World Cup 2010 Blog: A Tale of Two Federations: How France and England Cope with Disappointment

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A Tale of Two Federations: How France and England Cope with Disappointment Posted: 08 Aug 2010 12:09 PM PDT At the World Cup this summer, both England and France fans were dealt some disappointing blows. Sure, the details of what happened in the squads may be different. Arguably, what happened to France was by far worse. While England merely fizzled out (with a few sparks-both good and bad) during the tournament, France exploded. I don’t want to go into details for fear of triggering any post-traumatic stress symptoms fans may still have. So I encourage you to read this (France) and this (England) post at your own risk. World Cup Blog assumes no responsibility for any rage, sadness or deep depression you may fall into after… But, following those disappointing weeks and the furious pace of the media in both countries trying to find someone to blame – the Federations are back in the spotlight to see how effective their changes are when both countries participate in friendlies this week. And while friendlies, especially the August friendly, aren’t normally important and don’t mean anything in terms of qualification points – this friendly may turn out to be very important for both federations, coaches and the players chosen. So here is how each country has attempted to mend the damage that caused their failures this summer.. France Football Federation (FFF) Confirmed Blanc, who had been announced as Domenech’s successor prior to the tournament, as the next coach of Les Bleus; The President of the FFF, Jean-Pierre Escalettes, resigned for his role in causing (and not preventing) the catastrophe; Opened an official investigation into the events that transpired during the World Cup (leading to massive political jockeying to elect new President to replace the one that resigned); Approved Blanc’s request to make all 23 players involved in France’s World Cup ineligible to be called up for August friendly; Celebrated an U19 European Championship win (and then embarrassed themselves by getting into a pissing contest with media consultant during celebratory speech); Unanimously voted that 5 players be held for additional investigation by the Disciplinary Committee; For better of worse – all this (plus a few smaller changes not necessarily worth mentioning here) – led to the call-up of an almost entire new squad for France to face Norway on August 11th. KEEPERS: Stephane Ruffier (Monaco), Nicolas Douchez (Rennes) DEFENDERS: Rod Fanni (Rennes), Adil Rami (Lille), Philippe Mexes (AS Roma), Sakho (Paris SG), Benedict Trémoulinas (Bordeaux), Aly Cissokho (Lyon), Mathieu Debuchy (Lille). MIDFIELD: Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid), Moussa Sissoko (Toulouse), Yann M'Vila (Rennes), Samir Nasri (Arsenal ), Yohan Cabaye (Lille), Charles N'Zogbia (Wigan), Blaise Matuidi (Saint Etienne). STRIKERS: Hatem Ben Arfa (Marseille), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Loïc Remy (Nice), Jimmy Briand (Lyon), Jeremy Menez (AS Rome), Guillaume Hoarau (Paris SG). ENGLAND FA Confirmed Fabio Capello will remain in charge of England after World Cup based on a “football criteria” (then revealed his assessment of players without his permission); “Outlined” the FA’s plans to give England “a better chance in the future” – which included working closely with club academies, encouraging licensing of English coaches and managers and approving Capello’s “request” to have an English coach join his set-up; Lowered ticket prices for England’s upcoming game vs Hungary as a “we’re sorry” olive branch to fans Boys U17 wins Nordic Title Boys U19 successfully progress to semi-finals of the European Championship before losing to Spain These tweaks of the system resulted in Capello calling up a squad filled with familiar and new faces for England when they face Hungary at home on August 11. KEEPERS:  Ben Foster (Birmingham), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Paul Robinson (Blackburn Rovers) DEFENDERS:  Wes Brown (Manchester United), Gary Cahill (Bolton Wanderers), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Michael Dawson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), John Terry (Chelsea) MIDFIELD:  Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Aston Villa), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal) STRIKERS:  Darren Bent (Sunderland), Carlton Cole (West Ham United), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Bobby Zamora (Fulham) JUDGMENT TIME The biggest difference between the two strategies, for me at least, is the decision on what was at fault. England seem to think that they have the right people performing the tasks- its just the system they are using that is at fault. Whereas France seems to think they have the right system, just the wrong people managing it.  I’m not so sure you can separate the two so cleanly. For me, it is too early to tell who is right. Of course, they could both be wrong.  I can’t really speak for England fans, but as a France fan I’m cautious in putting my faith in the FFF.  Because despite the public way in which they’ve announced changes to make it seem like real progress is being made, they are still a silly bunch who are more concerned about their egos and saving face than putting the good of the team first (I only have to point to Houllier’s recent public spat as an example).  There are differing opinions on how brilliant of an idea it is to suspend all 23 players considering the Euro 2012 qualifiers are just around the corner.  I, for one, am glad.  Sure, that means we will be entering qualification a little rusty.  But, forcing ourselves to think out of the box instead of relying on what “feels comfortable” isn’t going to work either.  Some of these players may never receive another call-up for France in their careers – but for others, it creates a real chance to challenge the 23 players who had largely owned their spot in the national team for several years.  Though the game means nothing and this young group of players have never played together before – this is a team that will be hungry to prove themselves to Blanc and France. On the flip side of the coin…we have the English FA who, for better or worse, did not bend to media pressure and public sentiment to make significant changes in their team and the way their federation conducted themselves.  And they’ve had their fair share of embarrassments since the World Cup, such as the Capello index being revealed without his approval. So where do you fall on this debate? Do you prefer the tweaking ’till you get it right strategy of England or the blank slate strategy of France (new coach, new team, new captain, new Federation President)?

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World Cup 2010 Blog: “Despite the chaos, the French Federation still finds time to entertain us….” plus 1 more

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Despite the chaos, the French Federation still finds time to entertain us…. Posted: 05 Aug 2010 03:03 PM PDT Houllier’s lack of class this time definitely did not get a thumbs up from me… Well, if you are a France fan, you might replace “entertain” with “mortify” or “embarrass.”  A number of dramatic and laughable incidents have continued to emerge from the French Football Federation (FFF) headquarters- proving that replacing former President Escalettes (who “voluntarily” resigned after World Cup debacle) with more of the same does not miraculously change everything.   The bureaucratic leaders at the FFF continue to remain self-indulgent egos who are more likely to pat themselves on the back than take responsibility for a damn thing (unless, of course, it turned out well). And while Escalettes was indeed the biggest sycophant of them all, there are many who weren’t far behind him in that contest. One of them being former Liverpool and Lyon manager, Gerard Houllier.  Now, Houllier has managed to avoid most of the fall out regarding the crisis of the senior team at the World Cup because as National Technical Director (DTN), he is responsible for every team BUT the senior team (ie youth and development teams only).  Let the games begin (as the insanity continues)! Round 1 Unfortunately, not everyone bought Houllier’s excuse- including former Bleus alum and World Cup tv consultant, Christophe Dugarry.  Dugarry publicly criticised the “triumvirate” in the FFF – Escalettes, Domenech and Houllier- and declared they were all three responsible for the state of French football and needed to go… Round 2 This obviously irked Houllier, who didn’t like the company he was being put in (Domenech and Escalettes). So, felling the need to restore his bruised ego, he took a jab at Dugarry while celebrating the  U19 European Championship the Bleuts won this summer, beating Spain. Essentially, at a time when Houllier was looking pretty good and should  have been high on euphoria, he felt the need to say this… I would first like to pay tribute to the team of France’s U19. This is a great picture that our youth have given the team of France. And I would like to dedicate this victory to Dugarry who doesnt think much about National Technical Director.  This is the fifth time in fifteen years that France has won a European championship. Behind [the team], we [the Federation] work well and contrary to what Christopher said, we get results.” As a France fan, I can’t tell you how great it is when our leaders use our moments of victory to satisfy their own personal disputes. What more could we ask for?  Did I mention he did this in the opening speech at a meeting to celebrate the title at the FFF with the press?  That’s pure class. Round 3 Robert Duggary, proud man that he is, couldn’t let it go and responded in a column in L’Equipe… Gerard Houllier is nice to think of me, I am touched that he dedicated this title to me. I commend the youth for their title, but I hope that the Federation has other global ambitions. From what I see, [by] looking at the history of  the U20 and U17 FIFA World Cup is that France have failed to qualify 24 out of 30 times! The column continues, but basically Duggary accuses the FFF and Houllier of taking credit for more than they have actually accomplished and implied [to put it nicely] that Houllier performance had been sub-par.. Round 4 Now feeling aggrieved, Houllier whipped out his own numbers and stats to prove just how successful he has been… I am delighted that Christophe Dugarry began to document [France's record] himself because before he did not do so.  Among our youth, in the European rankings, we moved from sixth to second. I would add that it’s been two consecutive years that the U17 and U19 teams have qualify for the final tournaments, boys and girls. Finally, since 1996, [there has been] a total of 15 World Championships for the U17 and U20 teams.  France has had 5 entries, which is not bad considering there are a few skilled European [teams]. In fifteen years, France has [won] a World title, the same as Spain. Only Portugal and the former USSR have two. If the U19s refuse to enter the U20 FIFA World Cup, would anyone blame them (I jest..kind of)?  But, you have to agree that it seems even when France wins, the team and the fans lose… I should add that Houllier isn’t the first of the “triumerverate” to get into a public dispute with Christophe – you can see his interactions (to put it nicely) with Rayray in the video below (in French, but still funny to watch them)… To continue keeping tabs on all the French Federation absurdity, visit us at the France World Cup blog. The only guarantee I can make is that you will be entertained…or frustrated.  One of the two.

Croke Park: Green In More Ways Than One Posted: 05 Aug 2010 11:20 AM PDT If you had to guess the most sustainable, greenest stadium in the world, you might understandably assume it was one of the new ones, one of those towering behemoths built for a recent World Cup or Olympics. After all, environmental concerns are certainly a bigger part of planning a new stadium now than they were, say, 30 years ago. But you’d be, as I was, wrong. In at least some respects, the greenest park in world football is Croke Park, appropriately home of the Republic of Ireland, and a stadium first opened in 1913. In May 2010, Croke Park received the BS 8901:2009 certification, making it the first stadium in the world to be given this award for sustainable event management. The park, used mainly for Gaelic football and hurling, is nonetheless the home ground for Ireland during the last two qualifying tournaments, and so counts at least part-time as a football ground. And even though there have been significant renovations for almost the last decade, they’ve managed to keep sustainability and impact management at the top of their priorities the whole time. Well done to Croke and to the Irish for putting an emphasis on this. Too often, we’re awed by the newest stadium fitting 10,000 more people than the last one, or being built to look like a birds nest … or a calabash. It’s worth a nod, I think, to a stadium that looks like a stadium, but run by people that think, perhaps, about a bit more than just the game.

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World Cup 2010 Blog: Jermaine Jones Could Be a Yank by Next Week

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Jermaine Jones Could Be a Yank by Next Week Posted: 04 Aug 2010 02:18 PM PDT Jermaine Jones has never been afraid of a bit of controversy. In 2004, he took a fairly softball question, “Are there any gay footballers in the Bundesliga?” (Easy answer: I don’t know) and turned it into a major story when he answered “Hopefully not”. Classy. He’s also somewhat infamous for his relationship, or lack thereof, with the fans of his former club, Eintracht Frankfurt, where he announced he was leaving with a post on the club’s bulletin board. But he’s about to make an official switch a bit more profound than leaving a club. Next week, the German-born Jones, who has played as a senior for Germany (though not in FIFA-approved matches), will probably play his first match as an American, after his call up for the friendly with Brazil. The process has been in the works for a while, and will not be news to many US fans, some of whom were hoping to see Jones in red, white and blue for the World Cup. He has gone through the proper channels, petitioning UEFA, CONCACAF and FIFA to make the change, despite bending the rule that a senior national team appearance means a final decision on nationality. But it still surprises me to see it happening. His father is American, and in the nationality sense, I have no problems with it – personality quirks and prejudices aside, he’s more then welcome in the States. He even spent some of his childhood in the US, so it’s not cut and dry. But I tend to be a national team purist, and this seems like one step farther over the line than other international switches. So I put it to you – the WorldCupBlog and Offside readers. Do you think a player with senior caps for his country (albeit in non-Blatter-approved matches) should be able to change allegiance? Do you think this sets a dangerous precedent? Or am I a dinosaur for even bringing it up, in the age of Cacau, Amauri, etc? Discuss.

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