Following a number of disappointing years, Les Bleus are on the rise once more, thanks to the vast talent of midfielders they have at their disposal at the moment
Long gone are the days of France’s golden generation of footballers that took the world by storm in late 1990s and early 2000s. By winning the World Cup in 1998 and European Championship in 2000, Les Bleus set their mark at the international arena and set
an example for other footballing nations to follow.
The likes of Eric Cantona, Zinedine Zidane, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-Trezeguet-c10623, Didier Deschamps and Laurent Blanc, took France to new heights and helped Les Bleus become one of the deadliest and most feared teams in the world.
However, what goes up must come down. Following the departure of those players, a rapid decline was witnessed in Les Bleus’ fortunes. And the Zidane-Materazzi head-butt incident in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final started the decline of one of the greatest
teams of the decade.
In 2010 World Cup, Les Blues, coached by Raymond Domenech, failed miserably on every front and failed to progress through the group stages of the competition. It was a sad end for a team with so many quality players in their ranks. The likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Thierry-Henry-c34918,
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nicolas-Anelka-c27786, Ribery and Evra failed to make a mark.
In 2012 European championship, Les Bleus performed relatively better but were eliminated from the tournament in the quarter finals, following a 2-0 defeat at the hands of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Spain-c3011. However, the team lacked the spark that made them so dangerous once, and there
were calls of massive reforms in the French team.
In the summer of 2012 after, France World Cup winning captain, Didier Deschamps, was appointed the head coach of the team and his arrival was greeted with great optimism.
The 44-year-old is slowly taking France in the right direction and Les Bleus have been performing relatively well under his tutelage. Deschamps’ http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Job-c18684 has been aided by the fact that he has several talented players at his disposal, who have the ability to
take the world by storm.
Two players, who have been really impressive for Les Bleus in last few months, are Newcastle United’s Yohan Cabaye and Toulouse’s Etienne Capoue.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Yohan-Cabaye-c37423
Age: 26
Club: Newcastle United
Position: Midfielder
With less than 20 international appearances to his name, the Frenchman has become an essential part of the French team. Following a number of impressive performances for club and country, the midfielder has received huge praise from the coaches and pundits.
Composed, confident, great passer of the ball, Cabaye has what it takes to become the best in the business and has proved to be the missing piece of puzzle in Les Bleus’ ranks. France needed a player like him and with him in the team; Les Bleus’ future is
in safe hands.
Etienne Capoue
Age: 24
Club: Toulouse
Position: Defensive Midfielder
Relatively new at the international arena, the 24-year-old has all the qualities to survive at this level and his addition to the national side has added much need stability to the team.
With just 3 international caps to his name, the player is certain to go very far in his career. And after scoring his first ever international goal against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Belarus-c2849, more is expected from the Frenchman in the future.
With Yohan Cabaye and Etienne Capoue in the midfield, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899 look like a team capable of challenging for top honours in near future.
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