It’s bon voyage to Raymond Domenech and his French squad as they bow out of Euro 2008, scoring the solitary goal and conceding six in three games.
One of the favourites for the tournament, touted as possessing a flawless blend of seasoned winners alongside a talented golden generation of French football, fell remarkably short of their pre-tournament hype.
But, what went wrong for Les Bleus?
The echelons of journalists have promptly condemned the veterans of the camp, with thoughtless jibes at their age and lack of pace. Prompting a simple ‘end of an era’ analysis.
However, on the evidence, the only Dad’s army campaigners were Lilian Thuram at 36 and Claude Makelele at 35.
Talisman Thierry Henry is only 30, all be it half the player he once was, while the other culprits are either part of the golden generation or in their late twenties, the so called prime of their careers. It is lazy to blame age, when clearly the problem lie elsewhere.
The eccentric star gazing Domenech must take responsibility for failing to manage his squad and finding the blend of personnel to achieve success. For the first time since the early 90’s the French lacked organisation and planning, instead, emerged a spineless and lacklustre side with no cutting edge.
The system Domenech used with Jeremy Toulalan and Claude Makelele holding in midfield needed a playmaker in front of them, a Zidane to pull the strings. It was evident Franch Ribery was not ready to fill the void left by the great man and would have preferred to play wide, and the consequence was a flat and lustreless style of play with no movement or fluidity.
A sizeable chunk of the blame must fall on the inferior form of the new golden generation of French football. Karem Benzema, despite a decent game against Italy looked undeserving of his reputation, lacking potency and control in the final third.
Samir Nasri, another ‘new Zidane’ was not even given adequate opportunity to showcase his talents, Domenech preferring to pick the average and limp Sidney Govou. Even Florent Malouda looked wasteful and out of his depth on the left hand side of midfield, failing to make an impact when called on.
The skipper Patrick Vieira was injured, but instead of calling up the in-form Mathieu Flamini as a replacement, Domenech was stubborn and naïve in his judgement, almost arrogant, assuming his side would dance through the group stages with his skipper returning triumphantly in a push to the final.
The industry of Flamini is just what the French side needed; his bite and tenacity could have been the catalyst to supplying some lead to the French pencil.
The post Zidane era of French football needed a new system and style using the right players to fit the changes. The manager’s that have succeeded so far at Euro 2008 have promoted the right system for the side, instead of picking the best eleven players on paper.
The lunacy of Domenech’s style of management was exposed after the final whistle against Italy. Instead of comforting and defending his players he proposes to his girlfriend on live TV, when the French fans and public what answers.
He deserves to be sacked immediately for a complete lack of professionalism. This may have just been allowed if it was after the final and they had won, but the French had just been dumped out of the tournament in severe fashion.
The arrogant style of the French needs a complete overhaul. The biggest culprit is Nicolas Anelka, always quick to inform the press of his class and right to be in the Chelsea and French team, was unbelievably bad and extremely lazy, a shadow of the player he once was. The players Domenech picked did not fit to his chosen system, while the system and preparation was flawed as well.
It is wrong to say it is an end of an era, because that fell long before Euro 2008. Anelka, Henry, Gallas, Ribery, Malouda and co will be available for the World Cup, only Makelele and Thuram have retired so far.
The problem lies with the fact that they didn’t act after the exodus of Didier Deschamps and co, and then finally Zidane after the 2006 World Cup. Instead, it has taken a disastrous exit from Euro 2008 to act as a wake up call to the French FA.
They desperately need an inspirational man to drag them out of the hang over of Zidane’s shadow. The French press must also stop touting any young player as the next Zidane. The French need a complete overhaul in management and a five year plan in place, or else, we may not see them in South Africa come 2010.