French Revolution 2.0: Merci Monsieur Blanc

France Coach Laurent Blanc

Raymond Domenech was eccentric to say the least. Despite the vast wealth of talent at France’s disposal, they struggled to qualify for both the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the Euros in 2008. While France went all the way to the finals in 2006 – though most loyalists credit Zinedine Zidane with the side’s run to the Olympiastadion in Berlin – they crashed out of the Group of Death during the Euros, finishing bottom of the Group. He should’ve been sacked then and there. But the Federation Francaise de Football persisted with Domenech and we all saw what happened at THAT match against the Republic of Ireland and the World Cup.

Training ground bust-ups, the team refusing to train and to top it all, an expletive-ridden argument between Nicolas Anelka and Domenech on all the world’s stage made the tournament one to forget for France. If that wasn’t enough, the strike by the players became a national incident, with French Sporting Minister Rama Yade being sent to South Africa to soothe nerves: it did little good as France were flung out of the tournament at the hands of hosts South Africa. But in truth, the French never looked set to play together, let alone win things.

The 2010 World Cup saw France’s last World Cup winning player – Thierry Henry – retire from international football. France needed a boost, something to make them believe again, someone to rid the French dressing room of Gallic defeatism. Who better to lead than Laurent Blanc? The man was a symbol of French past, having won the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championships in 2000. He had long coveted the French manager’s job, having sought it in 2004, before Domenech was eventually picked.

He knew his team needed a major overhaul to dispel the military camp-like atmosphere Domenech had imposed on the team, and he also knew there were mutinous undercurrents that ran amongst the players. The first thing to do was to show the players who really was in charge, and he did so by dropping all 23 of the players who made it to South Africa. France lost their subsequent friendly against Norway by two goals to one, but it was clear that ‘Le President’ was in charge. In a move to increase team spirit and espirit-du-corps within the squad, Blanc also made it compulsory for all French players to sing La Marseillaise before games began. France may have lost 0-1 against Belarus in their first Euro qualifier, but it was clear that change was on the cards.

Wins against Luxembourg, Bosnia and Romania followed next, but they weren’t really enough to test the nouvelle generation of French players. That test would come against England.

“We found some new players who I think are good and with these new players we have a new mentality, a new way of playing and it takes time,” Blanc said. “We have been preparing from a technical but also a physical point of view for the England game. We’re not looking for a miracle.”

Laurent Blanc silenced his critics with a 2-1 win at the Wembley Arena. Karim Benzema and Mathieu Valbuena scored in each half for the visitors, before Peter Crouch’s late goal halved the deficit. France then went on to beat Brazil 1-0 in Paris: a string of wins that would have surely lifted the confidence of the squad.

“We’re always happy to win at home in front of our own fans,” Blanc told UEFA.com after the game. “Brazil are a reference point in football, even if they were down to ten players and that helped us. I’m satisfied with the result and also with how the game went. Tonight I’m pleased with everyone in the team and the squad as a whole.”

Blanc then led France on a ten-game unbeaten run in their Euro qualifiers, which meant that they finished on top of the group, which was a significant milestone in itself. In their last seven tournaments, France needed the qualifiers to go through on two occasions: 2006 and 2010. On two other occasions, they did not need to qualify: as hosts in 1998 and as defending champions in 2002.

Under Laurent Blanc, France have gone on a 21 (yes, twenty-one) game unbeaten run. In addition to wins against England and Brazil, France stunned Germany 2-1 at the Weserstadion last February. The game was made all the more special on account of Olivier Giroud scoring on his debut.

This is the France that football fans throughout the world want to see. Sure, it may not be the France of Desailly, Djorkaeff and Deschamps, neither does the current squad command the same aura that Thuram, Henry, Zidane, Vieira, Makelele, Trezeguet and Barthez had, but they are some of Europe’s best players, who play in some of Europe’s best leagues, for some of Europe’s best Clubs.

Blanc is known for being discreet and secretive about the way he coaches his side – something he shares with compatriot Arsene Wenger. His analysis of his side’s game would make a forensic lab proud, and he is known for watching his players from a distance. His predecessor, on the other hand, used to oversee every minute detail of his side, and as is now infamously known, used to select players on the basis of their star signs, blacklisting several players, including the likes of Ludovic Giuly, Robert Pires and Trezeguet, and left out Samir Nasri and Karim Benzema from the squad that was going to South Africa.

Nasri and Benzema are both now integral cogs of the French machine, and along with Jeremy Menez, Hatem Ben Arfa and Blaise Matudi – all of whom are on the plane to Poland-Ukraine – are part of France’s ‘génération ’87′ that won the Under-17 Euros in 2004. “The one quality they share is raw talent,” Blanc said. “We’re lucky to have them. To say we’ve picked too many players with talent doesn’t make sense.” Few will argue with him.

Let’s face it. Blanc has brought France back from the dead. And the man himself says France cannot win the Euros. The stats surely don’t lie, and they are the basis for his reference, given France’s abysmal showing in recent competitions. “Any one match yes [we can win], but not the tournament,” Blanc recently told the press. But this is a different France.

In 1944, when Charles de Gaulle’s Free French Army liberated Paris, a popular song was sung:

Reveillez-vous, Assez de honte, Redevenez la Grande France (Rise again, enough shame, Become once again the Great France)

It wouldn’t be inappropriate if those lines were used to cheer on this French side.