Vieira axe possible-Domenech

**sligoman** · 01/09/2005, 3:30 PM

France head coach Raymond Domenech admits he may not recall former captain Patrick Vieira to the side for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against the Faroe Islands in Lens.

Vieira sat out the friendly win over the Ivory Coast last month after picking up an injury in the warm-up.

His replacement, Paris St Germain’s former AC Milan star Vikash Dhorasoo, made a major impression in that game, pulling the strings in midfield and teeing up his side’s third goal for striker Thierry Henry with a stunning pass into the path of the Arsenal man.

And Domenech has refused to rule out the possibility that he will leave Vieira – stripped of the captaincy following Zinedine Zidane’s return to the fold – out of his side for the meeting with the Group Four minnows on Saturday night.

When asked if he would omit the Juventus star, Domenech said: “It’s possible. I’ll answer that question closer to the match. I will announce the team on Friday. That’s all I’m prepared to say.”

http://www.eleven-a-side.com/worldcu...p?newsid=18950

**tetsujin1979** · 01/09/2005, 3:53 PM

Hard to call on this one, he could just be resting him so he doesn't pick up a yellow and a suspension for the Ireland game.

**eirebhoy** · 01/09/2005, 5:08 PM

Why does Domenech have to please the media and announce the team a day before matches? Things like this could cost you qualification. Kerr names his an hour before kickoff and gives the opposition little time to plan ahead.

**Karlos** · 01/09/2005, 5:24 PM

Originally Posted by eirebhoy

Why does Domenech have to please the media and announce the team a day before matches? Things like this could cost you qualification. Kerr names his an hour before kickoff and gives the opposition little time to plan ahead.

I'm not totally convinced he's doing it just to please the media. Some managers are prepared to name their team as they are unconcerned about what the opposition know. Mourniho has done this on numerous occaisions both at Porto and Chelsea and I recall similar incidents with Capello and Sachi. They are confident in their ability and/or used it to confuse the opossition i.e. what seems like a 4-4-2 team on paper may turn out to be a 4-5-1 in the game for example. I remember Arsenal's champions league game with Lazio when Wenger named the team early only for on the night Denis Bergkamp to play right midfield - it completly threw the Italians who had set up to defend against a deep lying striker who wasn't there to be marked.

Personally, I prefer not letting the opposition know too much but I don't think it greatly hinders the team that do too much. Perhaps I'm giving Domenech too much credit for being as intelligent as other managers who have done similar actions in the past and maybe it's just that they are playing a weaker nation, i.e. the Faroes. We'll know for sure if he does the same thing before the Ireland game

**eirebhoy** · 01/09/2005, 5:55 PM

He named the team the day before we played them in Paris. I think its foolish tbh. Kerr atm will have to preper for a few possible outcomes. If France name their team he will have to preper for far less outcomes in training the next day. For example, if we were to name Doc up front the day before, Domenech would plan to stop Duff crossing and keep Doc tightly marked. If we were to name the team an hour before kickoff there's no time for planning. I don't see what there is to be gained out of it tbh.