One word - Domenech - that's what's wrong. He has been so toxic to this team and that is an understatement. This team lacks motivation, conviction or any kind of continuity to perform at a high level to win. Domenech will tell you that it's more important to conserve a 0-0 than take any risks. Oh and also, no game is ever crucial enough to have to win. We're all so done and have been done with him, we're suffering from Domenech-syndrome!
I agree that domenech soured the entire team and created a toxic atmosphere. BUT...he didn't force Anelka to be so selfish. He didn't force Ribery to be so poor. he didn't force Abidal to make two incredibly stupid mistakes that led to goals. He didn't force Malouda to stop playing in the second half. At some point you have to blame the players too, and they've been terrible. Ribery, Malouda, Anelka, these guys are some of the best offensive players in the world for their club teams but for France they play terrible. I don't think you can chalk that all up to Domenech's incompetence.
I'm not French but I would be completely disgusted with Domenech and the FFF for keeping him around. He only has a job because of Zidane's sublime performance in 2006. He deserved no credit for 2006 and has only taken French football to the toilet. Crap 2008, barely making this World Cup and now this travesty. It completely angers me that a squad as talented as France is handled with such incompetence. It's like seeing a drunk 16 year old child driving a Ferrari.
Ribery is really overrated. He's a very skilled player, but he's not great at anything. Robben is a great one on one player and goal scorer. Robben's defender would never steal the ball from him. He's a winger and not a CM. Ribery is not a phyiscal player. The players deserve alot of the blame, but Domenech picked abadly flawed side.
I agree, a lot of the players have to take responsibility. I think Laurent Blanc will need to step up and take out the players that refuse to play as a unit. This entire team has been horrible. The coach was the first to take the blame as he is the one that has that has to bring discipline and stability to the team but the players are right there with him as they have done nothing to help this team!
The evidence seems to show that there is no limit to what Domenech's incompetence can do. He is the cosmic personification of incompetence. The FFF suits were the only people in the world who could not recognize that. I feel bad for the French fans.
He kind of did, I don't think I've ever been so angry at a coach. France has no tactical plan and no organization. They clearly don't respect their coach, and have little semblance of team play. It's awful, their was no back line to hold, their was no attacking triangle to break down the opposing defense, the set pieces were numerous yet poor (the exception being the short diagnols Malouda-Anelka-Ribery in the first half) and their was a lot of frusturated players. This was a tactical and motivational disaster, that is on Domenech... but what does he care, he's already been fired.
http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/breves2010/20100617_223739_domenech-je-suis-abattu.html Raymond Domenech (au micro de TF1) : «Je n'ai pas de mot. C'est une vraie déception pour tous les gens qui y croyaient. Ca a basculé sur un coup du sort, on n'a pas su réagir. C'est dommage. Il y a des bonnes intentions, des envies, mais il y a toujours quelque chose qui n'a pas fonctionné. Je n'ai pas de mot. C'est plus que décevant. [...] Je ne sais pas ce que je vais dire à mes joueurs. Il reste un match, ça tient du miracle. Il va falloir être costaud et jouer pour l'honneur. On a encore quelque chose à jouer. On doit réagir. On doit au moins montrer quelque chose sur ce dernier match. Quand ça dépend des autres, on n'a plus rien à dire. Aujourd'hui, je suis abattu.» Has he ever had anything constructive to say? NO! It wasn't just today that he was "abattu", he was a long time ago!
And this lack of spirit ! Even at the end, scoring at least one goal was so important for the future but nothing and even now, they're already out in their minds. the situation is indeed hopeless but damn, show some guts, it's the World Cup ! After 20 minutes, it was possible to emphatically feel the inhibition and the malaise. One always knew that if we did not score and have an easy match, it would implode. They decided to bunker themselves and live in a fantasy world where they stood against the world...Except it was just a fiction, a mere illusion for they don't have the collective mental abilities nor the real cohesion to do that. And on top of that, the negativity contest in the media and all the "bistrot" comments will go full force...As much as the French team sucks, I really hate that shit (with commercial interests of course since it's so important to place those ads between two newsflashes...), I'd prefer some constructive critics but the mass media landscape is so much devoid of that... Double peine... Hard times.
Domenech reminds me of Eugene Levy. c'est vraiment de la merde ce que j'ai vu ce soir. terrible. ils ne meritent pas de se qualifier pour le second tour. un truc positif: l'equipe est jeune.
C'est mieux comme ça. C'est fini. La douleur est brève. Domenech partira. Tout ira bien. Hein... tout ira bien. Bande de surpayés bons-a-rien.
Oui bon, ils sont tous surpayés de toutes façons ; c'est la loi du marché. Mais c'est vrai que les surpayé d'en face sont meilleurs que les nôtres. Là est le problème... Bah, c'est bien, je vais pouvoir profiter du foot sans tout ce stress inutile.