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WC 2010: Group A Chat Topic (S.Africa etc)


bickster

Who will top the group?  

52 members have voted

  1. 1. Who will top the group?

    • France
      20
    • Mexico
      17
    • South Africa
      4
    • Uruguay
      11


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The problems and friction in the French team are down to a split over one man: Yoann Gourcuff.

Gourcuff comes from a privileged family. He is smart and he is respectful - but he is also still a shy little boy. In his spare time he listens to music, watches films and plays his video game systems. He is, in his own words, a little nerdy.

In a French squad that places more value on how much money you have in your bank account, and what girl is on your arm, Gourcuff doesn't fit.

One incident occurred shortly before the World Cup. Franck Ribery and Sidney Govou had organised a night out at well known gentleman's club in Paris. Several players, including Gourcuff, decided to stay home. When Ribery heard about this he immediately confronted Gourcuff and asked 'does your mother not allow you to go, you homosexual slur'

This is one of many incidents.

Ribery is the main instigator in the bullying, however he is far from alone. On the pitch, Gourcuff plays within himself. Scared because he fears the verbal retribution he will receive after the match from his tormentors.

In the squad, Gourcuff can count on only 4 real allies. His best friend Hugo Lloris, his teammate Jeremy Toulalan, elder statesmen Thierry Henry and captain and the glue that holds the team very loosely together, Patrice Evra.

When Raymond Domonech bowed to player pressure and dropped Gourcuff for France's second group match, that was the catalyst for the situation in which we now find ourselves.

Reports of groups hardly talking to each other soon surfaced, however, most notable were the French media suggestions that playmaker Yoann Gourcuff was isolated and suffering extreme verbal and even physical bullying at the hands of Franck Ribery.

"We're not all the best of friends, that's normal, but hopefully that does not translate on to the pitch," midfielder Jeremy Toulalan, a close friend of Gourcuff, said when asked about those reports.

"For instance, when I'm playing with Yoann, I'm not going to pass him the ball more just because we get on well,"

Just Fontaine, who scored a record 13 goals for France at the 1958 World Cup, was damning in his verdict on Ribery.

"Ribery? One day the mistake was made to say he was the team's brains and since, he has believed it. He is an arrogant man. He has a mood and an anger within him that is extremely unpleasant and disruptive"

Posted on another forum, don't know where the original source is though.

I did notice v Uruguay that a lot of players were reluctant to pass to Gourcuff. Seems Ribery is jealous of him.

I have read this before and it is a disgrace if its true just because he is a shy bloke. At least Gourcuff will be still playing for the team in next few years while Ribery is in prison

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TS french journalist said it was true, said that he was incredibly jealous because they see gourcuff and not him as the future of the team and that he didnt like robben becoming the star at bayern

Then most interestingly came out with "cisse was in tears last night because the statement didnt represent every player, several players were bullied into it"

**** mad

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"**** off you word removed" is about the closest English equivalent I can think of to what Anelka is reported to have said.

"Va te faire enculer, mot supprimé"?

Ribéry is the biggest mot supprimé of them all.

Domenech is just a clairière dans les bois.

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Haha! My missus (a Luxembourger) has gone on a massive rant.

She says in general, french people are chauvinistic and full of themselves.

They call themselves "La grande nation" yet what have they ever achieved?

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Haha! My missus (a Luxembourger) has gone on a massive rant.

She says in general, french people are chauvinistic and full of themselves.

They call themselves "La grande nation" yet what have they ever achieved?

I would say she is spot on.

Ive never known another race that so many people have a passionate dislike for especially on the continent

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Just came in to post what Davies4England put on the previous page.

Have to say in a way it is great that France are in the WC because they are making an absolute show of themselves. A proper disgrace. Playing staff and non-playing staff. On and off the pitch. It is hard to write a script that makes things go any worse for a nation at a world cup. Thoroughly deserved and thoroughly enjoyable to watch. To think there's even proper bullying going on now too.

Just goes to show you. Even the French hate the French :crylaugh: Utterly contemptible species :lol: And just in case the reader doesn't know. I've hated them loooooong before the playoff. TonyH will confirm this :nod:

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10am: Reuters has gathered up the French press's reaction to yesterday's extraordinary boycott of their training session by the France team - and, as you might expect, they don't hold back ..

L'EQUIPE - "A rebellion? No, a caprice. A strike? No, cowardliness. Don't deceive yourself. The republican solidarity that our players showed the world yesterday is an illusion. The [soccer federation] has created a farce; its froth is is just a stink bomb that keeps on exploding. Patrice Evra has once and for all shown that he has muddled up the role of captain with that of a gang leader. Raymond Domenech, by lending a hand to this masquerade and reading out himself the players' statement, has missed his final opportunity to show some style and courage."

LE PARISIEN - "Everyday, 'les Bleus' push back the frontiers of the unacceptable ... This band of spoilt children, left free to do what they like by their entire hierarchy, has no limit, no sense of duty so close to the match against South Africa. To have the worst soccer team at the World Cup was already unbearable. To also have the most stupid is intolerable ... The mutiny at Knysna will forever remain the Waterloo of French soccer."

LE FIGARO - "It is collective suicide ... the French team has heaped ridicule on itself in front of the whole world yesterday at Knysna. The 'field of dreams' became the set of a living nightmare. It was almost hallucinatory. This is a psychodrama that will go down in the history of the World Cup. The French team has been reduced to ashes."

LIBERATION - "If this charade has a guilty partner (Nicolas Anelka), and culprits (all those 'striking' players who do not merit their salary, nor the chance to ply the profession that they dreamt of doing as children), there is also someone who is responsible for all this: the coach of the French soccer team. We take them to be role models for kids who have lost their way in life, but in reality they are just bling-bling traders for a sport which yesterday lost a lot of credit in France."

LE PROGRES DE LYON - "They should have contented themselves with being bad on the pitch and arrogant off it as they already have been for a few years. Honestly, they amaze us ... (no doubt) they can do even worse."

LES DERNIERES NOUVELLES D'ALSACE - "In a certain way France has already made a success of the 2010 World Cup History will remember only two teams from this World Cup: that of the winning country and also perhaps France ... 'les Bleus' [have shown] great mastery of a worldwide scandal. A triumph!"

VOSGES MATIN - "Too much is too much! The spectacle made by this team of multi-millionaires is a disgrace to all French people."

LA REPUBLIQUE DU CENTRE - "We are no longer in the presence of nasty brats ... but of professional sportsmen not worthy of wearing the French national colours."

FRANCE SOIR - "Clearly nothing can be expected of 'Les Bleus'. Their achievements are shameful: France is the laughing stock of the world."

:lol::lol:

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LES DERNIERES NOUVELLES D'ALSACE is spot on IMO, this world cup will be remembered for a long time for the eventual winners and for france, if we, italy or even spain carry on underperforming it will just become "at least we weren't as bad as france"

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You are absolutely loving this.

Of course I am :)

If Ribery signed for villa would you be happy? (yes I know it is a very unlikely scenario)

Thankfully I doubt I will be put in that very difficult position any time soon.

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Just heard on FiveLive that there are reports from Sth Africa that some French players have refused to play in tomorrow's game against Sth Africa.

France == shambles.

It's embarrassing. But there is no chance of the game not going ahead. With 23, well infact 22 now in their squad, they can easily find 11 who will play. Cisse and a few others have stated that they are not part of the whole strike to support one player thing that is going on. If I was in this situation I would not strike even if it was a close friend, because playing in a world cup is the pinnacle.

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Just heard on FiveLive that there are reports from Sth Africa that some French players have refused to play in tomorrow's game against Sth Africa.

France == shambles.

It's embarrassing. But there is no chance of the game not going ahead. With 23, well infact 22 now in their squad, they can easily find 11 who will play. Cisse and a few others have stated that they are not part of the whole strike to support one player thing that is going on. If I was in this situation I would not strike even if it was a close friend, because playing in a world cup is the pinnacle.

Especially as Anelka was clearly in the wrong. You'd get sacked if your boss told you that you did something wrong and should do something else instead and then you turn around and call him a son of a dirty whore. And its even ruder in French.

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