Archive: France
Zidane News Conference
Here's what Zizou said. Still no idea what Materazzi said. Also interesting: The France captain said he felt no regret for his act, "because that would mean (Materazzi) was right to say all that."...
By Jon DeNunzio | July 12, 2006; 02:56 PM ET | Comments (73) | TrackBack (0)
Can't Resist
Ok, one more post. Enjoy this game....
By Jon DeNunzio | July 10, 2006; 05:12 PM ET | Comments (12) | TrackBack (0)
To Get Your Blood Pumping ...
The anthems we'll hear at about 2 pm ET Sunday: France Italy...
By Jon DeNunzio | July 7, 2006; 02:43 PM ET | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
Italy-France -- Who Ya Got?
Ok, folks, last prediction of the blog ... who will win the final, and what will the final score be? (If you want to predict the third-place game, too, feel free. Did you see that our old friend MSOK is starting for Germany?) Another question -- if I do live updates during the final, will you all be there to read 'em? I seek guidance here. My prediction: Italy wins, 1-0. Luca Toni scores, and Buffon keeps making great saves....
By Jon DeNunzio | July 7, 2006; 01:16 PM ET | Comments (29) | TrackBack (0)
How to Be a Superstar ... and How Not to
What a contrast between two of the most recognizable faces in the game today -- Zinedine Zidane was all class in France's upset of Brazil, Wayne Rooney was classless as he stomped on an opponent, earned a red card and cost his team a very winnable game. Zidane was doing stuff like this all game. Rooney has been acting like this his whole career. Once in a while in football, justice is served....
By Jon DeNunzio | July 1, 2006; 05:26 PM ET | Comments (30) | TrackBack (0)
Spain-France
Starting lineups: SPAIN Casillas Pernia Puyol Raul Xavi Torres Xabi Alonso Ramos Fabregas Villa Pablo...
By Steve Goff | June 27, 2006; 02:15 PM ET | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
Report: Rooney Going to Germany
Here's the news: the BBC.com reports Wayne Rooney "won the race to prove his fitness" and will be on the England team in Germany. Also, as pointed out by savvy commenters below, France's Djibril Cisse may have broken his leg today. Hmmm, anyone know of an American newspaper that was smart enough to run a story on World Cup injuries today?...
By Jon DeNunzio | June 7, 2006; 03:50 PM ET | Comments (12) | TrackBack (0)
Headed in Opposite Directions?
As I mentioned in the previous post, Ghana (the United States' third Group E opponent) beat South Korea 3-1 yesterday. Ghana has never played in a World Cup; South Korea was a semifinalist in 2002 (granted, with help from some home-cooked kim-chee). Here's another report on the game. Not sure if this result tells us South Korea is bad, Ghana is good, or both ... "Attack, midfield, defence, there wasn't a single good point tonight," said the Koreans' Dutch coach Dick Advocaat. "Game by game our team play has been getting worse and that is very disappointing." Unrelated: Reports have Coach Raymond Domenech unveiling France's starting 11 at Wednesday's friendly vs. China. The BBC.com story makes it sound like it will be: GK: Barthez D: Sagnol, Thuram, Gallas, Abidal MF: Viera, Makelele, Zidane, Malouda F: Henry and Trezeguet or Saha...
By Jon DeNunzio | June 5, 2006; 10:00 AM ET | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Who Do You Like in Group G?
Well, I like the team with the best defensive midfielders. But before we go there, your study guides: - Steve Goff's group analysis (written the day of the draw) - The Post's team profiles (also written way back in December) - BBC.com team guides: - France - South Korea - Switzerland - Togo My prediction: Nothing was quite like being in Paris the night France won the '98 World Cup (I was also there the night they won Euro '84, btw; did not attend either game, tho). I have a soft spot for Les Bleus. But I think they are old and vulnerable. I say the young, talented Swiss team knocks them off in a shocker in the opener. Perhaps on a gaffe by Barthez. France is not vulnerable enough to finish behind South Korea or Togo, however. They'll take second. Using BBC.com's predictor I can see South Korea going...
By Jon DeNunzio | May 26, 2006; 08:00 AM ET | Comments (26) | TrackBack (0)
Midnight Kick-About
Hey there ... I was away from my computer most of Thursday, so I have not had a chance to post. Here's one for you guys who might drop by late at night ... - Bad U.S. news: Cory Gibbs is out of the World Cup. It's not like Gibbs and Frankie Hedjuk are quote-unquote players you can't afford to lose, but two injuries at defense already? Yeesh. Gregg "Two Gs" Berhalter replaces Gibbs ... - We'll get Wayne Rooney MRI news Friday. BTW, how wild is the news that Man United fired the doc who was overseeing Rooney's recovery? He seemed to be giving the national team physio positive reports, and many figure Sir Alex Ferguson did not like that. In the spirit of fairness: United insist the departure of Dr Mike Stone, the physician who was in charge of Rooney's recovery, is not connected with the England star....
By Jon DeNunzio | May 25, 2006; 11:55 PM ET | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)
Selection Monday
Today's the deadline day for teams to announce their World Cup roster. Our pals at FIFAWorldCup round it all up here. Some team-by-team notes: - France Coach Raymond Domenech had a few surprises, including his choice of Fabien Barthez as No. 1 keeper. Somewhat expected and discussed here a few weeks ago -- Barcelona's Ludovic Giuly did not make it (nor did Philippe Mexes, Nicolas Anelka or Robert Pires). - Morientes does not make Spain's team. - Germany Coach Juergen Klinnsman has two surprise inclusions: Jens Nowotny and David Odonkor. More to come ... UPDATE: Italy's squad is out. Buffon made the team, as did Inzaghi....
By Jon DeNunzio | May 15, 2006; 11:45 AM ET | Comments (30) | TrackBack (0)
Rooney Update and More ...
First of all, it's good to see all those insightful comments on the U.S. team post. I expect to see a similar level of debate when Togo names its squad. Here's what's going on elsewhere: - Wayne Rooney has TWO broken foot bones. When pressed on whether Rooney now needs a miracle, Eriksson ... said: 'Maybe.' - Japan has a guy with a broken metatarsal, too -- striker Atsushi Yanagisawa (a former Sampdoria player whose current club is the Kashima Antlers). - Manchester United/France D Mikael Silvestre thinks he deserves a World Cup spot. La sagesse conventionnelle is that he will not get a spot. Which Frenchmen rate ahead of him at defense? Cobbling together some stuff from World Soccer and SI.com, it looks like the top defenders are: William Gallas (Chelsea) Lilian Thuram (Juve) Willy Sagnol (Bayern Munich) Jean-Alain Boumsong (Newcastle) Gael Givet (Monaco) Antoine Réveillère (Lyon) (The Réveillères...
By Jon DeNunzio | May 3, 2006; 01:45 PM ET | Comments (15) | TrackBack (0)
Lunchtime Kick-About
Around the world in 40 keystrokes (give or take) ... - Wayne Rooney will sleep in an oxygen tent in an effort to recover more quickly. Reading The Sun online has gotten a Billy Bragg song stuck in my head, btw ... - Other Rooney items of note: Sven-Goran Eriksson could replace him up to 24 hours before England's first match, a second examination is scheduled for Thursday , and the FA is denying a rift between Eriksson and Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson. Ferguson: Sven is going on saying he will take the lad and then in six weeks' time he will have another two weeks to get fitter to play in the quarter-final of a World Cup. That is a wild dream. Really it is folly to suggest that the boy could be out of the game for six weeks, then two weeks later go and play in...
By Jon DeNunzio | May 2, 2006; 01:35 PM ET | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
Zidane Makes It Official
Here's rambling post for those of you not glued to ESPN2 at the moment. - Zizou makes it official. This quote seems remarkably frank for a pro athlete, by American standards at least: 'In the last two years the results have eluded us [Real Madrid]. When you don't reach your goals you ask yourself questions. I know I can't do better than what I have already done and at my age, it's getting more and more difficult. I didn't want to experience another year like the ones I've been through.' If he were American, he would be saying "I want to spend more time with my family." - England Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, is, how you say, cautiously optimistic? - Will soccer get kicked out of the Olympics? This doping/WADA/FIFA stuff started coming out in stories like this yesterday. Today, Sepp Blatter reacts. - Some Netherlands news you may have seen...
By Jon DeNunzio | April 25, 2006; 03:45 PM ET | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Lunchtime Kick-About
No story jumps out at me right now (other than Alecko Eskandarian possibly being in trouble for his antics vs. the Red Bulls -- and that doesn't really fit here), so here are some headlines: - At Arsenal, Sol Campbell will play, Philippe Senderos will not in the second leg of the Champions League semi on Tuesday. England fans can see how Solly's doing; Swiss fans can sweat it out -- would be a blow to lose Senderos for the World Cup. - I tire of being England-heavy in these news updates, but I have to point out that former England coach Bryan Robson took a shot at Beckham this weekend. "Becks would not have been my choice as captain. Gerrard and Terry are more natural leaders and have the aggression most managers like in a captain. ... Beckham is not a leader on the pitch." - Australia GK Mark...
By Jon DeNunzio | April 24, 2006; 01:45 PM ET | Comments (18) | TrackBack (0)
Morning Kick-About
My news reader may be down, but I'm not ... - Der Kaiser gets fired up over criticism, real or imagined. Asked what criticism he was referring to, Beckenbauer added: 'It's the ticketing or whatever else.' Beckenbauer was then pulled away from journalists by a press spokesman. Speaking of tickets, The Guardian (or is it the Observer?) launched a ticketing campaign this weekend ... One issue, though, will overshadow the event all the way through: the allocation of tickets for the 64 games. The system devised by Fifa and the 2006 Organising Committee will force many ticketless deserving fans to pay touts' exorbitant prices. Fifa's policy benefits sponsors and the wealthy but short-changes those fans who are the game's lifeblood. Today Observer Sport starts a campaign for change by exposing the full extent of the ticketing scandal. Again I ask ... anyone have any good ticket stories? - France/Barcelona MF...
By Jon DeNunzio | April 18, 2006; 09:40 AM ET | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
Catching Up ...
I was out of pocket for a good portion of the day (although there seemed to be plenty of fodder for discussion on the blog anyway), and I just got a chance to look at the day's news. Some headlines: - Argentina injury news: defender Gabriel Heinze may be back soon for Manchester United, while Lionel Messi has a slight knock and will likely miss Barcelona's Champions League game next week. Heinze in good health would be a great addition for Argentina (thanks to The Post's Christian Swezey for tipping me off on this one, btw); Messi's injury is not enough to make anyone worry he'd miss Germany. - They're gonna use a special gold ball in the final. Geez. - Reason No. 5,687 I love BBC.com: this breakdown of England's potential roster. Including: Glen Johnson, who missed a Chelsea game after forgetting his passport, is unlikely to have such...
By Jon DeNunzio | April 11, 2006; 07:45 PM ET | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Non-Rooney News
Some other stuff that is floating out there today: - England loses some back-line depth thanks to Luke Young's ankle injury. UPDATE, 3 PM: Maybe it's not that bad. - Zinedine Zidane wants to win the World Cup and retire on top. Don't we all? - Oliver Kahn spots the high road, crosses two lanes of traffic and the solid line and merges on to it. He's ok with being Lehmann's backup, he says. - Japan's Naohiro Takahara scores for Hamburg in late-game sub duty. FIFAWorldCup.com spins this as a momemt that could have great impact on how Japan's coach, Brazilian legend Zico, chooses his side. Am I being too harsh by asking if a Bundesliga reserve should be expected to be a major factor for a team like Japan? - The Guardian's Amy Lawrence sizes up Brazil. Are they overrated? I dunno, but it's a better question to ask...
By Jon DeNunzio | April 10, 2006; 02:15 PM ET | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
The 'Park Chu-Young Effect'
One of the missions of this blog will be to ferret out info on teams that fly under the radar. Anyone who goes to SoccerNet, the BBC.com, etc., can get a quick fill of Euro news. Harder to find will be information of value concerning Asian, African and South American teams (save for Brazil and Argentina, of course). So here's a good place to start -- South Korea, the darling co-host of the 2002 tournament. The official World Cup site has a feature on young striker Park Chu-Young that's worth a read. South Korea would seem to be a reasonable choice to make it into the second round -- the Reds are in Group G with France (which has not inspired confidence of late -- see this piece written last month), Switzerland and Togo. If South Korea advances, it would face a Group H team -- Spain, Ukriane, Tunisia or...
By Jon DeNunzio | April 6, 2006; 07:26 AM ET | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)