The demise of the « Bleus » during this World Cup – whether they qualify or not – is a case study for all sports federations worldwide. I will not go over the recent events that you have probably read about or seen dozens of times so absurd is the farce that hit the French squad.
How did French football reach such a high time low ? There are several factors that explain the disastrous situation but let me start with what is at the heart of the game, namely the players. You can play football without its other building blocks ; coaches, federations, media, and fans, but without 11 players on the pitch, you simply can’t start.
The players
Most players sign their first pro contract at age 18 or so. Here lies the first problem. How can you have a mature point of view in life when you start earning more than 95% of the working population and are often badly counselled to start with. These players are educated with a mercenary approach to their sport spurred by their agents and clubs in a system somewhat analogous to the velocity of money. It has become very rare to stay loyal to only one club in a career and I wonder if this doesn’t also impact how loyal you are to your national colours. The economic pressure has become so high that many players see the World Cup as a unique event to showcase their skills and thus think individually before prioritizing any collective plan. The World Cup is a gem, one that only a handful of players can participate in. Do these players realise that ? Do they think of the millions of viewers, fans, children who identify with them ?
When I saw France loose to Mexico, it seemed as if you had a bunch of kids playing in the school yard and running wild and loose in all directions with absolutely no tactical direction. You can compare this in military terms. French soldiers, when in defeat, rarely have shown the orderly retreats of Russian, German or English armies. In contrast, when the French furia is on the winning side, they are often unbeatable. I have witnessed this with the French rugby team as well.
The French team also misses the all-important leader, the one who can compensate for the weaknesses and bring about a sense of « dépassement de soi » and unity.
Lesson #1 : change the system, cap salaries, impose minimum periods in a club and regulate agents.
The coach
Much has been said about Raymond Domenech. When you have players who don’t have the « right stuff », you need a world-class coach to make a real team out of them. Domenech has been incompetent in his job since his first day at the helm back in 2004. He started off the 2006 qualifying round by dismissing some of the star players of the 1998 World Cup and 2000 Euro only to call them back when things started going sour. The 2006 World Cup was a rare example of self-management by the French squad led at the time by Zidane, Sagnol, Viera and Thuram who imposed their tactical views following the disatrous first round. The French Football Federation (FFF) should have kicked Domenech out after the 2008 Euro but for some obscure reasons he kept the job until now. Domenech has never had a clear vision on what game the French team should play. As an example, the 4-2-3-1 was changed into a 4-3-3 just weeks before the World Cup. Malouda, the best player this season, was unexplainably left out for the first game against Uruguay. Why was Henry, France’s record goal scorer, left as a substitute when his experience could have become useful in the money-time moments of World Cup games ? These are just 2 examples of irrational decisions. I think I never heard Domenech talk tactics in any interview since he first become the French squad coach ! How could he earn the trust and confidence of his team under these conditions ?
Lesson #2 : Have a plan, stick to it without being dogmatic, act with clarity and fairness be coherent, and your players will look up to you.
The Federation
The FFF is presided by Jean-Pierre Escalettes who was heading the amateur section of French football and used to be an English teacher. How can you have this type of profile when dealing with such a professional sport? As with Domenech, there has been a total lack of direction, vision, strategy, whatever you want to call it since day 1 of his presidency. As said earlier, Escalettes should have at least inserted a performance clause in Domenech’s contract during the 2008 Euro. That is what the Italians did with Donadoni who’s performance target was set at semi-finalist or out during the same competition. Despite France being eliminated after the first round with 0 goals scored, Domenech stayed on.
The whole voting process of who gets to sit at the FFF needs to be changed from an old boys club to a modern system which priviliges competencies and relevant experiences.
Lesson #3 : Elect Federation members on modern criteria, based on measurable targets, and renewed in a timely fashion.
The media
Both the FFF and Domenech now pay dearly for a complete mismanagement of how they communicated with the media. Instead of going for a clear, trustful and no “BS” communication plan, they opted for concealment, opaque statements and Soviet like propaganda. The time bomb exploded after Anelka’s words in the training room, when the French sports newspaper, l’Equipe (who is in a rare situation of quasi monopoly), blasted out word by word Anelka’s lashing at Domenech on their front page. Domenech imposed on his captain Evra and on the players allowed to talk with the press, the message that the team was in complete harmony and that there were no signs of clans, or other tensions among the players. Domenech also bunkerised the French team in all the competitions they participated in further annoying the French media who could not get a grip on the team.
Lesson #4 : Be open and at the same time firm with the media, don’t hide from the truth.
The fans
France has never been as passionate about football as some other European countries like Italy, England, Germany and Spain. French clubs don’t have the same history and passion and fans are more volatile. Loyalty and support to a club from father to son is unheard of in France. You don’t have the system of socios like in Spain. On the other hand, French fans demand panache of their national team, a Cyrano de Bergerac attitude, made of bravoure and beau jeu. When this doesn’t happen, the popular base of the team rapidly disintegrates leading to sarcasm and criticism.
Lesson #5 : be generous with the fans, stay true to your values, give attention.
Maracanazos don’t like to give lessons, but sometimes they have to.
Things like those with French, now are going on with English players =/ John Terry against Fabio Capello. He says that players want drink beer every time they want it, and they are tired of steel discipline=)
[...] that wanted to have the entire French squad banned forever. Blanc kicked out the team that had ashamed the whole of France for the first friendly againt Norway on August 11. Hmmm the real punishment [...]