Off Topic · World Cup 2010! (page 23)

Silverfuel wrote:It looks like Algeria is a very good team. The tied England and only lost to Slovenia because the goalie made a huge mistake. There is a good chance they will tie the US.

Depends on which US team shows up. Algeria can beat the first half US teams and will lose to the second half teams so far.

how about france at the world cup?

zero goals scored
anelka sent home after insulting coach
argument between evra & training director leads to team refusing to train and heading towards team bus
then the managing director quits the french football association

...wow...

hand of gaul curse?

domenech clearly has no respect from the players.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football...

France refuse to train after row

France's players refused to train on Sunday following an on-pitch row between captain Patrice Evra and fitness coach Robert Duverne.

The public training session was about to begin when coach Raymond Domenech had to separate Evra and Duverne.

Following the incident, the squad left the pitch and walked towards the bus.

The French Football Federation's managing director subsequently quit, leaving France in crisis a day after striker Nicolas Anelka's was sent home.

Earlier on Sunday, coach Raymond Domenech had played down his row with Anelka and insisted the exiled striker could have stayed with the French team had he apologised.

Anelka was sent home after verbally insulting Domenech during the defeat by Mexico which has left France unlikely to qualify for the last 16.

"I had another chat with him and left open the possibility for him to apologise," said the 57-year-old.

"[That was] something which he did not want to do."

Chelsea forward Anelka was substituted after reportedly insulting Domenech after the coach criticised him for straying out of position during the goalless first half of last Thursday's 2-0 defeat.
He did not react in the most suitable fashion. But it was just a guy sitting in his corner and muttering
Raymond Domenech

But Domenech insisted the incident could have been dealt with without such damaging repercussions, had a leak to the media not escalated the problem.

"People cannot imagine the pressure," said Domenech, who took France to the final of the last World Cup in 2006.

"We are in a dressing room, the coach says something to a player who is already under pressure, he can react angrily, and with strong words.

"He did not react in the most suitable fashion. But it was just a guy sitting in his corner and muttering - that would not have mattered had it stayed there.

"What was important was that it made the front page of a newspaper, and that exposes the internal life of the squad."

He continued: "I sorted out the problem internally, and as far as I was concerned it was done and dusted.

"[But] the decision to exclude him was the right one. I am sorry for the children for whom the French team represents something. Anelka does not have the right to say such things."

Anelka's Chelsea team-mate John Terry, who is playing for England in South Africa, said he disagreed with the decision of the French Football Federation to send the former Arsenal and Real Madrid player home.

"As a person, you won't find a better man in football," he said.

"He's someone who's very quiet, obviously he's been in the game a long time, and he knows his football. If Nico had something to say to me, I'd stand up and listen.

"It's obviously the wrong decision. He's a great player as well."

Domenech has now led France for a record number of matches but his six-year stint as coach has been consistently controversial and he will be replaced by out-going Bordeaux boss Laurent Blanc once their World Cup is over.

That will happen on Tuesday, unless they convincingly beat hosts South Africa in their final Group A encounter - and Uruguay and Mexico do not draw the other match.

Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8750302.stm

Published: 2010/06/20 15:00:03 GMT

© BBC MMX

this is terrible for italy

but there have been questions about the team.

If Pirlo doesn't come back for game 3 they might as well leave.

"it's a joke, it's the french, so also kind of funny..."

real classy...

i think something like this is mostly about the coach. it comes from up top.

certainly we've seen problems due to ego problems, as with the early 00's dutch squad, but that also has to do with having the right kind of person in charge.

domench is beyond a joke to me as a coach. how the french fa kept him on for so long is beyond me.

players should be punished for poor behavior, but so should poor management.

they need to clean house.

most of those players we are mentioning will not be around next world cup, and probably euro '12.

nd let's not forget that even zidane, who played for domench, recently criticised him as well.

obviously he does not relate to the players at all. you can't have a coach like that in charge. and i suspect france would have qualified much easier with a different coach in charge.

basically, he said the players are angry about the coach's decisions, and when people get mad and frustrated you are more at risk to make bad decisions...

i would add, especially with world class athletes with large egos and a lot of pride...

he also said, that in 3 weeks, or so, the players will regret it, because they will realize they embarrassed themselves and their own nation...

I'm really appreciative of your recaps because when I'm at work I don't have a chance to catch any of the games.

firefly wrote:Laurent Blanc, not Manu Petit. Just correcting

Silverfuel wrote:

firefly wrote:Laurent Blanc, not Manu Petit. Just correcting

Yo, whats going on with your boy Rooney? He better show up against Slovenia.

Silver, I honestly don't want to talk about it. It was flatoutthe worst game of football I've ever witnessed. Each player more dire than the next. Rooney losing his cool after the game. Just so so so so so baaaaaad. The players, manager and tactics have been roasted and lambasted in the media. If they play anything like that on Wednesday they migh as well not come home. I can't describe to you the strength of negative feeling in England right now. There's even articles demanding Rooney be dropped. We were beyond bad. It was like they'd never met and never played football before. Just, bleeeeegh. Don't want to talk about it.

firefly wrote:Laurent Blanc, not Manu Petit. Just correcting

my bad...thanks for the correction...

firefly wrote:

Silverfuel wrote:

firefly wrote:Laurent Blanc, not Manu Petit. Just correcting

Yo, whats going on with your boy Rooney? He better show up against Slovenia.

Silver, I honestly don't want to talk about it. It was flatoutthe worst game of football I've ever witnessed. Each player more dire than the next. Rooney losing his cool after the game. Just so so so so so baaaaaad. The players, manager and tactics have been roasted and lambasted in the media. If they play anything like that on Wednesday they migh as well not come home. I can't describe to you the strength of negative feeling in England right now. There's even articles demanding Rooney be dropped. We were beyond bad. It was like they'd never met and never played football before. Just, bleeeeegh. Don't want to talk about it.

And yet they control their own destiny. All is not lost yet. But they need to show up and play team football. It is sad to see these countries with storied soccer history putting up such poor shows.

bitty41 wrote:PresIke,

I'm really appreciative of your recaps because when I'm at work I don't have a chance to catch any of the games.

my pleasure bitty...

itay did not look good today...

meanwhile here we go for brasil v. ivory coast!

drogba in the starting 11!

damn..