Monday, July 23, 2012

23 July 2010 - "Allez Les Bleus" Indeed

On 23 July 2010, the French Football Federation suspended all 23 members of their World Cup squad at the request of new manager Laurent Blanc.

The sanction was a result of a player revolt during the tournament. The French campaign already looked doomed after losing their first two matches to Uruguay and Mexico, but the situation grew worse when manager Raymond Domenech sent striker Nicolas Anelka home after the player argued with him during halftime of the game against Mexico. In support of Anelka, other players in the French camp refused to train and Les Blues ended up losing to South Africa and finishing at the bottom of their group.

Following the tournament, FFF president Jean-Pierre Escalettes resigned his post and Domenech was sacked. Blanc, who had recently led Bordeaux to the 2008-09 Ligue 1 title, stepped in as his replacement. he acknowledged that the federation could not condone the team's actions during the tournament and recommended a one-game ban for the entire squad.

For Frace's next match, a friendly against Norway, they used an entirely different squad and lost, 2-1.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.