What’s in a name?
For a team that embarrassingly fired blanks at this year’s World Cup, raked up dressing room dirt for all to see, and comprised almost exclusively of darker-skinned immigrants who made ultra-nationalists sputter with rage – it is not without a touch of irony that the man of the moment happens to have Blanc as his surname. When Laurent Robert Blanc was tapped to take up the most thankless job in the world, there was nothing that suggested he was not game for it. Le President, as he is fondly tagged in Marseille, set about the task with singular resolve and an agenda of breaking with the past.
Blanc, in the heady days of France’s World Cup triumph of ’98, was renowned as the archetypal thinking footballer. That ability of his to think with clarity, and make decisions, will certainly come in handy as he tries to improve upon the unmitigated disaster Raymond Domenech’s tenure had come to represent. Laurent Blanc can certainly thank his predecessor for setting the bar so low, that the former Manchester United star could even sleepwalk to relative mediocrity as the new national team manager.
If the Frenchman, needed any reminder that his latest foray into international territory in his newest avatar wasn’t going to be a bed of roses, his first two games as manager of the France national team were just what the doctor ordered. Despairing losses to European minnows Norway and Belarus, to the latter at home, clearly rattled the new manager as calls grew for immediate action. To his credit, Blanc remained stoic and refused to throw in the towel.
A Blanc Slate
Chipping away at the edifices that had eaten away at the team fabric, Blanc set about reshaping the team in his image. Out went the over-the-hill stars of yore, out went the desperate attempts at clinging to the legacy of the Golden Generation and in came a no-nonsense work ethic and an absolute disregard for star power. Florent Malouda, one of those in the running for the post of captain and known for speaking his mind out, suggested just as much with his recognition of Blanc’s ability to lift the pall of gloom that had descended over the national team, and replace it with an almost-religious devotion to the game and a sense of impatience.
Malouda, is one of those players clearly enjoying life under the new manager; having been handed the armband, Florent has gotten to work immediately under the new regime trying to surpass the benchmark set by Patrice Evra. The Manchester United fullback is currently serving a 5-match ban for his part in the chaotic player strike that doomed the French campaign in South Africa. Patrice will certainly be hoping that he isn’t one of the names that figure prominently among those players that have fallen out of favor with Blanc.
30-year old defender Jean Alain Boumsong, has realized youth isn’t on his side and has done Blanc a favor of sorts by virtually locking himself out of contention for a place in the national side. The Panathinaikos player publicly stated his allegiance to the club, and all but admitted his international career was over given Blanc’s desire to inject young blood in the team. Jeremy Toulalan’s prospects, with his exclusion from the October games, have dimmed too, though the player is yet to announce any plans for the immediate future.
Also enjoying a mini-spurt in fortunes was Youann Gourcuff, who finally has the stability at the helm of the team that he has craved for so long. Floundering under the weight of ridiculous comparisions with Zizou, Youann will be relieved to be in a team that is finally willing to play on its own terms.
Futur Imparfait
In his desire to set himself apart from the laidback managerial styles the French are normally used to, Laurent Blanc took a massive gamble by choosing to employ the services of a psychologist. In comments leaked by the media, Adil Rami is reputed to have been among the group of players subject to a grueling 50 multiple-choice questionnaire seeking to pry into “our character, our behavior and decisions we have made in our lives” (sic). Blanc runs the risk of widespread ridicule for his methods, should the French team fail to perform respectably in upcoming major tournaments. Having had a predecessor, whose reliance on astrology much to the detriment of the team was well publicized, Blanc can hardly afford to be seen as having a similar obsession.
The case of Franck Ribery, is another thorny issue yet to be resolved and will severely test the limits of Blanc’s powers. Franck is known to be his own man, and has enormous clout in the national team. Despite having to lick his wounds, inflicted by the investigation of the under-age sex scandal and the injuries that have beset him, the mercurial winger could emerge a power-center upon his arrival. Blanc has done nothing to indicate any animosity toward Ribery in particular, but his strict disciplinarian work-ethic may be a bit hard to digest for some of the established names in the side.
Karim Benzema came in for an exceptionally scathing attack by his new manager, for turning in late for a training session. Blanc tore into his star forward criticizing his diet and then claiming he was the kind of player who would turn in late for a session, even if it were held in the evening.
Gourcuff uncuffed
Une Petite Renaissance
Under Blanc, and apart from the teething troubles that saw them reel under consecutive defeats to Norway and Belarus, France has done well to stage a comeback of sorts. The opposition has been far from robust, and the results have been just about satisfactory, but France have since then managed to eke out a 2-0 victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina, followed by another 2-0 victory over Romania.
The latter was a relatively hard-fought victory, though not entirely undeserved – Loïc Rémy opened the scoring just 7 minutes before time, and Youann Gourcuff acted decisively off a Dimitrie Payet pass to put the result beyond any doubt. The new manager’s understanding of, and influence over, the game was unmistakable, as the three players who combined to give France the victory were his strategic substitutes – a last throw of the die at salvaging a victory.
The team, has clearly progressed from strength to strength, and rounded off a good month for all concerned with yet another 2-0 victory, this time over also-rans Luxembourg. Adding to Blanc’s delight will be the fact that Samir Nasri and Youan Gourcuff combined admirably, with Benzema too finding the back of the net. If Laurent Blanc were to take a page out of his predecessor’s book and dabble in astrology, he might certainly be inclined to see the string of 3 victories as a good omen.