Comments on: Daycare Happenings and an American in France!

By: guignol

guignol — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:07:40 +0000

i boggle at the “£20M deal for benzema”… i don’t know what grauniad that may be but even the fiver isn’t loony enough to say anything like that… an offer coming out of the blue under the asking price, for a player who everyone knows is untouchable, on the last day of the mercato when no deal to replace him is possible? shirley you jest.

honorable mention boggle for vercoutre… he’s well liked in the village, but we’ll leave it at that.

about the large number of gones in bleu: this is nothing new at all; france during the OM years saw the same thing, there were italy teams in the early 80’s that were juventus in blue shirts… not to mention red star belgrade, dynamo moscow, etc… the idea is that the familiarity and teamwork they bring makes the difference when stacked up against players of equal or even superior quality who only see each other 4-6 weeks a year.

By: Pride of Lyon

Pride of Lyon — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 01:43:12 +0000

Yes, I ruled Vercoutre out of the equation as he is a second keeper, and it is hard to imagine a secong string keeper being called up for a big NT like France.

By: Inara

Inara — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 23:15:27 +0000

I agree in that there is a definite partiality for OL players, but the reasons are valid. Granted, Domenech is Lyonnais and might look upon his old club fondly, but he wouldn’t do so at the expense of the NT. It’s more that the best French players in L1 are already at Lyon (well, most of them at any rate). No other club, not even Arsenal, can boast such an array of French talent. And unlike his predecessors, Domenech has always favored a balance between domestic players and those who ply their trade abroad. Which is a good thing, IMO.

With Lyon constantly in the CL and having a strong manpower, the players on the team are always facing a high degree of competition, not just against Europe’s best teams but also within their own squad. Benzema and Ben Arfa becoming starters at a club like Lyon is a very big deal, more so than if they had been at any other French club. So a coach can more easily convince himself to select Clerc over Chalme in L1 simply due to the fact that Clerc is more exposed to a higher level of playing.

The other reason he likes to take so many from Lyon is because if you think about it, the NT meets only a handful of times each year, so it’s hard to develop team chemistry. But when so many of your players are used to playing with each other at the club level, it makes things easier.

On our side of things, Lyon won’t recruit a player who doesn’t have a chance for their NT (unless it’s an emergency case like Anderson). That’s just the way Aulas is. More international caps = more marketability. He takes perverse pride when 70% of the team is absent during international week.

As for Bodmer, his non-selection is a shame, but he hasn’t exactly been allowed to shine this year, and also, Raymond’s vision of the NT doesn’t require much midfield creativity, so he’s just the wrong kind of player at the moment. Nasri is enough for now.

FYI, besides Bodmer and the young kids, there is Vercoutre who didn’t get a senior team call up (I cringe at the thought), but he did play for the U21s I believe.

By: Inara

Inara — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 23:11:04 +0000

Actually, it was I think during the Greece friendly…the number of OL players went to 10 when Domenech called up Squillaci at the last minute.

Coupet, Clerc, Squillaci, Abidal, Toulalan, Diarra, Govou, Malouda, Wiltord, Benzema

I guess Domenech figured, why start something new when Lyon already does it for yoy?

By: Corey

Corey — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 23:06:05 +0000

Hmm, I think it was a year or so ago, with Abidal, Squillaci, Clerc, Coupet, Diarra, Toulalan, Govou, Malouda and Wiltord. If only Rev had gotten the call or Ben Arfa and Benzema had made the break through yet. 9 isnt bad though, I can forsee us breaking that number in the next two or three years, such is the youth talent we possess right now.

By: John

John — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:55:53 +0000

Does anyone know what’s the number of most players called up to the NT from Lyon at one time?

By: pride of lyon

pride of lyon — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:45:14 +0000

Yes. But I would say that for french players, signing for Lyon is like signing for the NT.
The only French player I can think of in Lyon who hasn’t been called up for NT is Bodmer.
can you see any other French players playing for Lyon that haven’t been called for France?

By: Inara

Inara — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:37:24 +0000

To be fair, Domenech has always liked Boumsong. He took him to the World Cup, called him a few times last year despite him not playing much with Juventus, etc. Actually, Domenech explains his reasoning here.

By: pride of lyon

pride of lyon — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:30:28 +0000

Boumsong’s selection is very weird. Ok, we know that Domenech likes players who play for Lyon, but there, it is really favoritism. Boumsong hardly played this season. And I don’t think his goal against Milan is enough to be called up for the NT.

By: Inara

Inara — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:29:36 +0000

I wish he could have been a LB.

Anyway, I remember Beynie played as a RB during the Lyon-Lille friendly back in the summer. He’s pulling a Lassana.