So the finalists of last year's edition of the world cup crashed out at the earliest possible stage in South Africa 2010. I guess they just thought it was unfair, so they decided to let other teams have a chance. No, seriously though, both teams finished bottom of their group. France, with a group containing the weakest hosts ever, Mexico, and an Uruguay team that has yet to fully convince me. Italy, with arguably their weakest ever 23-man team, was blinded by their glory four years ago and decided to stick with a majority of those old sods this time around as well (i love you gattuso, but there comes a time and place...).
Let's talk about the actual Les Blues first. Leading up to the World Cup, the French media slandered Raymond Domenech and the entire France squad. The Hand of Henry incident in qualifying against Northern Ireland (would have loved to see them instead) already set the stage for what we would come to expect. The French needed extra time to breach Northern Ireland's defense? In fact, in this World Cup, they scored a grand total of 1 goal, 1 higher than what they did in the 2002 world cup (in 1998 they won it...do the winners of the previous world cups usually struggle the following one?). The squad selections of Domenech were less surprising than those of Lippi, but to not even include Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri as part of the initial 30 man provisional squad is ludicrous. When Domenech named his captain, Patrice Evra, William Gallas decided to issue an press silence throughout the World Cup, unhappy that he wasn't selected (when he captained Arsenal a few years ago, a draw against Birmingham City 2-2 would see him sit, complain, and sob on the pitch long after the match had been finished. Needless to say, he lost his captaincy). Domenech had already told Titi that he would have a marginal role in the squad and would be used as a substitute. Henry even publicly winced that the players this time around were not coming up to him for advice as they previously used to and that he felt slightly marginalised. Is Domenech the worst man-manager in the world? in 2006, at least he had Zizou, Vieira, Makelele, Henry, and they even deserved to win the world cup (yes, as an Italy fan I am publicly saying this).
The woeful displays of what we would, but shouldn't, call football followed. France against Uruguay was a boring stalemate, while their players felt like walking against Mexico because apparently they needed to watch re-runs of 'Lost in Translation' at home. After the match against Mexico, there was a bust-up between Anelka and Domenech, presumably because Anelka was subbed off at half-time (and rightly so because he was very lethargic for the first 45). Anelka allegedly called Domenech a 'son of a wh***'. And how did this get leaked to the general public? http://www.goal.com/en/news/1863/world-cup-2010/2010/06/19/1985116/france-defender-patrice-evra-speaks-of-traitor-within-les. A bunch of team members were unhappy with the treatment Anelka received, however, their captain, Evra, who is supposed to represent the pride of his country, even went AWOL for his press conference and publicly complained about a traitor. He even came and said that after the world cup, he would reveal ALL. The truth would be out.
The worst part is that EVEN THE POLITICIANS INTERVENED. They slandered the team, calling them a bunch of mercenaries who did not represent their country and did not care for wearing the national jersey (a lot of accusations were made by far right-wing politicians about the racial composition of the French team, of which I do not want to get into here because I simply don't know). In short, everyone was playing for themselves and not for their team.
The same cannot be said about Italy. I do believe Italy tried hard in this World Cup and I was not thorougly disappointed with their effort. The truth is that they just didn't have the requisite quality to get to the quarter-finals let alone semi-finals. (Honestly, with the Calciopoli struggles of 2006, it was a miracle Italy achieved what they did. This is because recent revelations have revealed that Juventus were not the only club in the wrong...Inter, Milan, and almost every other club secretly talked to referees...and I do think the players knew exactly how things were run...so it seems like there could have been a bitterness towards each other because some were getting unfairly punished, while others weren't). Even if they won or drawn their last match against Slovakia, they would have struggled against Holland and even Japan. Buffon, Cannavaro, and a host of other champions publicly came out and inquired about whether Italy truly had a world-class squad. Maradona went further and stated that Italy had no world class players this year. Couldn't agree more. I'm not saying the inclusions of Cassano, Totti, Balotelli, or Miccoli would have been a winning formula, but it would have added some spark to the much needed Italian attack. Only in the last 20 minutes of the last game against Slovakia did they showcase some magnificent football, only to be denied a legitimate goal. But hey, that's football.
I am really angry mainly at Marcello Lippi. True, he will forever be a legend and a statue should be erected in Rome for what he had done 4 years ago. But you simply cannot use your friendships to build your team. A nation's and more's hopes were resting on those 23-men. When this squad was selected, it was clear that Pazzini, Quagliarella, Gilardino, Iaquinta could not deliver the goods. It was very unpatriotic of Lippi to do this. The media, sometimes a bit too instrusive, really hit the nail this time around. Alas, what can we do now. When a (un)spectacle plays itself out in front of you and there is absolutely nothing you can do to change the course of events, you must simply accept defeat. Hopefully in 4 years.
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