The piece below – a piece rather than video – is a rather astonishing remake of the final 15 minutes, the penalties, of the semifinal between France and West Germany in 1982. Astonishing in its labor, nuanced accuracy and sheer simplicity. These are everyday people doing largely everyday things, movements which normally wouldn’t turn a single head, but combine to recreate a World Cup semifinal.
Block off a quarter hour today – it’s well worth it.
The description:
“Refait” is a remake of the football WorldCup match between France and Germany (Seville, Spain, 1982). Shot by Pied La Biche in Villeurbanne (France), every aspect of the fifteen last minutes of the match was carefully reconstructed : players, positions, gestures, intensity, drama etc. It consists in shifting the traditional game area into the urban environment. Each sequence takes place in one or several locations and then the city temporarily becomes the lab for unsual experiments. The soundtrack is made up of the original commentaries mixed with interviews of the audience recorded during the shooting.
At the World Cup this summer, both and fans were dealt some disappointing blows. Sure, the details of what happened in the squads may be different. Arguably, what happened to France was by far worse. While England merely fizzled out (with a few sparks-both good and bad) during the tournament, France exploded. I don’t want to go into details for fear of triggering any post-traumatic stress symptoms fans may still have. So I encourage you to read (France) and (England) post at your own risk. World Cup Blog assumes no responsibility for any rage, sadness or deep depression you may fall into after…
But, following those disappointing weeks and the furious pace of the media in both countries trying to find someone to blame – the Federations are back in the spotlight to see how effective their changes are when both countries participate in friendlies this week. And while friendlies, especially the August friendly, aren’t normally important and don’t mean anything in terms of qualification points – this friendly may turn out to be very important for both federations, coaches and the players chosen. So here is how each country has attempted to mend the damage that caused their failures this summer..
France Football Federation (FFF)
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Opened an official investigation into the events that transpired during the World Cup (leading to massive political jockeying to elect new President to replace the one that resigned);
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For better of worse – all this (plus a few smaller changes not necessarily worth mentioning here) – led to the call-up of an almost entire new squad for France to face Norway on August 11th.
KEEPERS: Stephane Ruffier (Monaco), Nicolas Douchez (Rennes)
DEFENDERS: Rod Fanni (Rennes), Adil Rami (Lille), Philippe Mexes (AS Roma), Sakho (Paris SG), Benedict Trémoulinas (Bordeaux), Aly Cissokho (Lyon), Mathieu Debuchy (Lille).
STRIKERS: Hatem Ben Arfa (Marseille), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Loïc Remy (Nice), Jimmy Briand (Lyon), Jeremy Menez (AS Rome), Guillaume Hoarau (Paris SG).
ENGLAND FA
after World Cup based on a “football criteria” (then revealed his assessment of players without his permission);
– which included working closely with club academies, encouraging licensing of English coaches and managers and approving Capello’s “request” to have an English coach join his set-up;
before losing to Spain
These tweaks of the system resulted in Capello calling up a squad filled with familiar and new faces for England when they face Hungary at home on August 11.
KEEPERS: Ben Foster (Birmingham), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Paul Robinson (Blackburn Rovers)
DEFENDERS: Wes Brown (Manchester United), Gary Cahill (Bolton Wanderers), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Michael Dawson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), John Terry (Chelsea)
MIDFIELD: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Aston Villa), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)
STRIKERS: Darren Bent (Sunderland), Carlton Cole (West Ham United), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Bobby Zamora (Fulham)
JUDGMENT TIME
The biggest difference between the two strategies, for me at least, is the decision on what was at fault. England seem to think that they have the right people performing the tasks- its just the system they are using that is at fault. Whereas France seems to think they have the right system, just the wrong people managing it. I’m not so sure you can separate the two so cleanly.
For me, it is too early to tell who is right. Of course, they could both be wrong. I can’t really speak for England fans, but as a France fan I’m cautious in putting my faith in the FFF. Because despite the public way in which they’ve announced changes to make it seem like real progress is being made, they are still a silly bunch who are more concerned about their egos and saving face than putting the good of the team first (). There are differing opinions on how brilliant of an idea it is to suspend all 23 players considering the Euro 2012 qualifiers are just around the corner. I, for one, am glad. Sure, that means we will be entering qualification a little rusty. But, forcing ourselves to think out of the box instead of relying on what “feels comfortable” isn’t going to work either. Some of these players may never receive another call-up for France in their careers – but for others, it creates a real chance to challenge the 23 players who had largely owned their spot in the national team for several years. Though the game means nothing and this young group of players have never played together before – this is a team that will be hungry to prove themselves to Blanc and France.
On the flip side of the coin…we have the English FA who, for better or worse, did not bend to media pressure and public sentiment to make significant changes in their team and the way their federation conducted themselves. And they’ve had their fair share of embarrassments since the World Cup, .
So where do you fall on this debate? Do you prefer the tweaking ’till you get it right strategy of England or the blank slate strategy of France (new coach, new team, new captain, new Federation President)?
Spain and France, arguably the most dominant teams in the tournament, met on Friday to determine the winner of the U19 European Championship. Going into the final, the hosts (France) had been consistently impressive- beating the Netherlands (4-1) and Austria (5-0) in their first two matches and then Croatia 2-1 in the semifinals. Only a draw with England in the group stage blemished their winning record. Spain, who had failed to reach the knock-out stages of this tournament since winning it in 2007, were the only team left to have a 100% winning record.
And at the start of the match, Spain looked likely to hold on to that record for the entire tournament after Rodrigo (forward, Real Madrid) scored in the 18th minute. Spain continued to dominate the first half – accumulating the best chances and the most possession. But despite a plethora of opportunities, Spain weren’t able to increase their lead and allowed France to go into the 2nd half with only a single goal deficit.
And in the 2nd half, France made them pay…but only after surviving several close calls as Spain continued to dominate the opening minutes of the 2nd half.
Then, after almost conceding, France was able to equalize through goalkeeper Diallo’s (GK, Rennes) long kick forward to subsitute Tafer (forward, Lyon) who lifted the ball over the Spanish keeper. The equalizer was arguably the turning point in the match- energizing the crowd and providing France with the momentum to in the final minutes of the match. France’s Lacazette (forward, Lyon) scored the winning goal at the 85th minute. Despite a series of impressive performances in the tournament, Lacazette had been largely invisible in the finals game and the goal seemed to come from nowhere. But, despite Lacazette’s impressive finishing- the hard work came from Gael Kakuta (midfield, Chelsea) whose run through the center of Spain’s defense was impossible for Alex (GK, Zaragoza) to defend.
With only a few minutes left, Spain were unable to find a second goal which had eluded them since early in the first half- leaving France to lift the trophy in the end!
The only question left is if these two countries can make it three in a row when they compete next year at the FIFA U20 World Cup. In addition to this U19 final, these two teams also played each other in the U17 European Championship two years ago (which Spain won). The two teams have consistently been comprised of the same players- 11 of the 22 starters in the finals match played in the U17 final two years ago. Any bets on those players making another final appearances in the U20 tournament?
This may just be the best thing has done since ‘98 (or ‘00 if you prefer). In the wake of that massive mental and behavioral meltdown that was their World Cup 2010 campaign, a show of bad football and even worse insubordination, the French Football Federation has for their next game at the request of new head honcho Laurent Blanc.
Blanc said: “I obviously cannot act as if nothing had happened in South Africa.”
“I followed the events with sadness, I was disappointed with the sporting results and I was shocked by certain behaviours.
“I will integrate these elements into my analysis and my thoughts. I always had the principles, rules of conduct and not just in my sporting life. They have not changed and I will not change.”
Can the amount of faith in the Blanc over that of Domenech by the French public be quantified? Probably not – infinity fold, perhaps?
That game will be the August 11th friendly against Norway which, logically, could actually help the 23 in question since they’ll either be in the midst of their domestic campaigns or running up to it shortly, and a trek to Oslo against Norway isn’t exactly the most ideal situation for most club bosses. So FFF can expect many, many fruit baskets with cards written in suspect French, along with equally suspect requests for access to their youth teams.
Meanwhile Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema have been until they clear up their “legal issues”, bringing the grand total to 24. Sometimes complete overhauls are quiet; this time, they’re doing it on their front lawn for all the world to see. Setting an example for the next generation: play nice, or else…
Even if you’re not a fan of France, you have to love this move for their sake and for the sake of football in general. Sure, there’s a debate to be had regarding the ‘modern footballer’ being quite as evil as its predecessor, but nipping this sort of thing in the bud can’t be but a good thing. The punishment of being ‘one of the infamous 23′ is the type of hammer blow they needed.
France vs South Africa Live Streaming Online Football FIFA World Cup 2010 game
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South Africa will meet the international competition after a break of almost three decades when they clash in Group A on the unit Mangaung / Bloemfontein Stadium in South Africa. Catch live streaming of France vs South Africa Live on your PC by signing up with http://fifaworldcup2010-selim. blogspot. com / today.
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Please don’t take “highlights” at face value – there were very few, if any, to be honest. It was a very boring, very frustrating ninety minutes of football blueprinted by Oscar Tabarez and his stifling crew of defenders and defensive-minded midfielders. spent the game dominating the ball going forward, but looking for space which simply wasn't there. Simply a great defensive performance, something which seems to come along quite often during World Cup games – 'tis the tournament of conservative tactics, after all.
The game had a bit more back-and-forth in the opening minutes, even if it typically involved meters upon meters of air underneath with an offside Luis Suarez on one end and a Nicolas Anelka on the other with Uruguay kits riding him like a show pony. It looked to be France’s game when Franck Ribery cut a ball in from the left to Sidney Govou within the first ten minutes, but France’s #10 could only squib it wide and miss what would be France’s best chance all game long (though Yoann Gourcuff went close with a free kick soon after).
Despite their numbers in the back, Uruguay had two fairly good chances, both coming off the boot of Diego Forlan, who was already thinking about taking his shirt off, thus putting the cart before the horse. And goal. The first chance was a lovely little 1-2 and simple cut inside, the type of thing which great players do ever so simply, and peppered it off the Jabulani-fearing hands of Hugo Lloris. His second came on the other side of the half – not much to report in between – when he found himself all alone with a silver platter ball 15 yards and dead center from net. That one, unfortunately, didn’t even make the goal frame.
There were a number of other half chances, but it was well and truly a story of Uruguay’s defense and France’s inability to formulate any ideas which would create the space the South Americans were closing down so effectively.
Like any good World Cup match, however, it wasn’t without drama. Nicolas Lodeiro, one of the brightest youngsters in the game and a star in Uruguay’s qualifying campaign, came on in the 63rd and saw his second yellow in the 81st for going into a tackle on Bakary Sagna with the accuracy of buckshot. A red ensued and the tears flowed as he walked off the pitch, due a letter from FIFA with a suspension attached.
The last good chance was a handball that never even happened. The ball bounced up and hit Maurzio Victorino in the stomach yards from the goal mouth, and French players protested. First to raise his hand after shooting? A Mr. Thierry Henry – very much a stickler for the rules. (1min into the highlights.)
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Man of the Match: Oscar Tabarez. The tactics worked, and it didn’t even matter that he announced his team days in advance. France and Raymond Domenech, a superior team, simply had no answers for ninety minutes.
