Since this week was filled with international friendlies, instead of writing about the Spanish league, I want to recap a game involving my favorite national team, France.
You might have heard about their disastrous World Cup 2010 campaign; in fact, it might have been the worst showing for France in French football history. One of the players, Nicolas Anelka, was involved in a dispute with the extremely unpopular and unsuccessful coach, Raymond Domenech. As a result, Anelka was sent home early, and the rest of the French players decided to go on strike and refused to train.
Many of the players received suspensions, and after France exited the World Cup, Domenech also lost his job. Laurent Blanc, a former French player, became a new job. Rebuilding the French team was an extremely difficult task, since France had been struggling to play well since 2006, after its best player Zinedine Zidane retired.
Beating Brazil, a highly-rated team, this week was a sign that the French team is beginning to regain its old form. Both teams were pretty even in the beginning, but with France creating slightly more chances to score. In the 40th minute, a Brazilian player was sent off for a rough tackle, and France started to take over.
Benzema scored the only goal for France in the 54th minute. Brazil had a few chances to equalize, but France was able to hold on to the lead.
Video highlights from the game here.
I'm really glad that the French team is coming together again and it is always great to see talented teams play against each other. I also don't like Brazil that much because they are always so good and it is about time some teams teach them a lesson in humility.
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