anelkas outburst aside ... why havent the french not fired domenech already before now... is he "that" good ??? he doesnt seem to have the respect of any of the players OR have any idea what to do with 11 players on a pitch ....
They're just pathetic. Laurent Blanc is a good coach, though. I'm with footy in that I think he'll get them turned around.
I believe the French FA keeps Domenech there to show they players they are still the bosses. Either that, or Domenech has photos of the French FA president having sex with farm animals.....
if you read personal interviews with Domenech, he talks about how he purposely makes himself into a comic figure to take the media spotlight off his team. I think France's problems are deeper than the coach. sure, he is not a tactical genius, and he was never going to endear himself to the French fans playing defensive football, but is he really any worse of a national team manager than Dick Advocaat? Maradona? Sven-Goran Eriksson? Marco van Basten? for all the quips about him using astrology to pick his players, I don't think that's actually true. one time he said he didn't trust playing a Leo in defense, and yet Gallas (a Leo) is his most trusted defender. I wouldn't be surprised if he used the astrology excuse to leave Pires at home, simply to take the pressure off his replacement (and put the pressure on himself). I think much of France's problems come down to the players. in 2006 they had a spine of experienced, respected players who were natural leaders and were still good enough to be regular starters - Thuram, Makelele, Vieira, Zidane, and Henry. you knew that if a guy was lazy during the game, or insulted the coach, they would quickly be put in line. nowadays, who are the leaders? you have Henry who isn't fit enough to play, Gallas who can be really petulant, Evra who is just a joke, Ribery who screws underage prostitutes, Anelka... I think one of Domenech's mistakes was not bringing Vieira simply for reasons of team spirit. you don't have to start him every game, but he's a hell of a better leader than Evra. one symptom of this is what happened to Gourcuff. apparently it was guys like Ribery and Anelka who started bullying him, and it got so bad that nobody speaks to him except for Toulalan. we also heard about the problems between Gallas and Evra. can you imagine Zidane and Vieira bullying a young player, and Thuram refusing to speak to Makelele, or something like that? I don't care how useless your coach is, this kind of stuff doesn't happen if you have true leaders in the squad. so what could he have done better? I'm not really sure. many of France's leaders retired after 2006. Domenech was faced with a choice between making his captain an experienced player who is a terrible leader (eg. Gallas / Evra / Anelka), an experienced leader who isn't good enough to play at the WC (eg. Vieira / Henry), or a good leader who is too young to command respect (eg. Toulalan / Sagna / Lloris). regardless of what he does, you're going to have team spirit problems, unless you do something crazy like leave Ribery, Anelka, Gallas, etc. all at home - that would probably get you fired immediately. but in hindsight, that might have been the only way for France to get a good performance. replace Evra with Clichy, Anelka with Gignac (obviously Benzema is as much of a cancer as anyone), Ribery with Gourcuff, Gallas and Abidal with Squillaci and Planus, and Malouda with Valbuena (or Nasri! that decision did mystify me), and give Toulalan the captain's armband. the team might be worse, but I'm betting at least these 11 players would have fought for the team... was Domenech part of the problem? definitely. but I think the players themselves were an even bigger part...
Luis Fabiano Admits Handball Goal Brazil striker Luis Fabiano has admitted that he handled the ball in the build up to his second goal as the Selecao beat Group G rivals Ivory Coast 3-1 in Johannesburg to book their place in the next round. The striker, who looped the ball over two defenders before finishing his second goal, said: "It's true, the ball really touched my hand and then my shoulder. But it was involuntary. It was one of the greatest goals I've scored in my career." Click here for the full story at ESPN Soccernet. +++++++++++++++ My comments: I thought the first "hand" could have been overlooked as unintentional in a battle for the ball. But that second one was blatant and plain as day. I think the referee, who replays showed should have been in perfect position to see it, got caught up in the incredible play he was witnessing and swallowed his whistle.
that side of it @ ugen64 i knew less of .. esp the seeming bullying of gourcuff what does it say though about a bunch of men (use that term so loose its wet) that they can side with a c**t like ribery morally as inept as any politician .. seems like an "old boys " club form that .. but on gallas in the english media hes showing his true mariah carey - esque colours by demanding a huge salary and threatening to leave if he dont get it the side of france that is painted is i guess is demenech in the role of mr bean and less on the players ----------------- @ footyfan1 post of this one thing i worry of is a refereering eff up decing the fate in a big game say in the semis .. or even the final dare to say .. or even a match like haha back to france again like they had v ireland .. all this crap reffing is taking the spectacle away from the tournament and instead of talking abt the world cup in south africa and the spectacle .. it will end up all about the crap reffing in south africa and said decisions that may or may not have cost a team dearly
gomez comes on again .. .. gmaes over already i guess .. but is kiessling just a token player .. did loew just bring him to make up the numbers? and becasue the public wanted it .. or some of them well i said that and 5 mins later he comes on wholl core if at all first gomez or kiessling or neither ? must say .. mueller is impressive....
wtf???? the simplest pull back and nelson should have passed to lucas who was dead on for a chance on goal in the center and he skipped him and passed or tried out wide to a player who was coming in late ... it so looked like nelson didnt want lucas to get the winner and steal his thunder ... jealousy me thinks ... it was as clear as day he made the wrong pass ... on purpose? ... me thinks so .. lucas was in space... the other wasnt even and hada defender on him .. sad little man nelson maybe it was just me that it seemed that way to .... oops forgot to edit the other post and add this
You're making too much of this. We BVB fans have seen Valdez blow those kinds of plays many times since he's joined us.......
real reply should have been .. "ah its only nelson" tonights " big" game spain v portugal ... will it live up to expectation or go the way of portugal v brazil? damp squib
I think it will live up to expectations. Most of us knew Portugal v Brazil would be like it was because a draw favored both sides and no one wanted to get players booked or injured. I didn't bother watching it.
BVB Striker Nelson Valdez – Club Future Probably Not In The German Bundesliga Borussia Dortmund striker and Paraguayan World Cup participant Nelson Valdez, who is looking for a new club, has made it known that he is not partial to remaining in the German Bundesliga. Valdez said of a potential new club for next season, “One never knows (where one can wind up). I just want to enjoy the World Cup and afterwards we will settle my future. I have heard there are many offers. We will see what they are. Before the tournament, Valdez identified it as a “huge chance” to prove himself. After Borussia Dortmund’s acquisition of Polish goal-scoring king Robert Lewandowski form Lech Poznan, things would become harder at Borussia Dortmund for Valdez. The ex-Werder Bremen striker, who joined BVB in 2006 for 4.7 million Euros, has a valid contract at BVB through the 2011-2012 season. It is rumored that Borussia Dortmund wants at least a 3M Euro transfer fee for Valdez. My Comments: BVB should try to get at least 5M for him. I think Zorc will be patient and like me, hope like hell that Valdez has a great match against the Spanish this coming weekend.
Atleast you guys can get rid of him, we can't. And yes he's starting tomorrow ofcourse and Lucas on bench against freakin SPAIN.
youre kidding!! lucas benched??? oh my what is it about him(nelson)???? voodoo?? in quali wasnt lucas the form player?
I believe coaches love to believe Nelson Valdez can make things happen with his running and hustle. The problem is, he rarely does. Why? Because Nelson Valdez is what I like to call a "football idiot." He's all over the place, but he's almost never where he needs to be when he is supposed to be there. He just doesn't read the game well enough to take advantage of his hard work. He just doesn't know how to make the best use of his work. I don't know how many of you truly follow German Football, but if you need to see the kind of player Nelson Valdez could be, just look at Bayern's Ivica Olic. Olic is on a team of superstars, yet this past season, he was arguably Bayern's most valuable player. Olic's game is very much the same as Valdez's, but Olic plays the game intelligently. He doesn't just run around the field like a chicken with its head cut off. In other words, Olic knows how to be consistently EFFECTIVE in his game. With Valdez, we're lucky if it happens three or four times a season. And this is why BVB is getting rid of Valdez.........
Anyone have thoughts on Holland-Uruguay or Germany-Spain?? Paul The Octopus does!! It's Spain! Psychic Octopus Makes Choice An apparently psychic octopus has risked the wrath of his fellow countrymen by predicting Spain will beat Germany in the World Cup semi-final. The creature - who lives at Germany's Oberhausen Sea Life Centre - has correctly chosen all of his homeland's results so far. Click here for the full story.
i have an uncanny habit of picking .. well betting on the winning losers ))) i pick a team to win ... are sure be it ... they lose to the point of people asking me NOT to have a flutter on certain teams ) i have at the request so far avoided germany )) but today ive put some pennies on holland and spain .... so my coupon in effect means a germany and uruguay win ... well see
I've got the same problem this time. Usually my picks are "OK", but this time, I can't pick winners to save my life! LOL!!