Re: UEFA Euro 2012 Official Thread - Discussion, Analysis, Predictions & All News!
France were beaten well, but i blame the manager. Im not usually the type to blame the manager because i usually say at the end of the day its the players who are on the pitch, but i blame Blanc, a very stupid strategy.
He completely abandoned france's style of play which is to keep possession, the moment he tried to play defensive and switched formation, he admitted inferiority and to an extent defeat even before the game started.
How can you play one of the best teams in the word, with a new formation and strategy, youve never played before?. Also how that left over chelsea midfielder malouda started is beyond me. Infact how he was picked is beyond me. How blanc decide to play 2 right backs. The right back who played in the group stages should have kept his position. How nasri, menez and diarra didnt start is beyond me and at the same time benzema. He has been pampered so much that he can perform badly and he would still be picked. He imo has been the most piss poor player in the tournament and should not have started or should have started then subbed because he was poor.
The whole performance was ridiculous. We didnt fight at all. In the second half we saw abit of france and their possession play. If blanc had enough balls from the beginning and let france play the way they normally play, we wouldve troubled them. The 2 people who shouldnt have started caused the goal, malouda and that other right back
If you thought that France will play their patient possession football that's based on patience and slow development and without one-touch football, then you were dreaming.
When you usually play in an inferior possession style than that your opponent, it's far form unwise to change your tactic. I said it before and I said it again, it's useless to criticize a team's defensive lineup when they play against Barca/Spain. Tell me how many teams defeated Barca/Spain in big matches by playing offensively?
Spain were just superior. You may bitch about all Blanc's decision - you still won't have won today.
Though I never like Malouda, he did a better performance than any of the subs - which include Nasri and Menez. I never saw a fire or rebellion despite the more offensive approach and it's then that you realize that it's even hopeless when you're creating plays to attack. History proves that you beat Barca/Spain by defending well. Ironic or not, it's like that.
Though, the choice of players by Blanc was audacious, his defensive lineup wasn't surprising. He knew that his team was weak in defense. He knew that he needs to reinforce it to have a chance against Spain. They still did bad mistakes and paid it heavily. End of story. Back to Clairefontaine!
That was one boring match if you ask me. :/
Spain, as always, controlled the midfield which didn't allow France to make any proper attacks. And in my opinion benching Nasri was maybe the biggest mistake from Blanc, because this way they were basically left with only one wing and were easily predictable.
I was bored, I'll admit it. When I make such in-depth analysis, it's mainly because I was bored enough and got time to analyze.
They were predictable during the whole match anyways. None of the subs brought variety and any kind of impact. They are just not enough strong to beat Spain. I think that was glaring in this match.
