Blanc's French Revolution

Since Zinedine Zidane's retirement in 2006, things have been going disastrously wrong for the French National Team under the confusing regime of Raymond Domenech. The haven't won a single game in Euro 2008, and in the 2010 World Cup, and there was severe unrest withing the French camp between the management staff, along with the players forcing Nicolas Anelka to retire. Jean-Pierre Escalettes who was the president of the French Football Federation resigned after the farcical displays of the National Team in 2010.

This also resulted in the imminent departure of Domenech, so the eyes of the whole of France was set on the man to replace him, a man by the name of Laurent Blanc. While only a rookie to football management, Blanc ended Lyon's Ligue 1 dominance by winning the league with Bordeaux, and taking them to the Champions League Quarter-Finals the year after. He was also known as a leader on the pitch during his playing days, playing a key role in France's World Cup win in 1998.

Blanc had very tough choices to make during the start of his career with 'Les Bleus'. Was he to play the same players who had embaressed France during the World Cup in South Africa, or should he look for fresh faces within the French League. He obviously chose the latter, and did not get off to the best start, losing 1-0 at home to Belarus. He gave young players like Adil Rami and Jeremy Menez a chance to shine with the national team, but it proved too early for them. These players did however repay the faith shown in them by Blanc during France's next three qualifiers, in which they won all of them.

The impressive winning streak continued when France beat England at Wembley, and Brazil at the Stade De France. What was most impressive with those victories was the way in which France looked comfortable on the ball, and it was very reminisce of the 1998 and 2000 trophy laden French teams. Karim Benzema, who is struggling with Real Madrid at the moment, manages to regain form when playing for Laurent Blanc, scoring a goal against both England and Brazil respectively. Domenech's negative tactics never allowed him to beat the best nations of the world, whereas Blanc's positive, attack-minded approach has made the French team very dominant and confident when playing.

Laurent Blanc has certainly been the perfect antidote to the French National Team, and it is only a matter of time before we see them challenging Spain's place at the pinnacle of international football.

Jassim