France’s 60 million armchair national team coaches have already picked Franck Ribery in their WC squad.
PARIS: France’s 60 million armchair national team coaches have already picked Franck Ribery in their WC squad. It remains to be seen, however, whether Raymond Domenech will when he names his 23-man list on Sunday.
Arguably the finest player in Ligue 1 this season, the attacking midfielder from Olympique Marseille has featured on the front page of every single sports publication in the country over recent weeks. Both a fighter and an artist, the 23-year-old Ribery is being hailed as the new Zinedine Zidane and any French fan will tell you he has to head for Germany.
The problem is the under-21 international has so far always been overlooked by national coach Domenech, who does not like being told what he should do. Among others anxiously waiting for Sunday’s announcement is Arsenal’s Robert Pires, who won the last of his 79 caps for France in October 2004.
The 32-year-old has enjoyed a good season for Arsenal, but he has had a difficult relationship with Domenech since publicly criticising the coach’s tactics. A safer bet to join Zinedine Zidane, Claude Makelele and Patrick Vieira in midfield is Barcelona winger Ludovic Giuly.
Defence is not a concern for Domenech who has a mixture of experience and youth to choose from with Lilian Thuram, William Gallas, Jean-Alain Boumsong, Willy Sagnol and Eric Abidal all certain. There is no suspense for the goalkeepers with Fabien Barthez, Gregory Coupet and Mickael Landreau all certain to be picked.
Up front, Arsenal’s Thierry Henry and Juve’s David Trezeguet have to be on the list, but who will join them is anybody’s guess. Liverpool’s Djibril Cisse and Lyon’s Sidney Govou are among several candidates as is Louis Saha, back into the reckoning after scintillating displays over the past few months.
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