France v Slovakia - Match Amical (1st of March) [R]

[AllezParisAllezPSG]

oh and p.s. i wanted to congratulate slovakia... bravo...;)

[lefutur]

oh and p.s. i wanted to congratulate slovakia... bravo...;)

its true.you have to congratulate the better team on the day, and although France had many chances Slovakia were more effective and scored more goals. simple as that.

[guignol]

I predict Wiltord in for Dhorassoothat would have been a much better decision. aside from a couple of acceleration, vikash was very pale.

[guignol]

Yeah, I bet those goals went really fast ..... With your (barthez)diminished skills, everything must seem like lightening paced.i think everyone here knows i'm a big coupet fan, but barthez made one big play, the only one he had to make. nothing he could do about either goal.

[guignol]

In fact, in terms of play, France played quite well (until the 2nd Slovak goal). half way thruogh the first half, the possession was 73-27. Like I said it was almost boring. The thing is when you don't score (even the crappiest of goals) you're always vulnerable.yes, in many ways they played very well. the first half saw an enormous pat viera for the first time in ages (curiously, he seemed to disappear when zidane went off). a huge match from sagnol, but that we're used to. silvestre was excellent on the left. thuram and boumsong were never really put to the test.

zidane was sharp, and if trezeguet and anelka didn't score, they had plenty of chances and all were played well; the fact that none went in was more bad luck than bad finishing.

aside from a couple of nice sequences dhorasoo disappointed me, but, without making any big mistakes, it was diarra that proved the weak link. the term is well chosen because with zidane so close to the strikers, he had the responsability of linking the front and the back, and what we saw was 5 in front, 5 in back and the sahara desert on the middle. the only relaying came from sagnol and silvestre.

You can't demand from the strikers that they convert every chances, but at some point they bear some responsability regarding the outcome of the game (read it's not always the GK or the defense's fault). in fact, the second goal was wiltord's fault; he duffed a pass (and at a moment when france was really putting on the pressure), giving a very clean ball to start the slovakian counterattack.that said, it's curious that the only player who could do anything to prevent a 1 on 1 in front of barthez was malouda, with the epitome of the intelligent foul. where were diarra, thuram, boumsong?

[Rima067]

I was following L'Equipe's coverage and I barely saw ANY mention whatsoever of Zidane in the text highlights. Barthez didn't seem to be at fault for both goals, so then what happened? Where was he? Another, How'd we concede two goals? Who's fault was it? L'Equipe said in their review that Thuram was great, so what happened I ask again? Dhorasoo popped up a lot in the text highlights and he seemed to be very involved, but in their overall review said in the second half he disappeared.


Oooooohhhh.

When I said "Where was he?" I meant Zidane! oops, I didn't mean Barthez. And I also didn't mean on the goals!

How was Zidane in the match because he was barely mentioned in the text highlights?

[Ballon d'or]

Oooooohhhh.

When I said "Where was he?" I meant Zidane! oops, I didn't mean Barthez. And I also didn't mean on the goals!

How was Zidane in the match because he was barely mentioned in the text highlights?

Zidane was very good in the first half and had our forwards scored he would have taken credit for it.
The problem is our forwards, don't look further.

[ilv2]

why am I not surprised we didn't come out with a good result?
why am I not surprised our only goal was through a dodgy penalty?

With the players on the pitch, before and after the substitutions, we should've won convincingly. Granted, Slovakia played very well and all credit goes to them, from France's perspective, I personally think the match is a very discouraging one. What pissed me off more was the post match interview when Raymond said he was satisfied - wtf? Satisfied with a handful of half-chances?
The main problem IMO is the lack of penetration. The squad can ping around passes all day and almost never miss, but in the end it didn't really help. Players like Ribery, Giuly, and Pires are essential for this. Wiltord fulfilled the role relatively well, as did malouda but he ends up more often on the ground.
I don't understand the preference for Dhorasoo. Aside from a couple good passes, he wasn't promising going forward and didn't play well IMO with the team.

[guignol]

... What pissed me off more was the post match interview when Raymond said he was satisfied - wtf? Satisfied with a handful of half-chances?
The main problem IMO is the lack of penetration. The squad can ping around passes all day and almost never miss, but in the end it didn't really help. Players like Ribery, Giuly, and Pires are essential for this. Wiltord fulfilled the role relatively well, as did malouda but he ends up more often on the ground.
I don't understand the preference for Dhorasoo. Aside from a couple good passes, he wasn't promising going forward and didn't play well IMO with the team.it was more than a handful and they were more than half chances. but the comment about penetration is spot on.

too often the ball was going back instead of forward. the biggest servers were silvestre and sagnol, which is good but not enough. ribery, giuly and pires could do as well as the players selected, but not so much better that they're the answer. and bringing even more players into the supergroup is the last thing needed. starting next match domenech has to decide, prune and get a team that knows each other and plays together, not just in twos and threes like we saw last night, but all together. about 2/3rds of viera's passes were to zidane, to give an idea what i'm talking about.

dhorasoo perhaps shot his last round last night, he's had some very good games but more flat ones recently. and diarra's case was strange: how can someone touch that many balls, never make a mistake, and in the end contribute absolutely nothing to the functioning of the group??

imagine the game last night. replace diarra with maka and dhorasoo with govou or wiltord. get 90 big show minutes from zizou and tutu... et voilà!

[gaijin]

I think this is France's first defeat in 90 minutes since playing the Czech's in Paris in February 2003.

What is it, with Czechoslovakia?

[benoli]

why am I not surprised we didn't come out with a good result?
why am I not surprised our only goal was through a dodgy penalty?

With the players on the pitch, before and after the substitutions, we should've won convincingly. Granted, Slovakia played very well and all credit goes to them, from France's perspective, I personally think the match is a very discouraging one. What pissed me off more was the post match interview when Raymond said he was satisfied - wtf? Satisfied with a handful of half-chances?
The main problem IMO is the lack of penetration. The squad can ping around passes all day and almost never miss, but in the end it didn't really help. Players like Ribery, Giuly, and Pires are essential for this. Wiltord fulfilled the role relatively well, as did malouda but he ends up more often on the ground.
I don't understand the preference for Dhorasoo. Aside from a couple good passes, he wasn't promising going forward and didn't play well IMO with the team.


Come on, one little 1-2 4 months before the WC and 60 millions coaches are crying ...

France has an easy group at the WC (http://www.fansworldcup2006.com). Of course they will have no problem to qualify !

[magicgam1]

I think this is France's first defeat in 90 minutes since playing the Czech's in Paris in February 2003.

What is it, with Czechoslovakia?

they lost to Greece during the European Championships

[lefutur]

I did nt see the game so I have a few questions for those of you who did:

Why did Zizou come off at the half and how did the team respond without him on the field...was there a designated playmaker (Dhorassoo, someone else)?

Did Boumsong make an error that led to a goal? I read a commentator's note about him making a horrible backpass to Barthez or something.

[gaijin]

they lost to Greece during the European Championships

Balls, I'm getting confused.

The Greeks beat France in 90 mins but the Czechs in extra-time.

Well, you can't help but get confused over a side that loves to win 1-0 all the time. :rolleyes:

But its something like 2 defeats in 3 years for France. So despite all this negativity, you have to look at France's record to see that they really don't lose that many.

[Metropolitan]

Come on, one little 1-2 4 months before the WC and 60 millions coaches are crying ...

France has an easy group at the WC (http://www.fansworldcup2006.com). Of course they will have no problem to qualify !We couldn't beat the Swiss during the qualifyers, why would it become suddenly so easy at the World Cup ?

As for South Korea and Togo, I wouldn't say that the victory is granted. Togolese players know better the French team than French players do. As for South Korea, they can always play as if their life was depending on it. Maybe the problem we have with the French team is simply that our players aren't hungry enough ?

[KUBI_nu11]

please keep him till the WC:cool:


Yes, I hope so too :p

Honestly, I am still surprise that France allowed 2 goals in one game! Defense was one of France strength.

btw, Slovakia lost 5 to 1 to Spain due mostly to the refree. They have a quality team their is no doubt about that.

[guignol]

I didn't see the game so I have a few questions for those of you who did: Why did Zizou come off at the half and how did the team respond without him on the field...was there a designated playmaker (Dhorassoo, someone else)?zizou only played a half for the same reason as many; he's got liga and CL matches to play this week too! i was surprised ray didn't use all his 6 subs, and put mexès on for thuram or clerc for sagnol. as for the second part of your question, they used the chinese fire drill system in the second half (and still had lots of chances in front of goal)

Did Boumsong make an error that led to a goal? I read a commentator's note about him making a horrible backpass to Barthez or something.it wasn't a backpass; he tried to head the ball upfield and it squibbed right to nemeth in very dangerous position, the sweetest ball he got all half.

[devinnaru]

What France lacks is fast transition from defence to attack. Players like ribery, pires, giuly, and rothen should be called up to provide such a difference.

I believe France should play 4-3-3 in attack and 4-4-2 in defence.

These players should go to world cup:

France also lack a playmaker who is sooo comfortable with the ball like Zizou. Should we give Micoud, or Cheyrou another chance? Or even Meghni.

France are tooo crazy about defensive midfielders... or viera, makalele, diara, and even dhorasoo.

[guignol]

What France lacks is fast transition from defence to attack. Players like ribery, pires, giuly, and rothen should be called up to provide such a difference.lacked against slovakia, but if you've seen abidal/malouda go up the left or RVR/govou the right... words like TGV, hurricane and blitzkrieg come to mind. sagnol for RVR or henry for malouda, and it's the same in spades. maka and viera can do the job dans l'axe too.

France also lack a [second] playmaker who is sooo comfortable with the ball like Zizou. Should we give Micoud, or Cheyrou another chance? Or even Meghni. micoud? yes. cheyrou? no. meghni? not even.

France are tooo crazy about defensive midfielders... or viera, makalele, diara, and even dhorasoo.i don't know which way to interpret "crazy", but with maka included it's probably good... funny to see vikash called a DMF... i loved him to death at OL, but the first time i saw him make a tackle for les bleus, i dropped my beer! pigs just might fly some day after all!

[ilv2]

Come on, one little 1-2 4 months before the WC and 60 millions coaches are crying ...

France has an easy group at the WC (http://www.fansworldcup2006.com). Of course they will have no problem to qualify !

if you paid more attention, many of us have been crying about the squad and moreover, Raymond for a long time.

as for the second part of your comment, neither the swiss nor the koreans are a walk in the park - the three points most "big" teams expect from playing them can easily turn into one, or even zero.