International : The Great Pretenders

Just named to take over the French national team, Laurent Blanc was eager to turn a page over the African failure and the catastrophic display by “Les Bleus” on and off the pitch. In that sense, he decided not to call any of the players present during the World Cup.

Douchez, Fanni, Marveaux and M’Vila can believe

On July 23rd, the former Bordeaux coach took his responsibilities in front of the Federation Assembly, and decided to show severity after the Knysna episode, when the French national players refused to train, only two days from the third and final group game against South Africa. Following the public outcry back in France, Blanc showed his authority and decided not to select any of the players involved in the South African competition for the friendly in Norway, on August 11th. One man’s loss is another man’s gain, as one could say…

Twenty-one players likely to be called up are therefore immediately left aside (Nicolas Anelka and Thierry Henry have already announced international retirement), giving hope to lots of players very close to getting into the French squad. This decision will allow the coach to create some competition for the blue shirts, and help him in his mission to rebuild the squad after four chaotic years. Pre-selections have started to fall, and the club seem to have received a letter from the French Football Federation (FFF) regarding Nicolas Douchez, who could well be part of this selection. Fifth in Raymond Domenech’s goalkeepers hierarchy, after Cédric Carrasso, Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda and Stéphane Ruffier, the Rennes goalkeeper is expected to be one of the three goalkeepers called up by Blanc this Thursday.

Besides Douchez, the new national coach has got a lot of interest for Yann M’Vila, a player he truly admires, as Pierre Ménès revealed on French television show Canal Football Club a few months ago. Selected in Domenech’s first list of 30, the midfielder was finally left out of the final selection for the World Cup. A first cap would be a great reward to M’Vila, only 35 Ligue 1 game under his belt. But it would also be fair in regards to the youngster’s performances, always improving since his first kicks in the top-flight.

Shadowing Bakary Sagna since two years, Rod Fanni was given the same fate as M’Vila when the 23 for the World Cup were announced. Finally ignored and replaced by Anthony Réveillère, the defender was mostly unimpressed at the coach’s decision to leave him home: “I won’t lie; I’ve taken a big blow. But football goes on. It’s been hard for me. I have to admit I was rather surprised, since I had been in the squad every time over the last two years". Despite the fact he’s lined up for a future transfer, Fanni’s profile is interesting for his versatility, the player can play indifferently as a right back or in centre defence.

Close to the French squad a few months ago, after a very successful season in Ligue 1, it is hard to see how or why Laurent Blanc could decide to ignore Sylvain Marveaux. The Breton left winger could finally wear the Blue shirt, and take another dimension in the weeks to come.

On for a surprise?

In a world of possibilities, Fabien Lemoine is dreaming of making the trip to Oslo, but he will face a strong competition in midfield: Florent Balmont (Lille), Yohan Cabaye (Lille), Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid), Mathieu Flamini (Milan AC), Rio Mavuba (Lille), Benoît Pedretti (Auxerre), Moussa Sissoko (Toulouse)... His chances seem rather meagre when reading this list of names, but there is no harm in hoping for a surprise…

In an interview to website Le Buteur, Yacine Brahimi declared he would keep an eye on Blanc’s selection: “Yup, I’ll definitely take a look at the list. But on a personal point of view, I don’t expect to be selected in the French team”. The centre of all attentions from the French and Algerian federations, the attacking midfielder is still to decide which nation he would like to represent. With the new rules, and provided he doesn’t become a full international for one of the two countries before then, he will have until his 23rd birthday to make is mind.

Finally, in the older generation, there is still hope Laurent Blanc could show an interest in Stéphane Dalmat and/or Jérome Leroy for this minor game. This, would be a huge surprise. But they will certainly keep an eye on the list…