The flame-out for France was particularly melodramatic. First off, they only got into the tournament on a handball goal from Thierry Henry in their home-and-home playoff with Ireland, pictured at left. At the World Cup itself, the drame started when striker Nicolas Anelka cussed out the coach, Roman Domenech, during halftime of their match against Mexico (which we attended; more on that later). Domenech subsequently, and justifiably, yanked Anelka out of the game and dismissed him from the team a day later. The next day, the rest of the team refused to get off the team bus before a practice in protest of Anelka's dismissal. After the press lashes out at the team as "cowards" and "deserters," French President Nicholas Sarkozy asked his Minister of Sport, Roselyne Bachelot, to read the team the riot act. She complied, asking them to display "dignity and responsibility." Finally, they crashed out in their final game against South Africa, losing to the second lowest-ranked team at the World Cup, 2-1. French bank Credit Agricole suspended its sponsorship of the team, and other corporations are expected to follow suit. Oh mon dieu. Quelle horreur.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Arrivederci, Azzurri! Au revoir, Les Bleus!
Italy and France have given us some of the great art the world has ever seen, from Da Vinci to Moliere. So why are they both so lacking in creativity in putting blue jerseys on their players and calling them, "The Blues?" Well, we don't have to ponder that question any longer because both World Cup finalists from 2006 are done. Kaput. Eliminated from this year's competition.
The flame-out for France was particularly melodramatic. First off, they only got into the tournament on a handball goal from Thierry Henry in their home-and-home playoff with Ireland, pictured at left. At the World Cup itself, the drame started when striker Nicolas Anelka cussed out the coach, Roman Domenech, during halftime of their match against Mexico (which we attended; more on that later). Domenech subsequently, and justifiably, yanked Anelka out of the game and dismissed him from the team a day later. The next day, the rest of the team refused to get off the team bus before a practice in protest of Anelka's dismissal. After the press lashes out at the team as "cowards" and "deserters," French President Nicholas Sarkozy asked his Minister of Sport, Roselyne Bachelot, to read the team the riot act. She complied, asking them to display "dignity and responsibility." Finally, they crashed out in their final game against South Africa, losing to the second lowest-ranked team at the World Cup, 2-1. French bank Credit Agricole suspended its sponsorship of the team, and other corporations are expected to follow suit. Oh mon dieu. Quelle horreur.
The flame-out for France was particularly melodramatic. First off, they only got into the tournament on a handball goal from Thierry Henry in their home-and-home playoff with Ireland, pictured at left. At the World Cup itself, the drame started when striker Nicolas Anelka cussed out the coach, Roman Domenech, during halftime of their match against Mexico (which we attended; more on that later). Domenech subsequently, and justifiably, yanked Anelka out of the game and dismissed him from the team a day later. The next day, the rest of the team refused to get off the team bus before a practice in protest of Anelka's dismissal. After the press lashes out at the team as "cowards" and "deserters," French President Nicholas Sarkozy asked his Minister of Sport, Roselyne Bachelot, to read the team the riot act. She complied, asking them to display "dignity and responsibility." Finally, they crashed out in their final game against South Africa, losing to the second lowest-ranked team at the World Cup, 2-1. French bank Credit Agricole suspended its sponsorship of the team, and other corporations are expected to follow suit. Oh mon dieu. Quelle horreur.
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