Domenech Announces France's Preliminary Roster
May 14th 2010 04:09
Is another early exit in the cards for Les Bleus?
Although Raymond Domenech coached Les Bleus to a runner-up medal in 2006, there was no illusion that it was in great part due to Zidane's brilliance during qualification and in the tournament. As if the public needed any proof of Domenech's incompetence, his squad promptly flamed out of the 2008 Euros, their only point coming off a 0-0 draw against Romania. Even then, who can forget about his substitution blunder in the Italy game where, down 0-1, he pulled off Nasri who had just replaced Ribery in favor of a defender after Abidal's red card? Despite those shortcomings, the FFF (French Federation of Football) kept him on as France went on a tumultuous qualifying campaign which ended with the infamous Hand of Henry affair, ensuring France's qualification at the expense of Ireland. Now that the squads lists are out, let's see who Domenech intends to bring to South Africa.
Goalkeepers
Bordeaux's Cedric Carrasso, Lille's Mickael Landreau, Lyon's Hugo Lloris and Marseille's Steve Mandanda were the four picks in net. No surprise there as all four had a solid season. Expect to see the exceptional Lloris as the starting goaltender while Landreau and Carrasso will fight for the third spot.
Defenders
Eleven defenders were called up by Domenech. Among them are international regulars Abidal, Clichy, Evra, Sagna and Squillaci. Surprisingly, both Julien Escudé and Philippe Mexès were left off the 30-man list while veteran William Gallas was called up despite being not fully fit. Tough he has been warned that he has one month to get better or he will be left behind. Personally, I don't think his presence will make much of a difference but whatever.
Midfielders
The most notable omission in midfield is probably Arsenal's Samir Nasri. Generally used as a winger, the young Frenchman shined for the Gunners when he was given a more central role during Fabregas' absence. Other than that, the same faces from 2008 will be there: Lass, Diaby, Malouda, Toulalan and Ribery with budding stars Gourcuff and Ben Arfa joining them as well.
Forwards
Barcelona striker Thierry Henry made the preliminary list despite spending much of season on the bench at the Camp Nou which is surprising since Benzema didn't make the list due to a lack of playing-time at Real Madrid. Instead, Govou was resurrected from the dead, rounding out the list with Ben Arfa, Cisse and Gignac.
Although Gallas is not a sure thing, I can already see Domenech making the same mistakes he did in 2008 in terms of personnel. As weak as Group A seems to be, I wouldn't bet against a Mexico and/or Uruguay win against Les Bleus. The games haven't started yet of course but there isn't much hope for this French team.
Full list of call-ups (Note: Wingers are in the Forwards group on that list):
Goalkeepers: Cedric Carrasso (Bordeaux), Mickael Landreau (Lille), Hugo Lloris (Lyon), Steve Mandanda (Marseille)
Defenders: Eric Abidal (Barcelona), Gael Clichy (Arsenal), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Rod Fanni (Rennes), William Gallas (Arsenal), Marc Planus (Bordeaux), Adil Rami (Lille), Anthony Reveillere (Lyon), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Sebastien Squillaci (Sevilla)
Midfielders: Abou Diaby (Arsenal), Alou Diarra (Bordeaux), Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid), Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux), Yann M'Vila (Rennes), Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Jeremy Toulalan (Lyon)
Forwards: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Hatem Ben Arfa (Marseille), Jimmy Briand (Rennes), Djibril Cisse (Panathinaikos), Andre-Pierre Gignac (Toulouse), Sidney Govou (Lyon), Thierry Henry (Barcelona), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille)
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