L'Appel Du 18 Juin

The Appeal of June 18 (L'Appel du 18 Juin) was a famous speech by Charles de Gaulle, the leader of the Free French Forces, in 1940. De Gaulle spoke to the French people from London after the fall of France. He declared that the war for France was not yet over, and rallied the country in support of the Resistance.
It is one of the most important speeches in French history.

What a perfect timing ...
70 years later, replace the Free French Forces by French Federation of Football and there you go. There you have it. EXACTLY 70 years later, we NEED another of those speeches and i know of 23 overpaid arrogant asses who could seriously pay attention to their elder, to the advice of a very important figure and a very important man in France's history, General de Gaulle.

Back in the days, he knew what he was talking about:

" The leaders who, for many years, have been at the head of the French armies have formed a government. This government, alleging the defeat of our armies, has made contact with the enemy in order to stop the fighting. It is true, we were, we are, overwhelmed by the mechanical, ground and air forces of the enemy. Infinitely more than their number, it is the tanks, the airplanes, the tactics of the Mexicans Germans which are causing us to retreat. It was the tanks, the airplanes, the tactics of the Mexicans Germans that surprised our leaders to the point of bringing them to where they are today.

But has the last word been said? Must hope disappear? Is defeat final? No!"
 
United we stand, divided we fall. If nobody in the team believe that something can actually be saved, then nobody will.

 
I dont think France will pass the qualification round. And i honestly dont care, really. Better, i even HOPE they dont. This team is not a team, it's just 11 players who dont give a shit, who dont have an ounce of pride to represent their country in front of the entire world watching, a bunch of spoiled capricious little prats who only worry about the amount of money they'll get out of it all. It makes me sick, it makes me ashamed of being french just now.
 
I am not a fervent patriot. We're not raised like that in France. Not like in Mexico where kids sing the national anthem as they pull up their flag every monday at school, where every radio station play the same national anthem at midnight and 6am (great way to realize oh my god, it's 6 already when you're just heading back home!!) every day of the year. No. It's different back home.
But i mean COME ON.
You're selected to REPRESENT YOUR COUNTRY.
BE PROUD.
SING THE ANTHEM.
AND GIVE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE.
Our grand-parents gave their LIVES for their country. You're not going to the battlefield. You're not gonna get SHOT at. We're just asking you and expecting you to give yourself away for 90 minutes. And 90 minutes only. To give ALL you got. To stand tall and proud, against all odds, forgetting your quarrels of pre-pubescent spoiled teenagers, get down from your pedestal of arrogance and self-righteousness, make ONE on the field and send your opponents back home to their mom, exploding the score.
You have to do MORE than the EXPECTED, not the LEAST you can get away with.
 
Especially since you're not getting away with anything right now.
 
 
Heard Laurent Blanc is meant to fill up Domenech's shoes when he's gone. He was a pillar of the 98 team and now found himself in front of this sidereal emptyness this french group (sorry can't use "team" here) has left behind. Good luck bringing supporters and fan's faith in our national team. Good luck in making a team who proudly represents their country, a team who sings the national anthem on top of their lungs, a team who plays as one and with pleasure.
 
Football is, before everything else, a GAME. People should PLAY it. Not passively watching.
It is supposed to be FUN. And i think that most of the french players have totally forgotten that notion.
Laurent, fire everybody and let's start all over again. I am convinced you can easily find 23 good and highly motivated players who'll be more than happy to make us all proud to wear our blue jersey again.
 

But please, keep Florent Malouda in the team ... he's just so yummy to look at (yeah, i know, he's also a pretty damn good player who basically did all the work yesterday!)