Laurent Blanc backs Samir Nasri and Yoann Gourcuff's partnership
France's national team manager, Laurent Blanc, has said that Samir Nasri and Yoann Gourcuff can play alongside each other in the same formation, despite claims to the contrary.
Nasri and Gourcuff, who play for Arsenal and Olympique Lyonnais respectively, are both attacking midfileders with an eye for goal. In France, it has been held that the two players are too similar to play
next to each other for the national team.
Blanc, who took charge of the French team after Raymond Domenech's debacle at the World Cup this summer, said that such criticism will not prevent him from playing both Nasri and Gourcuff when France face
Romania on Saturday.
"My main focus is to develop the players and then to find our best formation," said Blanc, whose team lost against Belarus in the opening Euro 2012 qualifier last month before going on to defeat Bosnia
and Herzegovina 2–0.
"If I judge that these two players deserve to be a part of that then they will play. If I feel that there should only be one or neither then I will do that too."
Three midfielders behind Benzema
Many believe Blanc will opt to play Chelsea's Florent Malouda on the left side of a three-man attacking midfield, with Gourcuff and Nasri taking the other two positions behind lone striker Karim Benzema.
Nasri said that playing with Gourcuff would not result in an abundance of attacking flair in the starting team, arguing that he has partnered successfully with creative midfielders at his club teams.
"At Marseille and with Arsenal I have done the same with [Franck] Ribery and Cesc Fabregas. When you play alongside players who are technically-minded like you then there are always going to be similarities.
I also played alongside Yoann in a match against Switzerland. It went very well," said Nasri.
France host Luxembourg three days after the game against Romania.
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