It was good to see 4 French players playing in the Champions League final last night and, but for Anelka (who came on very late as a sub), they all had an opportunity to play an integral part in the match.
So how did our boys perform on the biggest stage in club football?
Malouda
Yawn. Really, the man shouldn’t have bothered turning up. There was the usual odd moment where he put in the sumptuous cross or passed his man with ease, but those moments were sadly very rare…
Its becoming an all too familiar site for us French supporters. He was athletic and looked like a thoroughbred, but when Chelsea needed him to be charging down the flanks like a race horse he jogged around like he was doing dressage.
Perhaps football is the wrong sport for Malouda. I think he’d be more suited to something like Free-style Gymnastics or something like that.
Makelele
Vintage Makelele. Showed the value of experience as he put himself at the centre of everything and calmly controlled the game. For almost the entire second half Chelsea were in absolute control and he was at the heart of it.
The little general was in his element and didn’t give the United players an inch, instantly shoring up the smallest gaps in midfield and distributing the ball consummately.
There was the odd moment of petulance, but i’m not too perturbed by that – in fact, as distasteful as it is, I actually find it heartening to see that kind of gamesmanship from the old man. Because to me it shows he still has an appetite for this game – that he has fight and spunk left in him.
In fact, Maks seems to be experiencing a tiny Indian Summer right at this moment – and that is very good news for France. We feared that this was going to be a summer too far for him, but it looks like he just about has enough left in the tank for one more tournament.
If he plays like that for France then he’ll add a great deal of stability to the defencive midfield – a godsend knowing just how volatile the Makelele-Vieira partnership is.
Anelka
This might sound strange to say, but overall I’m not too worried for Anelka. Firstly, he came on very late in the game (in the 99th minute) and as a result didn’t really have too much of a part to play. So in terms of quality time spent on the pitch there is nothing much to judge his performance by.
I also don’t feel that his exclusion for most of the game is harmful either, as he has been playing from the bench for much of the season for Chelsea and in all that time his form for France has been very good.
And the miss? Well, here we go into the realm of conjecture… I personally don’t think it will affect him. This is where his mercenary attitude is a plus for France. This might be a big knock to the confidence of some players and for others it might be a boost. But Anelka is the one player for whom it probably matters the least – because he simply isn’t particularly loyal. How can you be when at the age of 29 you’ve already played for 9 teams in your career!
My impression is that for Anelka what matters is his performance level. And a penalty doesn’t have that much bearing on that. Penalties are penalties. Players miss them – it happens.
His performance levels have been good and that’s what I think will matter to him.
Stephane put it very well this morning when he said: “Anelka’s the dude who comes in at 9 and leaves at 5…but is kick ass at his job…and his CV is always up to date!”
Evra
He was excellent! Such a threat. He was strong, fast and very involved. He put in a few very good balls and showed some real penetration.
It was also good to see him play so well on such a big stage. He wasn’t phased at all, but in fact was very much up for it! To see him respond like that is very encouraging for France and the experience will be a good thing for both him and us – not least of all because Manchester United won.
And that said, even though Chelsea lost its very good that its yet another final for Makelele, Malouda and Anelka. That kind of experience is invaluable and can only help when we arrive at the Euros.
For the summer Evra’s confidence will be boosted, and Anelka and Makelele (and hopefully Malouda?) will want to get there again…
… and i’m sure will be determined to go all the way!
-J.P. de Rosnay
Everyone played to their recent form. Makalele and Evra should be automatic first choices for France. Malouda should be held in reserve. Anelka, well, if his form is better than Henry’s, he could do a job up front with Benzema.
Agreed.
I’d be so happy with that, seeing Evra on and Malouda off.
As for Anelka and Henry, Domenech may end up playing them both. But I see your point with regards to Henry. Oh yes. It is a BIG ol’ debate between me and Stephane. And I mean big.
Its gone on for months now. Nearly a year. We once argued solidly over it for a whole week. Every email we sent, every time we spoke – we once sat through a whole game together and argued about it.
We’re both very stubborn!
Its gotten to that stage now where neither of us actually mentions titi to each other… !
By the way, I found your Mandanda post yesterday morning and tried to leave a comment – but it was caught in the spam filter.
haha, long live the King!!!
Well i’ve said before on this blog that im ok with Henry coming off the bench for us. I’m just not sure if his ego can handle it. i think it makes more sense for him to be on the bench than for Anelka…I feel like Henry can have a more immediate impact as a sub. But let’s see how the friendlies go. Henry’s got 5 goals in his last 4 games, so he’ll be feeling good. Benz has had a hell of a season and Anelka’s been doing his thing all year (well for France anyway).
I’d be pretty pleased with a combination of those 3 up front over 90 minutes.
Malouda needs a kick up the rear. I bet he’s one of these players who excels in training but for some reason doesnt quite do it in the game. I dont know why i think, i just do!
i was loving how Maks played, thats given me a big boost for the Euros. should really help our defense.
i also tried commenting on that post but it got spammed.
Malouda’s game was as disappointing as his whole season. In my eyes, he practically added nothing to Chelsea’s game. I hope he’ll play better for France, but somehow I doubt it.
Evra, as you said, was excellent once more. Don’t know what he has to do to get in front of Abidal.
As you’re speaking of Titi, I am curious how he will do. He will have to prove that his slow season at Barcelona was not caused by his age (or whatever other reason), but only by him being forced to play on the wing most of the times. Personally, I think it’s the former – please let me be wrong!
KOLO TOURE:
I agree with you about Evra and Malouda.
As for titi… its hard to say, isn’t it? One things for sure, he certainly isn’t quite as bad for France as he is for Barca. Also, its heartening that he has the full support of Domenech and that he himself is still positive.
I guess my personal feeling is that he’s been coming off and injury (as Steph often reminds me) and has struggled to find form, which hasn’t been help by him struggling to adapt to la liga – and which further hasn’t been helped by him becoming this scape goat for barca!
So i think he still has it in him, but its hard to say if he’ll be firing at the Euros…
He has seemed to be in better form in the last few weeks, hasn’t he? or is that just me…? He looked pretty decent against Man U at the Nou Camp…
Have you seen much of him for Barca in the last few weeks?
No, I haven’t seen much of him. Besides the Man Utd. games I saw him
- at the game against Deportivo, which was between the Man Utd. games I guess, and he was pretty weak. No defensive ambitions at all, but that should not be new to us.
- at the game against Murcia, last game of the season I guess. He worked a lot and looked much better. Certainly one of his best games his season for Barca.
If this game serves as an indicator, Henry definitely still has it in him!
Ah, thats good to know! thanks KT!
Why is Malouda anywhere right now? I simply refuse to believe he is the only solid left wing option Domenech had prior to the selection. Although I cannot think of one right now, there has to be someone else. He made a few runs, even one in which he tripped himself in the penalty box but that was about it. I say bench him and start Evra. Evra gets up the wing on almost every possesion anyway.
As for Anelka, had it been anyone else who missed the penalty then yeah I’d be worried. He’s confident and it was only a penalty. THE penalty for his team but he’ll get over it. He’s the last guy I would anticipate to pull a Trezeguet (tears) post game.
JEAN-MICHEL:
couldn’t agree more. how is he the only option we have?! its unfathomable…! and yeah, even evra could do a job there.
although, i think in eboue we have a cautionary tale with regards to full backs converting to wingers, in that at full-back defenders have the luxury to build up a head of steam and often are able to go forward unmarked because they are overlapping with the winger.
were they to be the winger themselves it wouldn’t be nearly as easy as full-backs aren’t used to the tightiness in the midfield and being closed down so quickly, and lack the close control that midfielders have to evade tackles and take the ball forward.
that doesn’t mean he can’t do it, and he certainly has the speed and cross on him thats needed. but there’s a reason why full-backs don’t become wingers more often.
and yeah, anelka definitely won’t be pulling any trezeguets! and while we’re talking about distasteful behaviour, isn’t it nice to see anelka not sulking these days?! he’s really got a good attitude for france lately.
JP, you spoke too fast….the sulk is back: http://msnsport.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12040_3600675,00.html
don’t get confused with le sulk at club level and le sulk at international level. previously there has been no discrepancy with regards to the context within which le sulk sulks in.
he’s always sulked where ever he’s been. but of late he hasn’t sulked for les bleus! (well, from what i’ve seen)
and also, one can fully understand his sulk about chelsea. it was expected. any player would be saying the same thing at the close of season.
in fact, he’s shown some rare tact to wait till now before he sulked…!
thanks for the link, though!
i must say, i actually rather like what he said in that article.
i think he’s right to say that and i think it takes balls to say that…
it could, also, be seen to be in bad taste, i guess.
True! I guess he has no reasons to sulk for les Bleus, he’s a first choice striker along with Henry and plays as a second central striker, which is his favorite position.
He should have never signed for Chelsea. Maybe he was afraid of losing his place in the French squad if he’d carry on playing for a bottom 5 team. He should’ve come back to Arsenal ;o)
still – he had to eat some humble pie to get into that position in the first place, and thats quite commendable (especially for him!).
“come back” i didn’t know you were an arsenal girl…!
yeah, one imagines he would’ve been well-suited to arsenal. i still feel thats when he was at his absolute best.
truly, in that time when he played for france and arsenal he was the best footballer i’ve ever seen.
Le Sulk back to Le Arse? Nah, thanks. We’re fine without him
Henry ponders international future post-Euro 2008
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldFootballNews&storyid=2008-05-23T082228Z_01_L23713921_RTRIDST_0_SOCCER-FRANCE-HENRY.XML
Some interesting quotes in there, also about his future as a Barca player.
ah, interesting KT… thanks!
i think what he’s saying is a little misleading, though. as in, i don’t think he’s thinking of retiring now, but that he’s thinking of when to retire – of how much longer he can play in his position at the highest level. and i guess thats natural once you hit your 30s as a striker…
He’s a little bit of a character but he’s a great player. I think Adebayord and Anelka would have formed a great striking partnership…I mean it’s got to be better than Bentner or Robin “I’m injured” Van Persie.
hahahaha!
I think this is more le truth than le sulk @ Anelka comments. Same thing with Henry at Barca. Its just annoying to me that these managers cannot alter their formations to accomodate the talent they have on their respective teams. This includes Domenech.
i couldn’t agree more Jean-Michel. Its all fine and well if it comes off, but more often than not it doesn’t and it really affects the player’s career – and in our case, the team!
Jean Pierre:
I think it’s a good time for Henry to retire internationally after the Euros. He’ll be 33 at the World Cup in South Africa, and given his back problems in the last years I somehow doubt that he’ll be in top shape at this age.
Annabelle:
I agree that Anelka is a really good striker.
But with his past at Arsenal, you have to understand that nobody would have welcomed him back. In addition to that, Wenger had other plans anyway. I think you know that Eduardo was planned to be the back up for the highly injury prone van Persie. In January, nobody could have predicted his terrible injury in February.
But let’s not talk about Arsenal, this is a Les Bleus-Blog!
KT:
haha! you really think titi is past it?
some authoritative comments there about nicky anelka… well, i guess you do play for the club, so you’d know…
KT…you’re right I think it’ll be a good time for him to retire, it would be a shame if he carries on playing if he’s the shadow of his former self…Plus we need to start building a team for the WC 2010 and Euro 2012, we already have too many ageing players in our squad…
you guys are ruthless…!!!
you’re not thinking it could be a momentary loss of form, compounded by a slow recovery from injury and a difficult adaptation to la liga?
i am totally with you that he shouldn’t play if he isn’t up to scratch. if he’s not fit to play and someone else can do a better job then they should start.
and, should this be the case, i like steph’s idea of using him as an impact sub.
but at this stage we don’t know for sure if he really is losing it…
I am not saying that King Henry has lost it, not at all. He’s still an awesome player and he can still turn a game around. But he’ll be 32 for the next world cup and soon or later you have to say enough is enough.
I can’t see Henry being used as an impact sub, I don’t think he would ever agree to it. He would probably rather retire than be used as a sub.
but you don’t think he’d be good enough for the 2010 world cup?
Depends…I’d like to think he will but if he spends next season as a sub again for Barcelona then who knows. Do you think he’ll be fit (physically and mentally) to play for at international level if he plays 10-20mn every week?
2010 is a long way away…
but yeah, he definitely can’t stay at barca if he’s going to continue playing the role he’s playing now. if he doesn’t play more football at barca and improve then that may be it for his career. but for someone who’s been as good as he has one can’t really see that happening.
he’s stubborn and won’t really want to leave barca as a failure, but he’s also not an idiot, and if he stays on and it still doesn’t work, then i’m sure he’ll leave in january…
If Thierry Henry could do a job at left midfield, France could be champions. Anelka and Benzema up front. Ribery wide right. Maybe do something crazy and give Ribery the Captaincy. He’s earned it – he’s usually the best France player on the pitch. Makalele has to be in there, and it’s a 4-4-2, so the other central midfielder would want to be a hard tackler, but also a creator, and Toulalan might be the best bet to partner Makalele.
That puts Pat Vieira as a sub, and I think he’d be a good weapon to replace either Makalele or Toulalan. I’m pinning a lot of hope on Toulalan being at his best and creating chances.
If Coupet is good to go, he’s my number 1. Otherwise, reports out of Italy would have us believe that Frey could be the best choice for the Number 1 Jersey.
Evra at left back. It is a joke that Malouda and Abidal have to both be in there because they’re consistently mediocre together and used to play on the same team, before they went to bigger clubs where they under perform just like they do for France. It is a joke if Domenech persists with either Malouda or Abidal.
If, IF, Sangol is in good shape, then he could be right back. I really like Lassana Diarra and I’d give him a run there, but I like Clerc, sometimes, too.
Central defense: Let Gallas have a run, but be careful to put too much pressure on him because he has shown signs that he can crack.
To partner Gallas? There’s no obvious choice. Maybe Thruam again.
Benzema Anelka
Henry Makalele Toulalan Ribery (C)
Evra Gallas Thuram Sangol or L. Diarra
Coupet or Frey
Attackers off the bench: Nasri, Cisse
Midfielder off the bench: Vieira
If Toulalan doesn’t play well right from the start, I’d be quick to drop replace him with Flamini.
It’s a long way away indeed…and Benzema will be even better than he already is. Surely he’ll be our first choice stricker by then! He could partner Anelka up front…or Gomis, Sinama-Pongolle etc…
ANNABELLE:
he’s our only stricker!
good point… yeah, benzema will only get better.
still, henry in his pomp was amazing and i wouldn’t say not to him were he to find that form again.
JEFF:
thats incredible.
wow. i love that!
the only area where i differ in opinion (and here, only slightly) is that i wouldn’t even start with toodaloo and go for flamini from the off. or even nas. my worry being that toulalan’s distribution is simply not good enough in my eyes, and he often plays right next to makelele or vieira – or just about in front. but he doesn’t impose himself and distribute the ball well enough.
what happens then is we often leave this gaping hole in the middle of the field, with 6 players on the defensive side of the field and the rest out wide and up front – nobody in the middle.
if toodles could hold his place in the middle of the field then i’d be happy for him to play.
but yeah, your analysis is superb! i love the idea of henry on the wing.
oh bugger. i just remember him moaning about playing on the wing. remember what he said about barca? about never having run that much in his life. he sounded pretty pissed off…
hmm… it might be quite a job to convince titi of your cunning plan.
in theory, though, i like it!
Jeff…spot on! I think it could work pretty well….but like JP said, Titi hates playing on the wing (though in his Monaco days – and even when he first joined Arsenal – he was a left winger. I’m not sure about Toulalan, I would rather see Flamini or Nasri in midfield in lieu of Toulalan. French Cup Final is tomorrow…it’ll be interesting to see how Govou, Toulalan, Ben Arfa, Benzema, Clerc, Squillaci, Boumsong do….Domenech will be watching!
yeah… that will be interesting…
I’m watching the game…will try and post a player’s report card on Sunday.
ah, that’d be great annabelle!
okay folks, thats it for me.
sadly no internet at home at the moment (busy changing service providers), so i won’t be back till tuesday!
I’m with everyone here about Henry as a left winger. I just can’t see it happening. Although it may be what’s best for the team, there’s the question about his “melon”. About his retirement, I think he’s right to start thinking about it. If his name starts getting thrown around as a potential left winger he may start losing interest altogether and just say eff it. There’s also nothing wrong with a player wanting to go out on top. It’s tacky when players linger around for an extra couple seasons too many and their legend starts diminishing (i.e. Kafu & Figo). Yeah it sucked when we had to let go of Zizou but players of that caliber and Henry’s should be able interpret the signals their bodies are giving them. Jeff, I think that is an excellent line up and I would do nothing to it except for the possibility of an Henry/left wing situation. The Ribery captaincy idea was great as well for the mere sake that he seems to be in complete confidence right now. He gave an interview today @ Clairefontaine and sounded very captain-esque.
Quick recap (Can’t say too much about the players, I watched the game the internet, picture was ok-ish but it had no sound so, it was a bit difficult to tell whom was whom on the pitch!)
Coupet, Boumsong, Squillaci, Govou and Toulalan started the game with
Clerc and Ben Arfa on the bench.
Coupet had a good game and made some pretty decent saves, Squillaci and
Boumsong will definitely be amongst the 7 to go home, they’re just not good enough to play for France. Govou had a good game or scored a good goal. Benzema made some good runs and created the goal. He didn’t really get good balls from his midfielders and did what he could with what he was given. Toulalan might as well as stayed home, his perfomance throughout the game was really poor. Clerc came on with 3mn to go in the 2nd half of extra time so can’t really say much about him. Ben Arfa didn’t come on, he looked like he was gonna cry when Perrin made his last substitution…bless.
I look forward to tonight’s game! Although it’s just a friendly the french players will have a lot to prove as Domenech will name the 7 players going home tomorrow….
Annabelle,
Wow. Harsh on Toulalan – but I wasn’t watching the game so I can’t disagree. I’ve been critical of Toulalan, but I offended someone not long ago when I complained that France needed a better option in central midfield.
On this board, I’m more likely to get criticized for being too pro-Toulalan. Makalele has to be in there, but who to partner him?
A player I like, and people make fun of Domenech for having a crush on the player, but I have one too: Lassana Diarra. People say it could never work because he and Makalele look like each other. Poppycock, I say. Maks holding, Diarra pushing forward. Maybe he doesn’t play the whole 90 minutes, and Flamini might be a good player to bring on, but Diarra can pick out a pass.
Guess Gomis will stay in the team then?
KOLO TOURE:
you’d bloody hope so, wouldn’t you?
i mean, if you were gomis… how much more can you do?
ANNABELLE:
thanks for that!
pretty much good news, really. toulalan and boumsong being shown up. boumsong, as you say, will hopefully go home and dom will think twice about toulalan. if nothing else there should be a bit of doubt creeping into his stubborn head now…
also good to know govou is still looking good.
woah, i missed some of these comments…oops! i’ll just briefly throw out some points i have from some of them.
cant quite believe all the flak Henry is getting! come on guys!
he’s been injured off/on now since the World Cup, true, but he still has a lot left in the tank. being in your early 30s these days isnt what it was 10, even 5 years ago! these athletes stay in tremundous shape etc…i think if fully fit he’s still hasnt lost a step. if he’s not 100% fit, fine, that’s a different story, we certainly have other players who can step up…
i really dont see him playing on the wing…i dont think u put a goal scorer of his caliber out on the wing.
I also think that Thuram has been brilliant for us all season and he proved it again last night. He’s an automatic choice for me at CB. if anything it’s Gallas who should be under pressure and who’s shone signs of cracking mentally and we already know he’s prone to mistakes. For now Thuram is a great captain too, 138 caps, leads by example and all that. Ribs might make a good one someday, that much is sure.