The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Timid France searching for identity Posted: 15 Oct 2012 04:45 PM PDT OCT 16 — When the World Cup qualifying draw was made, French football fans must have emitted a large collective Gallic groan: "Mon Dieu!" would have been the cry in many a household. Not only had their national team been paired with the reigning world and European champions Spain — their opponents in Madrid tonight — but they were also handed potentially perilous trips into the unknown depths of eastern Europe to face Georgia and Belarus, as well as a long journey north to face Finland. They've come through the early tests unscathed, earning narrow victories over the Finns (1-0) and Belarus (3-1) in September, but there's still a distinct feeling that France are still trying to find their way. On Friday they "warmed up" for tonight's crucial encounter against Spain with a home friendly fixture against Japan, when their current limitations were exposed with a 1-0 defeat that further undermined already fragile levels of confidence. True, it was only a friendly. But this was supposed to be the game where France fine-tuned their approach in preparation for tonight's meeting with Spain — the toughest game they'll face during the qualifying process. Instead, they departed the Stade de France arena defeated, goalless and with the jeers of home fans ringing in their ears. On paper, they should be a formidable outfit. With a frontline containing Real Madrid star Karim Benzema alongside dangerous wingers Franck Ribery and Samir Nasri, France possess three players who are clearly capable of being matchwinners against any opposition. The midfield also appears to be well stocked, possessing a well-rounded blend of talented performers including Newcastle pair Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa — two of the English Premier League's best midfielders last season — Arsenal's Abou Diaby and Lassana Diarra, who recently made a big-money move from Real Madrid to Russian moneybags Anzhi. And France also look defensively strong, with experienced goalkeeper Hugo Lloris providing stability behind a back four containing Manchester United's Patrice Evra, powerful Valencia stopper Adil Rami, AC Milan's Philippe Mexes and Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny. Considering the array of talent at their disposal, it was no great surprise when France embarked upon an impressive run of form leading up to last summer's European Championships. Under the calm management of Laurent Blanc, Les Bleus were unbeaten in 21 games and nearly two years as they headed to Ukraine with a firm reputation as one of the favourites for the tournament. But then everything unravelled. France dominated possession in their opening game against England but had to settle for a 1-1 draw due to a surprisingly toothless attack; confidence appeared to have been restored with a professional 2-0 victory over Ukraine in their second fixture, but the final group game produced a shockingly limp performance in a 2-0 defeat against already-eliminated Sweden. Despite that loss, France limped through into the knock-out stages as group runners-up, setting up a quarter-final meeting with reigning champions Spain. Now, surely, was the time for France to show what they were made of; this was everything they had been building towards for the last two years — an opportunity to rise to the occasion and justify their pre-tournament "dark horses" tag. Instead, the watching world was left bored rigid by one of the most one-sided international games you could ever dread to see. France possessed absolutely no attacking intent, preferring instead to sit deep and defend their penalty area. Spain had no problem in overcoming their meek opponents, with a brace of goals from Xabi Alonso securing a victory that was far more emphatic than the 2-0 scoreline suggested. Recriminations began immediately. Coach Blanc was roundly lambasted for his astonishingly negative tactics, which had prevented his best players — Ribery, Benzema and Nasri — from having any significant impact, players were jeered by fans and subjected to tough questioning from a disappointed French media. Blanc resigned, Nasri earned himself a three-match ban by petulantly venting his frustrations with a foul-mouthed tirade against a journalist, and the whole French squad suddenly wore the same weary and disharmonious appearance as the outfit that had performed so poorly in the World Cup two years earlier. From such promising beginnings, mutual blame and empathy once again reigned. The man charged with picking up the pieces is Didier Deschamps, the former World Cup-winning captain who has subsequently established a strong managerial reputation with successful spells at Monaco, Juventus and Marseille. Deschamps is seeking to succeed where his predecessors Blanc and Raymond Domenech failed by creating a team that equals the sum of its considerable parts, rather than the disjointed, uninspired bunch that caused so much disappointment during the last two major tournaments. The biggest challenge facing Deschamps is forging a team that possesses a strong identity, and that will be no easy task because this is a team that currently lacks a sense of collective personality. What kind of team are France? At the moment, they don't appear to know. They have been playing not to lose rather than to win, with no apparent idea of how they can be successful. Good football teams — whatever their tactical approach — play to their strengths with a strong sense of purpose and intent. They work as a coherent unit with every player focussed on how they can get the most out of themselves and each other. Deschamps is still trying to work that out and has been testing out a variety of players in an attempt to find the right blend and establish the missing identity. Tonight's game with Spain presents a big opportunity. France are expected to lose and it will not be a complete disaster if they do. But what they need to do is play together and at least try to be an active force in the game, rather than the meek and mild group that surrendered so tamely against the same opposition just over three months ago. Even if they lose, a strong and focussed French performance tonight could set themselves up for the next couple of years, providing them with the sense of purpose that has been missing. Contrarily, another passive, submissive defeat could set them back even further, leaving themselves fragile and exposed for the remainder of a testing qualifying campaign in a challenging group. The result is less important that the performance. It's time for France to stand up and assert themselves. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| Posted: 15 Oct 2012 04:36 PM PDT OCT 16 — I write this in response to some people's idea about their position in society because they're young. Look at our leaders. Look at how they pander to us. They tell us that the future is ours, that we shall inherit this country! Part of this is true. We the youths of today will inherit this country, whether we like it or not. We will become a part of this country's destiny... for we will be responsible for its rise or its fall. Fellow young people, we're not special because we're young. I understand that we are all in various stages of development. I have witnessed some young people start companies and skyrocket to success. I have seen some of you speak to ministers and corporate luminaries with that rare spark in your eyes indicating that you have the potential to "make it." But you are not special because you are young. Youth has nothing to do with it. You are special because you have taken ownership of your life, and made something out of it. Therefore, do not put yourself on a pedestal just because you are 18 years old. You do have not the monopoly over ideas or creativity. Before you think of yourself as the best and the brightest, look at the people who surround you. Consider that life experience is a fairly important part of this puzzle. Regardless of how brilliant you are, your education is thus far limited only to the academic womb of books and exams. Work experience, too, is a part of building a career. Meeting people and working with people within a professional context also contributes towards this end. You may say that ability is ability, that this world is a tyranny of the clever and the capable. However, even then, everyone starts from somewhere. Humility, compassion, and patience are also things that distinguish the best and brightest. This is why you are sometimes asked to make coffee and write mundane reports the moment you hit the job market so that you may acquire these qualities. What then is the value of youth? It translates to time... we have time to try and fail. We are special because our young lives are filled with so much possibility and so much promise. Please don't listen to people who tell you that you lay claim to a goldmine because you've just received a slip of paper from a prestigious university, and don't look at the "old people" around you and think you are better than them. Because you are young, however, you have an entire lifetime to aspire to be truly distinguished. To take ownership of your existence and make it an amazing life. Either fight for your right, or shortchange yourself for eternity... never to find out what you could have become. The choice is yours. * Victor Tan is on a gap year. Email him at victortanws@gmail.com if you'd like to know him better. He also writes for CEKU at www.ceku.org. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan