Coupet Speaks

Storm: Good poing about the acadamies. Some of these kids that live away from their families are especially at risk, with no one really guiding them in certain behavioral aspects. And I don't even mean to bash Benzema, since all-and-all he seems like a well behaved kid, the issue just being the swollen head which is only to be expected, and the possible attitude problems that Coupet talks about. I don't know, since I'm not in the locker room. Have to take Greg's word.

Absolutely. The two (ex) Lyon players concerned here and especially Ben Arfa are being critised for behaviour that is unacceptable and inappropriate. Ben Arfa's behaviour during the press conference resembled that of a petulant child REGARDLESS of colour or race. It was his actions not his race or the colour of his skin being judged. Ditto the dressing fights he got into at Gerland.
Now when OL (and most other big teams) travel abroad to CL matches the players are treated as child prima donnas. Their itinary is almost child like - with time planned for a nap; mid afternoon snack etc, yet their flights home are still delayed because one of the players has gone AWOL trying to buy a designer handbag for his girlfriend. And lets face it the OL players with their Audi 4 x 4 are small players next to most top flight EP players and their multiple Ferraris and Porsche's. Somehow the football gets lost in all of this.

Interesting too to throw up Claire Fontaine. I wonder how much these football schools intensify the problems by (usually) removing the young player from a more stablising and grounded family influence. Ben Afra i believe left home at about 13 yo. Whilst we critise Benzema now his arrogance is not on the same scale and up until about 12 months ago he was actually still being praised for being grounded. He had been able to train with OL whilst still living with his family. That must have helped. I think this is also part of Platini's problem with youngsters going abroad as youths.

One has to also wonder what will happen to these youngsters when they retire. To have SO much so young must make the after very tough. Theres no way they will continue to have the same salary, media spot light or life style when their playing career is over and the landing will be very bumpy.

Laurie: I love Gourcuff!! Hopefully we can snatch him away when his loan is up. Hahahaha. Before the Bordeaux Lyon game when Aulas was playing his mind games and said he wanted Yoann at any cost, I was hoping that he was dead serious and really planned bring him to Gerland at any cost. He's my favorite player behind Coupet. I love his attitude, although growing-up a coaches son is probably a very humbling experience, I'm sure. I imagine his father always kept his feet planted on the ground and his head squarly on his shoulders.

No, the point is that these kids behave this way and it's part of their personalities and way of thinking from now on because there was never any accountability in their formative years. Ben Arfa was a problem ever since Claire Fontaine and he continues with the same behavior at 21 as he did at 13. And your argument is that becuase some people use this issue to single out these two North African players and
Arican American players in the U.S. that we should not examine the issue or not let it bother us. This is a problem that affects kids today irrespective of race, and I only point out these two examples because they are Lyon/ex-Lyon players and the hightest profile young players in France who embody this problem, and who happen to be North Aricans, but that doesn't mean that they should get a pass and I should sweep their behavior under the rug just because other groups are targeting them and their behavior in order to spew their nefarious beliefs. The very fact that both Coupet(who's done anti-racism ads and spoken-out against it) and Gallas who's talking about the same generational problem with the youngsters at Arsenal are speaking-out about the corrosive effect this generational problem is having on leadership, shows that it is a legitimate and valid argument that is not limited to its use by racists targeting the hip hop generation and minorities. So, just because the argument is being used by racist to bash Blacks, African Americans, North Africans, and other ethnic groups, doesn't mean that I will ignore the problem, effectively "choosing a side." It's a valid point and I will continue to talk about it even if people do use it for their racist agendas. The behavior of a certain social group shouldn't be blankedly excused- not that this behavior is limited to "non-whites" it's not- because a group is being "persecuted" in some way. If you do that then you are guilty of not holding-up that certain group to the same set of standards as everyone else, just like the racists.

Hey Johnny,

Decadent society aside, the point is that these kids will screw up. The good coaches will punish them accordingly. What I can't possibly support is the absolute condemnation I constantly here from fans regarding, in particular these two kids who just happen to be north African Beurs. Sounds too much like the crap I hear directed at African American athletes while white ones get away with murder in the US. Honestly, I see Ben Arfa and Benzema doing and saying stupid things at times but to consider them cancerous or anything of the sort is taking it way too far. And I understand what Coupet is saying but you must understand where he is coming from. He is of an older generation but still a young man and coming to terms what he considers a certain disrespect from younger players. This is the same with William Gallas when he was ripping the younger players on the France squad.

John, I agree with you (and Coupet) that this is different from what's gone on in years past. I watched Ben Arfa break into the press conference a couple of weeks back to apologize for refusing to warm up, and I thought, "This kid has the maturity of a 13-year-old." He's not a bad person -- he's just never had any consequences for his actions, and it's kept him from growing into a young adult. This offends me both as a mom and as a EdF fan.

There is just so much money involved, and so much at stake in wins and losses, that nobody feels they can hold talented kids responsible for their actions. Sad part is that this will unquestionably have a negative effect on the clubs and NTs in the long run.

I'm very grateful that Gourcuff got some education in Milan that showed him he's not the center of the universe -- he seems to have brought that with him back to Bordeaux. Let's hope it lasts.

Jao: I didn't think Fred's yellow for simulation was deserved either. Fred's play involved way more contact than Gassama yellow.

That sob Ledentu is bad luck or either has it out for Lyon. The initial contact by Gassama came outside the box. Seems like when we play 4-3-3, there's no attack.

Damn, we're dead. Klasnić really found a nice game to start shining.

Well, now he put Ederson in, so I guess now we have a 4-3-3 with Fred up front and Ederson and Delgado on the wings. Fred, how about a much-anticipated goal from you, huh?

I don't understand what is Puel doing. With the substitution of Keita, we don't have a right winger on the pitch, and if he puts Delgado there and Kalstrom on the left, then both of our wings are screwed.

What is the formation? I can barely see on this stream.

Yeah, kids do screw-up due to lack of maturity. But it's usually getting into occasional mischief, stealing candy, etc. What were talking about here is developing a detrimental mind-set that will be with these players possibly for the rest of their lives. The point here is that these kids are growing-up in an environment that indulges and doesn't correct their immature behavior and indeed fosters it with a lack of accountability. I wonder if you would raise your own child with these same set of nihilistic principles that you porport? Would you let your own child grow up with the belief that they could do whatever they want, whenever they want, with no consequences? That their whims trumped everything else in the universe? If your child was developing with an extremely arrogant mindset and behvior, you mean you wouldn't try to do something to curb that behavior? Like it or not, these athletes work and play in a setting of a collective, and alot of times what they do negatively affects the equilibrium within their work group. And it's indicative of a malaise in society today that most people write this behavior off and excuse not only atheletes', but indeed any celebrity's arrogant behavior as long as they are talented or produce results. Anyway, this is an example of what you get when you combine one of the values of Western-Capitalism i.e., extreme individualism, and inject it into a collective setting. And this is a problem in most organized sports today. I find it funny that you're actually for this type of behavior knowing the currupting influences that bring-it-about.

Haha, Piquonne! Looks like he'll prove himself useful to us after all.

did anybody see marseille vs nice (it was on tv5)?

marseille's brand-new pitch looked hilariously bad.

If anyone's interested, I have a bad but functioning stream:

http://www.ustream.tv/videopla...

Hahahaha. This is nothing more than the frustration older players and people in general feel with the younger generation. These feelings have been around forever and will always persist. I still cannot understand the hostility for these kids Ben Arfa and Benzema? They are kids! Do any of you remember when you were 19 or 20 years old (maybe some of you still are)? didn't you screw up too for lack of maturity? Furthermore, much of this sounds like a critique of the hip hop generation much like the complaints heard here in the US by white basketball fans against NBA player's clothing or musical tastes.

Nantes is going down.

It's true about benzema he really change his attitude.
L Y O N

True but what has upset Coupet is the way this was personalised against Benzema. He completely stands by his more generalised points but is very concerned by the way Lyon Mag kept pointing to Benzema to illustrate his point.

Storm: Even if these were his exact words, I don't see anything bad in it. He basically lays all the blame on the system and his point is that absolute power corrupts absolutetly and that giving these children unbridled power is irresponsible behaviour by the establishment and the adults that are supposed to guide them. But I think he misses the negative influence of millions in money, the media and fan attention, and celebrity status that can make an adult feel like an untouchable diety, not to mention what it does to a teenager/young man.

coupet forever

+ ye, he doesn't talk bad things about benzema he is just being daddy-like

Be very careful with this. Posted today on the OL website is Coupet's side of this interview (not yet translated into English). He is livid with the apparent misinterpretation of his comments. He apparently did say the things about the generation gap being a major reason for leaving OL, but is absolutey adament that he did not slam Benzema. He claims he had a good relationship with him and still has a lot of respect for him (and yes I suspect without naming names he was thinking of Ben Arfa).
Its true that Benzema is starting to get a big ego now but that had only really just started to evolve in the last six months of Coupet's reign at Lyon.
I know that Coupet said some tough things about Domenech in the press but he's got a very strong team player spirit and I honestly don't believe he would trash even an ex teammate like that.

What he says is very true though. Benzema's attitude has just gone over so bad, and his ego so inflated. (None of these I don't partially attribute to his closeness with Rohff/other rappers).

Wow I'm surprised too....I also thought that he would say hatem ben arfa instead of karim!