Search: ' Lilian Thuram'

Monaco were Champions League regulars a decade ago but now they are trying to avoid consecutive relegations, writes James Eastham

Eight years ago Monaco reached the Champions League final. They are now battling against relegation to France’s semi-professional third tier. It is a familiar story of decline. Since Didier Deschamps quit as coach 16 months after that European summit against Porto, a succession of managers, directors and presidents have been turfed out or walked away. Each has taken with him a blueprint for success that either failed or was dropped before coming to fruition.

Read more…

James Eastham discusses the newest scandal which has shaken French football

It was all going too well. The France national team’s remarkable rebirth under Laurent Blanc came to an abrupt halt last month following the publication of transcripts from tapes that threatened not only to end the former Manchester United defender’s impressive start as les Bleus manager, but also engulf French football in a bigger scandal than the World Cup players’ strike.

Read more…

James Eastham assesses public recrimination and media reaction following a campaign that left even the pessimists disappointed

As France manager Raymond Domenech and his players sloped home from their disastrous World Cup campaign to face the biggest communal ear-bashing since somebody suggested abolishing the 35-hour week, the media lined up to take pot shots at a squad whose downfall was anything but a shock.

Read more…

What are the expectations for the team?
The French public are pessimistic. Which is a good indicator that they’ll get to the final at least, previous low expectations having been recorded in 1998 and 2006. Ten years on, four players from the 1998 World Cup squad – Patrick Vieira, Lilian Thuram, David Trezeguet and Thierry Henry – could all take part. If picked, Nicolas Anelka, another player from 1998 generation, will be looking to score his first goal in a major international competition. There is some optimism surrounding the new generation represented by Hatem Ben Arfa, Samir Nasri and Karim Benzema – all three tipped as the next Zidane – as well as “Kaiser Franck” Ribéry.

Read more…

While Lilian Thuram has made some notable left-wing gestures, one of his black predecessors in the France defence has made a sudden switch to the right. Andy Brassell reports

Basile Boli’s appointment as national secretary for ­co‑development with President Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP party has been on the cards for a while. It may seem surreal to those who remember the robust defender scoring the winner in Marseille’s 1993 Champions League final win over Milan, getting away with headbutting Stuart Pearce during Euro 92, or indeed helping his mate Chris Waddle reprise his recording career post-Diamond Lights (with the Anglo-French duet We’ve Got A ­Feeling). Yet though Boli’s career since playing retirement – which came in 1997, at the tender age of 30 – has included media work for the TV channel France 3, it has otherwise been quite atypical for an ex-pro.

Read more…