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Eric Abidal, Hugo Lloris & the three other stars aiming to be Laurent Blanc’s France captain at Euro 2012
The coach has promised to name his on-field general prior to the European Championship, and Goal.com has reviewed the prime candidates
15 Nov 2011 13:27:00
ANALYSIS
By Robin Bairner | French Football Editor
Although Laurent Blanc has led France since the end of World Cup 2010, Les Bleus continue to lack an on-field leader, with ‘Le President’ refusing to name a permanent captain after over a year in the dugout.
Several players have auditioned for the role, yet the former Girondins de Bordeaux boss has not been ready to pin the armband definitively to any one of his team.
Blanc is a man who should know the value of the role. He was a leader who helped Les Bleus to the final of the 1998 World Cup, providing a great example for those to follow from the heart of the defence until he was dismissed in the semi final in highly-controversial circumstances.
The great French sides all had reliable figures to rally round, with Michel Platini, Didier Deschamps and Zinedine Zidane amongst those to lead the national side out over the course of the last 30 years.
Now, the position is vacant, and without an established captain to organise and inspire on the field, France can look flat.
“There are players who are leaders for their clubs, but not leaders for the France team,” Blanc explained prior to the USA friendly last Friday night, which was won 1-0. “We’ve found a few, but not a sufficient number, as we saw in the Bosnia & Herzegovina match that we had a huge lack of confidence, and these players couldn’t get the team up.”
Blanc, however, does have options, and he has indicated that by the time the spring internationals roll around, France will have a permanent captain in place. “I guarantee you that in February there will be a captain,” he told the media as he unveiled his squad for the most recent fixtures, the second of which comes against Belgium on Tuesday night, also at the Stade de France.
With these words in mind, here are the five candidates to lead Les Bleus into next summer’s European Championship.
A veteran of nearly 60 international matches, the 32-year-old defender is a player who has seen several major tournament campaigns, experiencing the highs of the 2006 World Cup and the lows four years later.
The Lyon-born player has won worldwide acclaim for the manner in which he handled serious illness last season and commands respect from all of those around him in the national side. He could, therefore, be a potentially unifying force in a team too often fragmented by ego and individualism.
Equally, this will likely be Abidal’s last major competition, and if Blanc does not want to appoint a captain on a long-term basis, the Barcelona defender could be a strong choice.
A factor which could work against the left/centre-back, is that he will be a free agent in the summer and cannot allow this to detract from his game, especially as he may have a fight on his hands just to get into the side.
In an ideal world, the tall midfield destructor would be France’s rallying point. He is a favourite of the coach, but even Blanc has been forced to concede that the form of the Marseille man, both for club and country, has been below par since he moved to Stade Velodrome from Bordeaux, where he enjoyed so much success leading under the charge of 'Le President'.
If he can regain his previous level, the 30-year-old Diarra would be the obvious choice to take the armband, but though he can be an inspirational figure, he cannot be guaranteed a spot in the side due to the form of Yann M’Vila, Blaise Matuidi and Yohan Cabaye, and this is likely to see him miss out.
Has taken the armband in recent games and was at the helm as they unconvincingly navigated their way to Euro 2012 via a 1-1 home draw against Bosnia & Herzegovina.
For former Lyon boss Claude Puel, the 24-year-old goalkeeper is an excellent candidate, as he told RMC: “He has the stature to be captain. Hugo has the ability to properly analyse, to step back and not say things in the heat of the moment.”
In an almost wholly static position, though, Lloris is at a disadvantage, unable to move about the park and bark orders or give encouragement to those who need it. His vocal efforts would be better served trying to organise a rearguard that has been in a state of flux in recent months.
No player in the present France set-up has more caps than Malouda’s 72, and he will be expected to be a pillar of the side that travels to Poland and Ukraine in the summer. As a result, the former Lyon left-winger has been named by Blanc as a potential candidate for the captaincy.
Several factors will count against the 31-year-old, though. His form this season has been rather disappointing and he cannot be considered an automatic starter in the team, while he has previously spoken out against the coach, suggesting that he panders too much to agent Jean-Pierre Bernes by deploying out-of-form players in his starting XI to keep their profiles high.
He should not be considered a front-runner for this role by any means.
Undoubtedly the dark horse of this list due to recent injury problems, which have seen him fail to play any kind of role for club or country since the beginning of the season. At 29 years old (30 when Euro 2012 starts), Mexes is a player of significant experience, but he does not yet have even 25 caps to his name at international level.
However, he was one of the Les Bleus stars during Blanc’s first year in charge, and should he regain his fitness and form to a sufficient level, is almost certain to start in the heart of the defence, where he can lead by being physical, commanding and vocal.
Follow Robin Bairner on
By Robin Bairner | French Football Editor
Although Laurent Blanc has led France since the end of World Cup 2010, Les Bleus continue to lack an on-field leader, with ‘Le President’ refusing to name a permanent captain after over a year in the dugout.
Several players have auditioned for the role, yet the former Girondins de Bordeaux boss has not been ready to pin the armband definitively to any one of his team.
| Bet: | Returns: | France £11.25 | Draw £65.00 | Estonia £170.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | France £11.70 | Draw £55.00 | Estonia £120.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | France £11.67 | Draw £65.00 | Estonia £150.00 |
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Blanc is a man who should know the value of the role. He was a leader who helped Les Bleus to the final of the 1998 World Cup, providing a great example for those to follow from the heart of the defence until he was dismissed in the semi final in highly-controversial circumstances.
The great French sides all had reliable figures to rally round, with Michel Platini, Didier Deschamps and Zinedine Zidane amongst those to lead the national side out over the course of the last 30 years.
Now, the position is vacant, and without an established captain to organise and inspire on the field, France can look flat.
“There are players who are leaders for their clubs, but not leaders for the France team,” Blanc explained prior to the USA friendly last Friday night, which was won 1-0. “We’ve found a few, but not a sufficient number, as we saw in the Bosnia & Herzegovina match that we had a huge lack of confidence, and these players couldn’t get the team up.”
Blanc, however, does have options, and he has indicated that by the time the spring internationals roll around, France will have a permanent captain in place. “I guarantee you that in February there will be a captain,” he told the media as he unveiled his squad for the most recent fixtures, the second of which comes against Belgium on Tuesday night, also at the Stade de France.
With these words in mind, here are the five candidates to lead Les Bleus into next summer’s European Championship.
| ERIC ABIDAL | Barcelona |
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A veteran of nearly 60 international matches, the 32-year-old defender is a player who has seen several major tournament campaigns, experiencing the highs of the 2006 World Cup and the lows four years later.
The Lyon-born player has won worldwide acclaim for the manner in which he handled serious illness last season and commands respect from all of those around him in the national side. He could, therefore, be a potentially unifying force in a team too often fragmented by ego and individualism.
Equally, this will likely be Abidal’s last major competition, and if Blanc does not want to appoint a captain on a long-term basis, the Barcelona defender could be a strong choice.
A factor which could work against the left/centre-back, is that he will be a free agent in the summer and cannot allow this to detract from his game, especially as he may have a fight on his hands just to get into the side.
| ALOU DIARRA | Olympique de Marseille |
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In an ideal world, the tall midfield destructor would be France’s rallying point. He is a favourite of the coach, but even Blanc has been forced to concede that the form of the Marseille man, both for club and country, has been below par since he moved to Stade Velodrome from Bordeaux, where he enjoyed so much success leading under the charge of 'Le President'.
If he can regain his previous level, the 30-year-old Diarra would be the obvious choice to take the armband, but though he can be an inspirational figure, he cannot be guaranteed a spot in the side due to the form of Yann M’Vila, Blaise Matuidi and Yohan Cabaye, and this is likely to see him miss out.
| HUGO LLORIS | Olympique Lyonnais |
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Has taken the armband in recent games and was at the helm as they unconvincingly navigated their way to Euro 2012 via a 1-1 home draw against Bosnia & Herzegovina.
For former Lyon boss Claude Puel, the 24-year-old goalkeeper is an excellent candidate, as he told RMC: “He has the stature to be captain. Hugo has the ability to properly analyse, to step back and not say things in the heat of the moment.”
In an almost wholly static position, though, Lloris is at a disadvantage, unable to move about the park and bark orders or give encouragement to those who need it. His vocal efforts would be better served trying to organise a rearguard that has been in a state of flux in recent months.
| FLORENT MALOUDA | Chelsea |
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No player in the present France set-up has more caps than Malouda’s 72, and he will be expected to be a pillar of the side that travels to Poland and Ukraine in the summer. As a result, the former Lyon left-winger has been named by Blanc as a potential candidate for the captaincy.
Several factors will count against the 31-year-old, though. His form this season has been rather disappointing and he cannot be considered an automatic starter in the team, while he has previously spoken out against the coach, suggesting that he panders too much to agent Jean-Pierre Bernes by deploying out-of-form players in his starting XI to keep their profiles high.
He should not be considered a front-runner for this role by any means.
| PHILIPPE MEXES | AC Milan |
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Undoubtedly the dark horse of this list due to recent injury problems, which have seen him fail to play any kind of role for club or country since the beginning of the season. At 29 years old (30 when Euro 2012 starts), Mexes is a player of significant experience, but he does not yet have even 25 caps to his name at international level.
However, he was one of the Les Bleus stars during Blanc’s first year in charge, and should he regain his fitness and form to a sufficient level, is almost certain to start in the heart of the defence, where he can lead by being physical, commanding and vocal.
Follow Robin Bairner on
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And here are some quotes from today's goalscorer, Danny Welbeck: "It's still the same, me and Ashley [Young] playing together.
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