attacking player who is able to always maintain a respectable level of performance playing for France. Even when France are playing disgracefully, if Ribery is in there he’s at least creating chances. He has pace with the ball at his feet, and he gets beyond defenders and puts in dangerous crosses. For a given match, Gourcuff, Toulalan, Anelka, Henry, Gignac, even Benzema once upon a time, might be France’s best player, but all of these guys suffer from some kind of mental block, not helped by Doms, that sometimes, or often, keeps them from playing well.
Sarah: Hugo Lloris. He is the man, the boss and our only hope (at this point) for a successful World Cup campaign. If he can do this every game, he can take France to the semi-finals (at least)- just like he did for Lyon this season in the Champions League!
Inara: Based on form, probably Franck Ribery and Hugo Lloris. Both of them have been on fire recently. On potential, Yoann Gourcuff, but he just hasn’t been at his best for club or country in the past few months.
2. What do you think of coach Raymond Domenech?
Laurie: Pfffftttbbblllltt
Jean-François: Not many think highly of Raymond Domenech, he has no talent as a coach. He insists on playing 2 Defensive Midfielders even with all of the amazing players Les Bleus have in the offence. Fans were amazed and disgusted that Domenech was resigned after his awful appearance at the 2008 UEFA Euro competition.
Jeff: Doms is a mediocrity. An average supporter picked at random would be better.
Sarah: ohh, Rayray – how I despise thee! I can tolerate your unibrow and pension for romantic proposals at inappropriate moments – I could have even learned to appreciate these eccentricities had it not been for your horrible selection choices (famous omissions include Malouda, Cheyrou, Valbuena, Flamini, Clichy, Mexes, the list goes on and on) and bizarre strategic choices (Boumsong Boum Boum? No Scorpios?). However, it hasn’t all been bad. He did choose to promote Lloris over Mandanda, and called-up a whole new generation of French talent (Gourcuff, Nasri, Benzema, Ben Arfa, etc). Though, Gourcuff really hasn’t been the same since your love affair began… Can’t think of another positive thing in his 8 year term…
Inara: Until recently, I was one of the few who supported Domenech (well, more like tolerated). He’s a quirky guy who has no tact, but I can deal with that. His tactics haven’t been the greatest, but many of his players are egotistical underachievers who think they deserve to play based on their media hype and past glories. I get that it’s hard to find the perfect formation with players that you only see ten days out of the year, but I kept hoping that eventually, he’d find the winning formula. However, his refusal to budge from ineffective tactics (like using two DMs no matter the opponent) and his squad selection are really frustrating, and I’ll be happy to see a change in the management of Les Bleus.
NOTE: The FFF have announced that Laurent Blanc will replace Raymond Domenech after World Cup 2010.
3. What do you think of France’s World Cup 2010 kits?
Laurie: Don’t hate them, but won’t be buying one either. I liked the 2006 kits better.
Jean-François: France’s Home kits are a modern twist on the 1998 Jerseys, I absolutly love them! The Navy Blue that they were is very nice and goes well with their white shorts and red socks. The away ones are white, and since so many other teams are going with black away kits, France will be unique. This should be the last of the Adidas French Jerseys, as France signed a contract with Nike to start in 2011.
Jeff: The white away kits are pretty decent, and the blue home kits less so. If I could get one of the white kits for my five year old with his name and age on the back, I would.
Sarah: Our players wear a giant cock on their breast, ’nuff said. For a more thorough critique of both the home and away jersey – please refer to this link.
Inara: I like the white kit. I think it’s very elegant, and well, French. However, the blue kit with the red claw marks – or should I say streaks – over the rib cage make the players look like they just got mauled by wild animals.
4. What is France’s biggest strength?
Laurie: An ability to do the unexpected. (Even when the unexpected is “qualify for major tournaments where your players’ talents should have made them a shoo-in.”)
Jean-François: By far France’s biggest strength is the vast abundance of world class players, substuting players is never a problem with Les Bleus. Every player on the Starting XI and the bench are very influential for their club teams.
Jeff: In the last qualifier against Ireland it was Lloris in goal, but going into the tournament, if there’s going to be a strength, it’s probably France’s self-belief. There’s a vague feeling that this sputtering team could kick into gear.
Sarah: Hugo Lloris – Seeing him in action this season for Lyon both in Ligue 1 and the Champions League should be enough to give any France fan hope for the World Cup. He carried Lyon on his back all season – why not Les Bleus? France is very fortunate to be extremely deep in the goalkeeper position – as both Mandanda and Carraso would be first choices in most teams. It’s clear how spoiled we are when Frey isn’t even getting called up….
Inara: Their depth. France has so much talent in nearly every position (except RB and CB, where they are a little lightweight). How many other NTs can say that they don’t even have room for guys like Sebastien Frey and Mathieu Flamini?
5. …and biggest weakness?
Laurie: Raymond Domenech and his insistence on formulas and formations that don’t match the talents of his players, not to mention his inability to pick a team that plays well together.
Jean-François: France’s biggest weakness is, sadly, lack of desire and optimism. France do not seem to be determined to do well this summer. People believe that Domenech is largely responsable for this, that he can not motivate his players to strive for success.
Jeff: The manager. Any success this team has is in spite of the manager. He’s a liability, but there could be enough talent among the players to overcome that.
Sarah: Please see my answer to question #2. But Domenech isn’t the only obstacle France will have to overcome to redeem ourselves after our Euro 2008 debacle (ya know, where we didn’t win a single game). Our captain, Thierry Henry, has become one of the most hated figures in football after handballing France into the World Cup finals. On top of that – all of our regular strikers (Henry, Anelka, Benzema, Gignac) are probably in the worst form of their lives all at the same time. We are in a bit of defensive crisis with our regular center backs (Gallas, Abidal) both recovering from longterm injuries. But, even with all those injuries – there are tons of extremely talented players to replace them. France has never been at a loss of talented individuals, but we have struggled to make all those individuals work together as a team. We have a bunch of egos- the biggest of all belonging to Rayray Domenech.
Inara: Despite having an impressive array of attacking options, France are not threatening in front of the goal. They have all this possession and are great at build up play, but once they get near the penalty area, their targeting skills totally fail. Maybe they should play more video games.
6. If you could steal one player from any other World Cup 2010 team, then who would it be and why?
Laurie: Xavi, because he makes things happen. France desperately needs that.
Jean-François: Most people would ask for someone like Lionel Messi or Wayne Rooney. If I could steal any player from another team it would be Gonzalo Higuain of Argentina. Not only for his skills and techinical abilities, he was born and raised in France and I was really expecting him to play for the French National Team. Domenech offered him a spot on the team, but he eventually turned us down for Argentina.
Jeff: Messi.
Sarah: I’m going to avoid the obvious and pass on Messi, Xavi and Rooney. We have a strong crop of talented individual players-but we don’t really have a strong leader to help bring all these players together and show the younger generation how to play with pride, grit and determination… I can only think of two players who might fulfill this criteria: Mascherano or Puyol.
Inara: Xavi, probably. It would be nice to have a midfield player who could actually make things happen.
7. Tell us one thing about your team that the rest of the world might not know…
Laurie: Raymond Domenech’s baby momma (the one he proposed to after Euros) is rather shockingly easy on the eyes.
And there are unsubstantiated rumors that two former NT players fell permanently out of favor after they hit on her.
Jean-François: One player that many do not know about is Hugo Lloris. Hugo is France’s newly established #1 goalkeeper, and he is very good. In the past year Lloris has gone from a standard keeper to a world class player. People are reconizing his talent now, especially those watching him in the Champions’ League.
Jeff: There’s a lot of depth among France players. There was a statistic bouncing around about the number of French players in teams that reached the last 8 of the UEFA Champions League, and it was maybe double the number of the next most represented nation. France could take an entire 23 of uncapped players and be competitive. Players like Steed Malbranque, for example.
Sarah: There is a lot of talk about the older members of our team (Henry, Anelka, Vieira etc), but the bigger gamble for France is how Yoann Gourcuff and Hugo Lloris will play given that this will be their first major tournament. Despite all of the focus on Yoann Gourcuff in World Cup Qualification, this will be his first major tournament with France at the senior level since he did not receive his first call-up until August 2008. The same is true of Hugo Lloris, who did not win the #1 spot from Steve Mandanda until November 2008.
Inara: Sidney Govou, who seems to inspire no confidence in fans of Les Bleus, has scored 10 goals in 43 matches. That’s only four less than Nicolas Anelka, who has 20 more appearances than Govou.
8. What would you consider success/failure for France at World Cup 2010?
Laurie Everybody else is saying anything short of the quarters would be failure.
Jean-François: If France do not get into the quarter-finals I believe that this will be a complete failure of a World Cup for France. France are the current runners-up and they have to prove the world that they are still amongst the top teams.
Jeff: The only real success would be winning the tournament. We made the final the last time, and that was somewhat of a consolation, and some of the wins along the way (Togo, Spain, Brazil) were fantastic, but on balance it was a disappointment because we were slaughtered in the penalty shootout in the final.
Sarah: The French Football Federation has set a goal of “at least” semis – so anything less than that will be a failure. Given our form, anything better than that is just gravy…Plus, we saw the worst in 2008 – nothing can be worse than that Euro atrocity for a fan- except of course the day the FFF announced that Domenech would be staying on as the coach. We already know that won’t happen after this World Cup – so it can only get better from here…
Inara: I would be thrilled if Les Bleus made it to the quarterfinals. It would be horrible if we didn’t even make it out of the group stages, like in Euro 2008.
9. What are you most exited about at World Cup 2010?
Laurie: Aside from general excitement, I’m looking forward to it being over so France can get a new coach and fans can start looking toward 2014!
Jean-François: There isn’t much about the World Cup that I am not looking forward too. I believe that most french fans are looking forward to the end of the World Cup. The end of the world cup will mean a new coach and less pressure on Les Bleus. A clean slate for the Euro 2012 competition.
Jeff: Seeing what will happen.
Sarah: Its sink or swim time for the team. After four years of justifying and tolerating sub-par performances and disappointing results, the possibility of this team finally playing like the group of talented players that we all know they are is exhilarating! Plus, when its all over – its au revoir to Domenech- making the end of this tournament a win-win regardless of the results!
Inara: I can’t wait to see Hugo Lloris in action. He’s been terrific all year for Lyon in both the Champions League and in Ligue 1, and he’s been very reliable for Les Bleus. The World Cup is going to be his first major tournament, and we’ll all finally get to see what he’s made of. This is especially interesting because last fall, he was behind Steve Mandanda in the pecking order. Even in November, no one thought Lloris would be starting for France this summer.
10. Who do you think will win World Cup 2010?
Laurie: I think this is Spain’s year, but it could also be a return to Brazilian dominance.
Jean-François: My heart wants me to say that France can win the World Cup. Logic tells me that Brazil will be champions for the 6th time.
Jeff: France.
Sarah: I think we have a shot – Germany and Italy won because of the stunning goalkeeping display by Kahn and Buffon. France has always been known for winning in the midfield or with beautiful goals. Times have changed – and so have our strengths. So while people may underestimate us because we are playing differently – I wont be shocked if we are the ones lifting the trophy this summer!
Inara: pain. They may not have Lionel Messi, but they still have a lot of talent, and more importantly, they play like a team. Plus they are easier to like than all the other teams.
More at France World Cup Blog.
If you’re unfamiliar with World Cup Blog, then allow me to explain: The blog you’re reading now is the front page, but the core of WCB is the multitude of team specific blogs, including one for each of the World Cup 2010 teams.
The authors of these team blogs have forgotten more about their sides than I’ll ever know, so I decided to tap that knowledge by asking each of them a set of 10 questions. Today it’s the turn of (in order of when I received their answers…) Laurie, Jean-François, Jeff, Sarah and Inara from France World Cup Blog. Read on for the Raymond Domenech love-a-thon…
1. Who is France’s best player?
Laurie: This question is tough. There’s tons of individual talent on this team that doesn’t always show itself in NT play. Nearly everybody went invisible at some point during qualifying. I guess I’ll go with Thierry Henry despite the age, the lack of current club form, and the handball controversy, just because he’s Titi. And Hugo Lloris has the potential to be a standout goalkeeper eventually.
Jean-François: France has a lot of talent, but I must say that Yoann Gourcuff is France’s best player, or at least our most influential player. Other players that will play a key role in 2010 are Hugo Lloris, Thierry Henry, Patrice Evra, and Franck Ribery.
Jeff: Ribery. I wish this category were more hotly contested. Ribery is France’s only attacking player who is able to always maintain a respectable level of performance playing for France. Even when France are playing disgracefully, if Ribery is in there he’s at least creating chances. He has pace with the ball at his feet, and he gets beyond defenders and puts in dangerous crosses. For a given match, Gourcuff, Toulalan, Anelka, Henry, Gignac, even Benzema once upon a time, might be France’s best player, but all of these guys suffer from some kind of mental block, not helped by Doms, that sometimes, or often, keeps them from playing well.
Sarah: Hugo Lloris. He is the man, the boss and our only hope (at this point) for a successful World Cup campaign. If he can do this every game, he can take France to the semi-finals (at least)- just like he did for Lyon this season in the Champions League!
Inara: Based on form, probably Franck Ribery and Hugo Lloris. Both of them have been on fire recently. On potential, Yoann Gourcuff, but he just hasn’t been at his best for club or country in the past few months.
2. What do you think of coach Raymond Domenech?
Laurie: Pfffftttbbblllltt
Jean-François: Not many think highly of Raymond Domenech, he has no talent as a coach. He insists on playing 2 Defensive Midfielders even with all of the amazing players Les Bleus have in the offence. Fans were amazed and disgusted that Domenech was resigned after his awful appearance at the 2008 UEFA Euro competition.
Jeff: Doms is a mediocrity. An average supporter picked at random would be better.
Sarah: ohh, Rayray – how I despise thee! I can tolerate your unibrow and pension for romantic proposals at inappropriate moments – I could have even learned to appreciate these eccentricities had it not been for your horrible selection choices (famous omissions include Malouda, Cheyrou, Valbuena, Flamini, Clichy, Mexes, the list goes on and on) and bizarre strategic choices (Boumsong Boum Boum? No Scorpios?). However, it hasn’t all been bad. He did choose to promote Lloris over Mandanda, and called-up a whole new generation of French talent (Gourcuff, Nasri, Benzema, Ben Arfa, etc). Though, Gourcuff really hasn’t been the same since your love affair began… Can’t think of another positive thing in his 8 year term…
Inara: Until recently, I was one of the few who supported Domenech (well, more like tolerated). He’s a quirky guy who has no tact, but I can deal with that. His tactics haven’t been the greatest, but many of his players are egotistical underachievers who think they deserve to play based on their media hype and past glories. I get that it’s hard to find the perfect formation with players that you only see ten days out of the year, but I kept hoping that eventually, he’d find the winning formula. However, his refusal to budge from ineffective tactics (like using two DMs no matter the opponent) and his squad selection are really frustrating, and I’ll be happy to see a change in the management of Les Bleus.
NOTE: The FFF have announced that Laurent Blanc will replace Raymond Domenech after World Cup 2010.
3. What do you think of France’s World Cup 2010 kits?
Laurie: Don’t hate them, but won’t be buying one either. I liked the 2006 kits better.
Jean-François: France’s Home kits are a modern twist on the 1998 Jerseys, I absolutly love them! The Navy Blue that they were is very nice and goes well with their white shorts and red socks. The away ones are white, and since so many other teams are going with black away kits, France will be unique. This should be the last of the Adidas French Jerseys, as France signed a contract with Nike to start in 2011.
Jeff: The white away kits are pretty decent, and the blue home kits less so. If I could get one of the white kits for my five year old with his name and age on the back, I would.
Sarah: Our players wear a giant cock on their breast, ’nuff said. For a more thorough critique of both the home and away jersey – please refer to this link.
Inara: I like the white kit. I think it’s very elegant, and well, French. However, the blue kit with the red claw marks – or should I say streaks – over the rib cage make the players look like they just got mauled by wild animals.
4. What is France’s biggest strength?
Laurie: An ability to do the unexpected. (Even when the unexpected is “qualify for major tournaments where your players’ talents should have made them a shoo-in.”)
Jean-François: By far France’s biggest strength is the vast abundance of world class players, substuting players is never a problem with Les Bleus. Every player on the Starting XI and the bench are very influential for their club teams.
Jeff: In the last qualifier against Ireland it was Lloris in goal, but going into the tournament, if there’s going to be a strength, it’s probably France’s self-belief. There’s a vague feeling that this sputtering team could kick into gear.
Sarah: Hugo Lloris – Seeing him in action this season for Lyon both in Ligue 1 and the Champions League should be enough to give any France fan hope for the World Cup. He carried Lyon on his back all season – why not Les Bleus? France is very fortunate to be extremely deep in the goalkeeper position – as both Mandanda and Carraso would be first choices in most teams. It’s clear how spoiled we are when Frey isn’t even getting called up….
Inara: Their depth. France has so much talent in nearly every position (except RB and CB, where they are a little lightweight). How many other NTs can say that they don’t even have room for guys like Sebastien Frey and Mathieu Flamini?
5. …and biggest weakness?
Laurie: Raymond Domenech and his insistence on formulas and formations that don’t match the talents of his players, not to mention his inability to pick a team that plays well together.
Jean-François: France’s biggest weakness is, sadly, lack of desire and optimism. France do not seem to be determined to do well this summer. People believe that Domenech is largely responsable for this, that he can not motivate his players to strive for success.
Jeff: The manager. Any success this team has is in spite of the manager. He’s a liability, but there could be enough talent among the players to overcome that.
Sarah: Please see my answer to question #2. But Domenech isn’t the only obstacle France will have to overcome to redeem ourselves after our Euro 2008 debacle (ya know, where we didn’t win a single game). Our captain, Thierry Henry, has become one of the most hated figures in football after handballing France into the World Cup finals. On top of that – all of our regular strikers (Henry, Anelka, Benzema, Gignac) are probably in the worst form of their lives all at the same time. We are in a bit of defensive crisis with our regular center backs (Gallas, Abidal) both recovering from longterm injuries. But, even with all those injuries – there are tons of extremely talented players to replace them. France has never been at a loss of talented individuals, but we have struggled to make all those individuals work together as a team. We have a bunch of egos- the biggest of all belonging to Rayray Domenech.
Inara: Despite having an impressive array of attacking options, France are not threatening in front of the goal. They have all this possession and are great at build up play, but once they get near the penalty area, their targeting skills totally fail. Maybe they should play more video games.
6. If you could steal one player from any other World Cup 2010 team, then who would it be and why?
Laurie: Xavi, because he makes things happen. France desperately needs that.
Jean-François: Most people would ask for someone like Lionel Messi or Wayne Rooney. If I could steal any player from another team it would be Gonzalo Higuain of Argentina. Not only for his skills and techinical abilities, he was born and raised in France and I was really expecting him to play for the French National Team. Domenech offered him a spot on the team, but he eventually turned us down for Argentina.
Jeff: Messi.
Sarah: I’m going to avoid the obvious and pass on Messi, Xavi and Rooney. We have a strong crop of talented individual players-but we don’t really have a strong leader to help bring all these players together and show the younger generation how to play with pride, grit and determination… I can only think of two players who might fulfill this criteria: Mascherano or Puyol.
Inara: Xavi, probably. It would be nice to have a midfield player who could actually make things happen.
7. Tell us one thing about your team that the rest of the world might not know…
Laurie: Raymond Domenech’s baby momma (the one he proposed to after Euros) is rather shockingly easy on the eyes.
And there are unsubstantiated rumors that two former NT players fell permanently out of favor after they hit on her.
Jean-François: One player that many do not know about is Hugo Lloris. Hugo is France’s newly established #1 goalkeeper, and he is very good. In the past year Lloris has gone from a standard keeper to a world class player. People are reconizing his talent now, especially those watching him in the Champions’ League.
Jeff: There’s a lot of depth among France players. There was a statistic bouncing around about the number of French players in teams that reached the last 8 of the UEFA Champions League, and it was maybe double the number of the next most represented nation. France could take an entire 23 of uncapped players and be competitive. Players like Steed Malbranque, for example.
Sarah: There is a lot of talk about the older members of our team (Henry, Anelka, Vieira etc), but the bigger gamble for France is how Yoann Gourcuff and Hugo Lloris will play given that this will be their first major tournament. Despite all of the focus on Yoann Gourcuff in World Cup Qualification, this will be his first major tournament with France at the senior level since he did not receive his first call-up until August 2008. The same is true of Hugo Lloris, who did not win the #1 spot from Steve Mandanda until November 2008.
Inara: Sidney Govou, who seems to inspire no confidence in fans of Les Bleus, has scored 10 goals in 43 matches. That’s only four less than Nicolas Anelka, who has 20 more appearances than Govou.
8. What would you consider success/failure for France at World Cup 2010?
Laurie Everybody else is saying anything short of the quarters would be failure.
Jean-François: If France do not get into the quarter-finals I believe that this will be a complete failure of a World Cup for France. France are the current runners-up and they have to prove the world that they are still amongst the top teams.
Jeff: The only real success would be winning the tournament. We made the final the last time, and that was somewhat of a consolation, and some of the wins along the way (Togo, Spain, Brazil) were fantastic, but on balance it was a disappointment because we were slaughtered in the penalty shootout in the final.
Sarah: The French Football Federation has set a goal of “at least” semis – so anything less than that will be a failure. Given our form, anything better than that is just gravy…Plus, we saw the worst in 2008 – nothing can be worse than that Euro atrocity for a fan- except of course the day the FFF announced that Domenech would be staying on as the coach. We already know that won’t happen after this World Cup – so it can only get better from here…
Inara: I would be thrilled if Les Bleus made it to the quarterfinals. It would be horrible if we didn’t even make it out of the group stages, like in Euro 2008.
9. What are you most exited about at World Cup 2010?
Laurie: Aside from general excitement, I’m looking forward to it being over so France can get a new coach and fans can start looking toward 2014!
Jean-François: There isn’t much about the World Cup that I am not looking forward too. I believe that most french fans are looking forward to the end of the World Cup. The end of the world cup will mean a new coach and less pressure on Les Bleus. A clean slate for the Euro 2012 competition.
Jeff: Seeing what will happen.
Sarah: Its sink or swim time for the team. After four years of justifying and tolerating sub-par performances and disappointing results, the possibility of this team finally playing like the group of talented players that we all know they are is exhilarating! Plus, when its all over – its au revoir to Domenech- making the end of this tournament a win-win regardless of the results!
Inara: I can’t wait to see Hugo Lloris in action. He’s been terrific all year for Lyon in both the Champions League and in Ligue 1, and he’s been very reliable for Les Bleus. The World Cup is going to be his first major tournament, and we’ll all finally get to see what he’s made of. This is especially interesting because last fall, he was behind Steve Mandanda in the pecking order. Even in November, no one thought Lloris would be starting for France this summer.
10. Who do you think will win World Cup 2010?
Laurie: I think this is Spain’s year, but it could also be a return to Brazilian dominance.
Jean-François: My heart wants me to say that France can win the World Cup. Logic tells me that Brazil will be champions for the 6th time.
Jeff: France.
Sarah: I think we have a shot – Germany and Italy won because of the stunning goalkeeping display by Kahn and Buffon. France has always been known for winning in the midfield or with beautiful goals. Times have changed – and so have our strengths. So while people may underestimate us because we are playing differently – I wont be shocked if we are the ones lifting the trophy this summer!
Inara: pain. They may not have Lionel Messi, but they still have a lot of talent, and more importantly, they play like a team. Plus they are easier to like than all the other teams.
More at France World Cup Blog.
Laurent Blanc took a major step towards replacing Raymond Domenech as France
coach after quitting his role at Bordeaux.
Interesting quote from Fabio Capello today, discussing his and England’s World Cup expectations:
“There are many talented sides in the tournament,” he said. “Spain, Argentina, but especially Brazil. They are a battleship.
“But it is not added pressure for me that [England] expects to win the World Cup. That is part of the game and that is why I came here. For me, not reaching the final would be failure.”
Maybe it’s not sensible that England expects to win the World Cup. Maybe it is. The whole thing has me thinking about expectations. Specifically: How many of the 32 teams competing at World Cup 2010 can have realistic expectations of winning the whole thing?
It’s hard to define a criteria for this. You can’t say that any team that’s won it before can expect to win it again for example. Because by that logic Uruguay has a more realistic chance of World Cup glory than Spain. Which I think we can all agree is not true. So this has to be more of a gut feeling.
For example, I think it’s realistic that Brazil could win the World Cup. Champions Italy are also a contender, and go into every tournament aiming to win. Which is fair enough. Same goes for other in form teams like Germany and the Netherlands. I can picture those teams with happy faces and the trophy.
More interesting are the traditionally powerful teams who struggled in qualifying and have a general air of instability about them. I’m thinking Argentina and France here. Neither can claim to have been at 100% recently, yet both have enough quality – looking at you especially Leo Messi – that a 2010 World Cup win is certainly a possibility. But is it a realistic expectation?
On the next tier there are teams like Portugal. Semi-finalists in 2006 and Cristiano Ronaldo leading the charge, but should they just be happy to do the same again? Or should they have expectations of winning the trophy? And how about England? Is Fabio Capello right to have such high expectations for his team?
So here’s the question: In your opinion, which teams at World Cup 2010 can enter the tournament with realistic expectations of winning the whole thing?
Rather odd story in France today, with Zahia Dehar – the call-girl (is that the right term?) in the middle of the Franck Ribery, Sidney Govou, Hatem Ben Arfa, Karim Benzema under-age sex scandal – apparently standing up for said players by writing a letter to Raymond Domenech last week, in which she encouraged the France coach to presume the players innocent until proven guilty and also to not let the scandal affect his World Cup 2010 squad selection.
Assuming this is all true (I’m not 100% sure, but seems the French media are taking it seriously) it was weekly news magazine L’Express that broke the story today, by publishing a copy of the letter they’d obtained, seemingly with Zehar’s consent.
See the letter for yourself below:
And in English, via Google Translate version of the original article:
” Sir,
I learn from the press that the publication of the statements I made to the police who called me and questioned might result from putting away some players from the France team football.
I am amazed as saddened.
How could I have imagined? While I have always hidden my age does not deter my partners, that their good faith could one day be challenged?
I accept fully my behavior.
I told the police and I have said publicly.At no time did I claimed or implied that I had been the victim of these people even if I had to admit the reality of relations I spoke with some of them because transcripts of wiretaps that had the investigators.
I do not want only to those whose indiscretions have allowed this case are laid out in the press, so it should remain secret, and have operated my image without permission, forcing me out of anonymity to deal with gossip that have been posted or broadcast by the newspapers.
I ask that you respect what the judges, lawyers, called the “presumption of innocence” and take no account at the time of your choice, what has happened between some of our players and I .
Please accept Excellency of my highest consideration “
It’s a noble gesture from the (now) 18 year old, but one that also suggests she doesn’t follow French football all that closely. Because if she did, she’d know that Domenech only takes squad selection comes from the alignment of the stars. Zing.
In the end Domenech named Ribery, Govou and Ben Arfa to his provisional 30 man World Cup squad today. Karim Benzema was the only player implicated in the scandal to be excluded from the squad, and even Benzema’s absence is better explained by his poor form for Real Madrid than by any of the allegations. The exclusion of Samir Nasri on the other hand, remains a complete mystery.
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