Cartoon of the Day: Deschamps calls on old friends as Ribery, Nasri et al get binned

Cartoon of the Day: France coach Deschamps calls on old friends as Ribery, Nasri et al get binned

Jul 9, 2012 10:17:00 AM

Goal.com cartoonist Omar Momani gives us his unique take on the football news of the day...

He was, then he wasn't, but now he definitely is. On Sunday it was announced that Didier Deschamps had officially become national team coach of France.

The former Les Bleus midfielder will have to get the side's house in order after a tumultuous Euro 2012 campaign that saw bust-ups involving Hatem Ben Arfa, Alou Diarra and, most explosively, Samir Nasri.

The France campaign at World Cup 2010 was also marred by internal strife and Deschamps will be keen to instill the kind of discipline and harmony that saw France win world football's biggest prize on home soil in 1998 before further triumph at Euro 2000.

Under pressure to weed out the trouble-makers and bring glory back to Les Bleus, could Deschamps turn to the successful class of '98 in order to get the job done?

Deschamps calls on old friends as Ribery, Nasri et al get binned

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Champions League final - LIVE!

German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will battle it out at Wembley for European glory. Get involved by sending us your thoughts via Twitter or Facebook! Hosted by Mark Doyle.

5:50 PM BST

The whole sporting world is watching tonight. Indeed, not even the glitz and glamour on offer in Monte Carlo will get in the way of F1 driver Nico Rosberg watching the Champions League final. His mother might, though! Clad in a Bayern jersey with his name on the back, Rosberg was interviewed by Sky Sport Germany earlier and explained that his sole focus at the moment is finding somewhere to watch the game, given his Dortmund-supporting mother is threatening to disown him. "I might have trouble getting into the house!" he admitted.

5:42 PM BST

Right, just over two hours to go until kick-off, so let's check in with our man Jay Jaffa, who says the atmosphere is already building at Wembley.

"Jurgen Klopp said in his pre-match press conference that were he to never make another Champions League final, he could die happy knowing that he took a team to the home of football - Wembley.

"And I can tell you as I look at the sea of yellow, black and red that fans of both sides feel similar - there are hordes of Dortmund and Bayern supporters already congregating around the national stadium, eagerly lapping up some late afternoon sun."

5:38 PM BST

It is this increasingly bitter rivalry between Bayern and Dortmund that almost guarantees fireworks at Wembley tonight, according to Bayern defender Dante, who spoke exclusively with Goal earlier this week.

5:34 PM BST

The aforementioned Gotze deal, and the way in which it was leaked to the press on the eve of Dortmund’s Champions League semi-final, first-leg clash with Madrid, has only intensified the antipathy between the two clubs, while, as you can see from the photo below, the man at the centre of the transfer has inevitably been caught in the crossfire. This is all nothing new, of course. Bayern may have loaned a cash-strapped Dortmund money a decade ago but the pair have been locked in a vicious – but entertaining – war of words in the wake of die Schwarzgelben’s subsequent re-emergence as a major force, and Daniel Buse and Enis Koylu have catalogued the best quotes here.

5:23 PM BST

Right, still plenty of time to go until kick-off, so why not get involved in our Champions League quiz on Twitter? Here's one to start you off:

After tonight, how many Champions League/European Cup finals will Bayern Munich have played in?

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