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France Camp Focus - Les Bleus exit the World Cup in disgraceful manner
Adding to the poor results, the French players made matters even worse with their unprofessional and disrespectful behaviour towards their supporters and, more alarmingly, their country. The refusal of players to train on Sunday prompted a full-scale reaction from various figures including the office of President Nicolas Sarkozy. French Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot referred to the actions of the players as a "moral disaster" and lambasted them for tarnishing France’s image and for failing to set example for children. With off the pitch controversies dominating the news, the players failed to calm the storm with a lackluster performance against South Africa as the hosts ended their participation on a high with a 2-1 victory over the rudderless French.
The referee's decision to send-off Yoann Gourcuff for an elbow inside the South African penalty area did deserve a yellow card but did not appear intentional to merit a red card. This perhaps summarised France's tournament best: promising potential yet little to show for it in terms of results. One major figure to blame is Coach Raymond Domenech who made some odd decisions excluding veteran Patrick Vieira as well as Samir Nasri and Karim Benzema. Reports claim Benzema and Nasri did not get along with veteran players such as William Gallas giving Domenech ample room to omit them without destabilising the French camp. The Coach's inability and poor tactics were evident in Euro 2008 yet Nasri and Benzema were singled out for criticism despite the Real Madrid striker being one of the very few French players showing signs of life. Domenech should have taken a stance selecting players based on merit as banishing Benzema should have meant the exclusion of Henry since France's all-time leading scorer barely featured for Barcelona during the season. Considering the struggles up front and the lack of goals, the Coach should have been wise enough to give Nasri and Benzema the chance to co-exist with the squad as they are in their 20s while Gallas and Henry are nearing the end of their playing career.
Domenech ignored the troubling signs against China despite rumours of Nicolas Anelka's and Franck Ribery's refusal to link up with Gourcuff and Sidney Govou. Speaking of the latter, what on earth was Domenech thinking by regularly starting a player who is suited for a minor role at best? The Lyon winger who turns 31 next month has played almost 50 games for France managing just 10 goals and constantly failing to impress. The unpopular Tactician took a massive gamble prior to the World Cup by opting to pick only Jérémy Toulalan for the role of defensive midfielder which turned out to be a grave mistake. Les Bleus had for years counted on having two holding midfielders yet Domenech suddenly chose to rely on Toulalan and overlook the likes of Alou Diarra and even Abou Diaby. As circumstances would have it, both players would be on the pitch during France's final game in the World Cup with Diarra given the captain's armband in another strange yet obvious decision. Gallas was stripped of his captaincy prior to the World Cup while his replacement Patrice Evra did little to impress in terms of performances and attitude considering his heavy altercation with one of the French trainers ahead of the infamous practice session which was canceled. Evra was not in the starting lineup leaving Franck Ribery as one of France's most experienced players yet the sex scandal he was linked with and the reports he was one of the rebel players in the camp meant Diarra was the natural captain despite having half the number of Ribery's senior caps.
Against South Africa, skipper Evra, who promised to make public the true story behind all the farcical incidents, and Eric Abidal were absent from the starting lineup given their reported role in the mutiny while veteran striker Henry sat on the bench amid reports he was indirectly instigating problems. Henry came on to match Fabian Barthez's record 19 appearances for France in the World Cup albeit under some of the most excruciating circustmances. The World Cup will signal the end of the international career of Abidal, Gallas, Henry, Anelka and probably Evra as well as Govou and Djibril Cisse for various reasons. The Coach must not be held responsible for everything which went wrong because he was kept in charge despite a dismal Euro 2008 and an increasingly controversial World Cup qualifying campaign. The French Football Federation (FFF) might use as a scapegoat the four to six players regarded as the main reason behind the controversies. The FFF made the baffling decision to appoint Laurent Blanc as new Coach after the World Cup despite knowing how unpopular Domenech is and his precarious relationship with several players. By committing to Blanc, the FFF stripped Domenech of his remaining powers since the players became aware he will be gone by July. In addition, if the FFF was planning to replace Domenech then why was not the decision taken following the controversial playoffs victory over the Republic of Ireland when the players would have had ample time to get accustomed to a new Coach. The decisions of the FFF, Domenech and the senior players have ruined France's reputation, wounded a nation and set a bad example for the younger players on the squad.
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