“The world watched with awe and derision this past week as the French national soccer team, boasting a roster of star players, imploded on and off the field at the World Cup. In case you missed it, here’s the play-by-play. At half-time during the France-Mexico game, striker Nicolas Anelka insulted French coach Raymond Domenech in the locker room. Such words, of course, are heard frequently in the half-time locker rooms of losing teams the world over — though not so often spoken to a coach’s face.” (CNN)
Feeling Bleu
“Just when you thought France could sink no further, it discovers improbable new depths to plumb thanks to outgoing coach Raymond Domenech, whose gift for combining the imperious, the inept and the insulting has few equals in sporting history. No wonder President Nicolas Sarkozy has called crisis ministerial meetings on the French World Cup debacle. The daily Le Monde went further, drawing parallels between this “strange defeat” and another, on the front lines of 1940.” (NYT)
Bleusballed In Paris: Laughing Along At France’s Implosion With The Happily Unhappy French
“Don’t feel sorry for the French. This is a good general rule to follow — like “don’t eat paste” or “never fight a land war in Asia” — but this guideline applies especially in the aftermath of the French national team’s implosion at the World Cup. Really, don’t take pity.” (WorldCupPage)
World Cup tactics: France start afresh with Blanc page
“The debris from the slow-motion car crash that has been the last two years in the life of the France team is unlikely to settle for some time. The fall-out from their spectacularly ugly World Cup failure will rumble long into the summer, with players promising to reveal the full story behind their ill-tempered campaign and government ministers poised to carry out a searching investigation into the failings of the French Football Federation.” (Football Further)
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