Send in the bulldozers, the rebuilding process can begin. Whilst France began the process of putting together a team capable of challenging for the World Cup in 2010, or even qualifying for the World Cup in 2010, Raymond Domenech should be free to get married in a forest, surrounded by druids, nudists or whatever strange people fit into his bizarre pick n’ mix of spiritual beliefs.
Almost universally disliked by the French even though he guided the side to a World Cup final, Domenech will now be shown la sortie and the curtain can come down on an era where the national side was hindered by strange selections and the coach’s own personal grudges. Even his post match interview following defeat to Italy showcased his peculiar mindset, talking about marrying his reporter fiancée rather than addressing the issues surrounding a hugely disappointing campaign.
A lack of ambition and touch of arrogance against Romania, bad luck and some wasteful attackers against Holland and a clumsy tackle when letting Luca Toni get his shot away was probably the most sensible idea, have combined to eliminate France and very few people can argue that it wasn’t fair. Domenech’s odd choices came to the fore yet again and his side are out. Just why Sidney Govou got 141 minutes at Euro 2008 compared to Samir Nasri’s 28 minutes, I’ll never understand. Of course I’m speaking through my pocket, but France were woeful and Domenech along with the more experienced players were to blame.
Following Zidane’s retirement, a number of senior players copied his example and left the national fold. Domenech persuaded Thuram and Makelele to come back and in the end, they ensured qualification for Euro 2008, which shows that there was some merit to the move. They have now officially called time on their international careers and in the interests of rebuilding, others need to do the same. Thierry Henry wants to be revered as a Zidane, but lacks the hard-working nature and leadership qualities. Playing for the national team doesn’t come with huge money, so maybe we should have predicted Anelka’s sulky and disinterested performances. He should never play for Les Bleus again, barring a miraculous turnaround in attitude. Sagnol was disappointing when he played and Vieira looks too injury prone to be the leader he once was.
Despite being the big nation to fall victim of the Euro 2008’s Grim Reaper, things aren’t at crisis point for the French. Benzema looked to have a touch of class about him and he will prosper as the focus of the attack. Ribery was exciting as always and Toulalan performed the Makelele role better than Makelele alongside him. With young talents like Diarra, Clerc and the highly rated goalkeeper, Steve Mandanda also available, the French have the nucleus of an exciting young side.
The quest to find Domenech’s replacement is an intriguing one. With the young talent coming into the French squad, the guiding hand of Arsene Wenger would be perfect. He has indicated that the French job is something he would be interested in when the time is right and after being so obviously infuriated with the Premier League in the latter stages of the season, maybe the stars are in position for a move. Although he lacks the CV of Wenger, Didier Deschamps could follow the recent trend of heroic former players taking over the national sides as young coaches. Either way, the situation is far from dire.
As for who’ll win Euro 2008, it’s important not to get carried away with performances in the group stages. Remember that at the last World Cup Argentina would have been everyone’s pick for the trophy after the group stage. As exhilarating as the Dutch were, you have to wonder have they peaked too soon? Can they maintain the standards right the way to the final? Likewise Spain look very sharp, but can their defence hold firm for the three knockout games needed to claim the trophy? Italy certainly haven’t peaked, but the loss of Pirlo and Gattuso for the match with Spain is huge and may be too much to overcome.
Despite not being overly impressive during the group stages, the Germans have reached their specialty, knockout tournament football. They have huge room for improvement and they are the masters of doing just enough to get through. As good as they have been Portugal haven’t played to their highest capacity and they can get better. The Ronaldo v Lahm contest looks like being key to the outcome of the match and I suspect the winner of this match will win the tournament.
———————————————————-
Shortcuts to team bets:
- Holland Betting
- Spain Betting
- Portugal Betting
- Italy Betting
- Germany Betting
- Croatia Betting
- Turkey Betting
- Sweden Betting
- Russia Betting
Posted in Football, Sportsbook, Euro 2008 | 1 Comment »
Category: 
