The French national soccer team finally went back to training together on Monday, after having held a brief mini-strike over the sending home of star striker Nicolas Anelka. The team walked off the practice pitch on Sunday and returned to their bus, leaving the beleaguered team in further disarray.
France, which plays South Africa Tuesday to determine whether or not they even have a chance of advancing, held a practice session on Monday to prepare for the match and attempt to soothe the turmoil within the camp.
The team held practice sessions in their practice uniforms Monday without the usual inclusion of their sponsors’ logos on their uniforms. It was unclear exactly why this was done, but the return of the French team to the pitch will at least have anxious and angry French fans breathing something of a sigh of relief, as they face a monumental task on Tuesday in order to remain at the 2010 World Cup.
Blow-up on Sunday
Anelka was sent home by the French Football Federation for his half-time tirade against controversial coach Raymond Domenech. The issue perhaps wouldn’t have escalated to the point of Anelka being sent home had the issue not been leaked to the media by one of the players, leading to an enraged French captain Patrice Evra to declare someone had betrayed the team and would found out.
"The problem of France is not Anelka, but the traitor among us," he said. "We must eliminate the traitor from the group, because he wants to hurt the team. There is no little mouse in the locker room, this comes from someone who is on the team and wants to hurt the team. I do not know anything [about the traitor], I am not a magician."
The team showed up at a training session on Sunday apparently without the intention of training, but only to take pictures and sign autographs for fans of the French team. This caused a huge argument to break out between the French fitness coach and Evra, with the team withdrawing to the bus. They were met by coach Raymond Domenech, who spoke to the players on the bus and eventually emerged to read a statement penned by the players explaining their outrage over Nicolas Anelka being sent home.
“They made a decision without consulting all the players, only on the basis of the 'facts' reported by the press. Accordingly, and to mark their opposition to the highest level of French football, all players decided not to participate in the work-out,” the players’ statement read by Domenech said. But they also promised they would play their best against South Africa on Tuesday to attempt to restore their pride and having any hope of advancement.
A national issue
The settling of the feud comes as the French Sports Minister , Roselyne Bachelot actually went to hold talks with Domenech and his players to attempt to settle the issues that were causing them not to practice. The issue has become the biggest news story in France, with almost all media outlets heaping scorn upon both coach Domenech and his players for failing to live up to the standards of French soccer, which has produced such terrific results as a 1998 World Cup win and a 2006 second-place finish.
“I’m calling on each of them to their responsibilities. I’m calling on their dignity. As for necessary consequences, we will put those into effect without any happiness, as soon as Les Bleus return home, which I hope will be as late as possible.” She also noted that Evra had promised to “uphold the honor of the French uniform.”
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