Sarkozy to probe French soccer team failure

[alex52]

This is taking the game to seriously. Should the Government be wasting its time on this.
From the BBC.

World Cup 2010: Nicolas Sarkozy to probe French failure


France 1-2 South Africa

French president Nicolas Sarkozy is to hold a government meeting on Wednesday to discuss the country's disastrous World Cup showing.
Sarkozy will also meet Thierry Henry, at the striker's request on Thursday, as the inquest into the events of South Africa 2010 begins.
France went out in the group stage after a campaign marred by infighting.
Striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home after a row with boss Raymond Domenech, prompting the team to go on strike.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon, sports minister Roselyne Bachelot and junior sports minister Rama Yade will join Sarkozy to discuss how a country that won the World Cup in 1998 and reached the final in 2006 could manage just one point and a single goal at the 2010 edition.


"Those responsible for this disaster must accept the consequences, first the players, then the team management and after them the football federation," Bachelot told Europe 1 radio on Wednesday.
France drew 0-0 with Uruguay in their first game, lost 2-0 to Mexico and were eliminated on Tuesday night after a 2-1 defeat to South Africa.
The French Football Federation have also promised to meet in July to discuss the campaign.
But captain Patrice Evra, who was dropped by Domenech for the South Africa match, says he will reveal details of what happened in the French camp before then.
"I promise to tell the truth about every minute of what I went through," said Manchester United defender Evra. "French people need to know the truth because the France team belongs to them and nobody else.
"It's time for us to apologise. It hurts even more because that could have been done on Monday. I could have done it as the team captain but the coach would not let me."
Domenech and his players were lambasted in the French press on Wednesday.

The end of the road for France

"The end of one world" was the headline in sports daily L'Equipe, which accused Domenech of "taking people for fools".
Le Parisien carried a front-page headline over a photograph of Domenech saying: "Thank you and goodbye!"
Meanwhile, football's governing body Fifa said it had not decided yet whether to take action against Domenech for refusing to shake the hand of South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira following the match on Tuesday.
The Brazilian said he believed the snub related to comments he had made about France's qualification for the tournament, which owed much to a handball by Henry in their play-off win over Ireland in November.

 

[fun-guy]

Considering the government provides financial support and the team is representing the country on an international stage, then yes the President should at least spend some time to understand how the people's money was poorly spent. It's not that they lost games when they were heavily favoured, it was a complete embarrassment on how unprofessional they were.

 

[dj1470]

Considering they didn't even deserve to be there.
Ireland did.
Who really cares?

 

[luckyjackson]

President should at least spend some time to understand how the people's money was poorly spent.

I think I can save them some time and money. Throw out the people who gave Domenech his contract right along with the idiot himself. I can't think of a worse coach to have lead a major soccer power.

 

[shakenbake]

I think I can save them some time and money. Throw out the people who gave Domenech his contract right along with the idiot himself. I can't think of a worse coach to have lead a major soccer power.

Maybe, the same could be said about Lippi in Italy's case. he showed serios prejudice and bad judgement with his selection of older players with inexperienced ones, along with injured vetrans for the Azzurri.

 

[djk]

Hire a coach that doesn't use astrology to pick players.

http://culturemap.com/newsdetail/06...strology-leads-french-world-cup-coach-astray/

 

[marriedtoolong]

What is the difference between Italy and a tea bag?

 

[FOOTSNIFFER]

What is the difference between Italy and a tea bag?

I dunno but what I do know is that the foreign ladies seemed to love italy and fucking us 'dagos' when I was there....I even bagged a few canadian ladies 'of a certain age', when their husbands were slogging it out in the tough canadian winters over here. Germans were especially easy...frenchies were snooty and dismissive (but who cares; they're boring anyway) and the brits talked, and talked and talked too much rubbish . It amazes me to this day that young woman actually think a young man has the remotest interest in what they have to say; my only interest back then was in getting them comfortable enough with me that they would allow me pound their sweet bodies to within an inch of their lives, bless their little hearts. The americans were the best; pure, innocent and ready to fuck. Actually the best was a retired Canadian school teacher whose husband preferred to work rather than spend time with her....she had the most perfect ass in god's good creation and I was fortunate to have worshipped at its altar for many a night. Thanks Candace, you lovely goddess, wherever you are now. You made a very young man very happy for a few months a long time ago.

P.S. Lippi and the italian soccer squad should have oranges and runny eggs thrown at them when they return to italy for their lack of spirit in the defense of their title. Actually I see the failings of the team as a microcosm of what's wrong with Italy at this time;

a. A preference always for what's worked in the past over taking a risk on the new strategies that might work in the future. An almost maudlin interest in the glories of the past; it is this almost insane preoccupation with the tried and true, this rigidity that lead me to take the decision to leave that place. The spirit of decadence, that nothing really ought to change because change is somehow pointlessly aggravating, was to me almost horrifying. Lippi, himself not a spring chicken, pointedly decided not to play some promising younger players.

b. allied to the first point is a systemic failure to develop the next generation, be they soccer players, business execs, or scientists. The number of promising medical researchers, for example, who have had to leave Italy to find adequate uses of their skills is truly a national disgrace. Italians are too individualistic; they don't seem to understand that people succeed as part of a carefully developed eco-systems which support a talented persons professional development over their whole career. There is a poorly developed ethos of mentorship over there.

Italian society is way way too conservative but the people are very clever. After all, with no resources to speak of, with absolutely no commodities (they even have to import wheat for pasta, from Canada I might add) and a hostile political class they managed to create an economy with a per capita income of roughly 40,000 USD....but they've gotta wake up before it's too late. I'm sure they will.

 

[Blade]

I think what is at least comparable, if not worse, is the taxpayer's money spent on the Dubin Inquiry when Ben Johnson was caught cheating.

He gets caught, loses his medal and the government launches this commission. Ridiculous.

 

[Major Major]

goodness...get over yourself France...you lost! you clearly were not the better team

 

[Steve Harper]

Les Bleues: Selfish, petulant & arrogant players. Inadequate coach. Hand-ball. Nicholas Anelka should be run out of football. How many more teams will his cancer infest?