FC Girondins de Bordeaux
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According to L’Equipe, Ažbe Jug, 18, is Bordeaux’s first winter recruit. He is expected to sign a 4 year contract with the club. Ažbe is supposed to be one of the biggest young promises of Slovenian football. He’s a goal keeper and was quoted saying, “I would like to become the first goalkeeper for this team and then we’ll see what happens. I know it is going to be hard work.”
I think this signing is a shock to most of us, we were not expecting to add a 5th goal keeper, when we have other areas of primary concern; however this is not a bad thing, we only really have two goalkeepers readily available; Rami is always injured and is on the verge of retirement, and Keita will probably see his way out seeing that he doesn’t play at all and is last choice, leaving us with Carrasso and Kevin. I believe he will play with the CFA team and train with the first team but nothing has been decided as of now.
In other news, Bordeaux are on the lookout for a striker. It was announced a couple days prior to out last match against Lens that Gameiro would sing with us this winter but things have seemed to take the turn for the worse as Spanish giants Valencia have stepped in and convinced Gameiro so sign with them. Nothing looks favorable to us, at the moment, and it’s likely that we’ll have to turn our sights elsewhere.
We do need a striker though our inefficiency in front of goal has been killing us, and the new recruits as much as I want to believe in them don’t have the level of play to lead us to a Champions League spot. If we don’t get Gameiro, as much as we need an experience striker, which there isn’t many on the market. It may be better to recruit a young promise.
p.s. Sorry, I haven’t been able to blog much, I have work up to head. In the mean time you can follow SexySeedy on Twitter & Jennifer (who hasn’t tweeted at all in months!):
http://twitter.com/SexySeedy http://twitter.com/bordeauxoffside
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NICE PRE-MATCH PRESSER
girondins.com: The match against Nice is so crucial to stay in this spiral …
Jean Tigana : For me, it is more important than Paris. Afterwards, we chain with a confrontation against Lyon, they are games that are important. I even considered moving to Nice more important than the arrival of Lyon. For against Lyon, the players are ready, there is no need to worry at this level.
How do you gauge the provisions of recruits. Is this consistent with your expectations?
We have not yet had time to work, unfortunately. Some have participated in only two collective training. This also happens with other clubs, I’m not going to complain. But I prefer players that are here during the next cut rather than from the national team (laughs). It is a period where we can work and develop combinations but the lack of players do not suit us
What would be your ideal device for the Bordeaux team? Would you put up a 4-4-2 with two skimmers and two eccentric leaders?
Not particularly. It is the versatility of players more important to me. I hope the players can move on the ground and change the system, especially during games to cause problems for the opposing team tactics. We are not yet in this configuration but it may come over the meetings.
Do you think your team has reached its fullness in relation to what you ask him?
I hope that this will happen as soon as possible. In a few weeks, this should be done, I left us one months.
You mentioned that against Lyon players are ready. Are you worried that this is not the case against Nice?
Not at all, I feel the group. We’ve proved over these last 2 games we had the mental resources and that the team was physically well. Go get a result in the closing minutes is good. The players are well and live well together, I am confident.
Do you mind that He (Carrasso) commend not yet have your final defense system?
No, it’s part of football. Several players are back on the field. Henrique has long been wounded, he was again present in the group. Michaël Ciani and Matthieu Chalme also returned.
Several players like Ciani and Sane have specific injuries. Will they play this weekend in Nice?
We will discuss with the doctor and surgeons. It is they who decide whether and giving us the green light. I do not advise Lamine be a butcher, he is clumsy with hands (laughs). I have not had the return of the doctor. If there is any risk, Sane not play. This is the case similar Ciani. It was the prohibition of heads in training this week (laughter).
Le groupe des Girondins de Bordeaux pour le match contre Nice
Le groupe :
Carrasso, Olimpa – Chalmé, Ciani, Henrique, Sané, Savic, Trémoulinas, Marange – Ben Khalfallah, Diarra, Fernando, Plasil, Ducasse – Gouffran, Jussiê, Maazou, Modeste, Saivet
My Comments : Notice how Bellion is not in the group after scoring in the friendly against Osasuna and also two goals in the CFA2 last week? 
Anyway, I expect us to start something like this:
Carrasso; Chalmé, Henrique, Ciani or (Savic), Trémoulinas; Diarra, Fernando; Ben Khalfallah, Plasil, Jussiê (interchangeably); Modeste (or Maazou)
TRANSFER MARKET
Jean Tigana was asked questions from the public a couple days ago he answered a few interesting questions that many of us may have been asking ourselves; however, the answers he gave are no different from what Triaud would say himself. “No money” …
Mr Tigana, are you happy with the transfer window Girondins?
Jean Tigana : Yes, given the context. We could not afford to recruit… The situation was difficult, I knew from the start. I assume.
Do you think that your group is quite big and have quality needed to have the ambition to catch the Champions League next season?
I think the group is strong, but look at how was the transfer window. We had no choice. If Yoann Gourcuff had left a month earlier, we would have had more time and we could have made different choices. We made the best choices possible in the time we had left. We took Maâzou on loan and I think we bought Ben Khalfallah a bit expensive but there were only two days before the end of the transfer market.
Mr Tigana, the Girondins have lost Gourcuff. Were you disappointed with his behavior?
Jean Tigana : The way he left disturbed me (…) Coming Saturday on the eve of a big game … We had two defeats and we were to face Paris on the Parc Sunday. Coming to ask that this day was a bit of a shock. He should have come on Monday. If this would have happened the same way it would have shown respect vis-à-vis the group and the Club. If it is at this point, it is thanks to Girondins Bordeaux.
Do you think that with the current workforce your team has the resources to finish in the top 3 of the championship, especially as rivals Marseille, Lyon or Paris have dramatically strengthened with golfer?
We did not have a budget allowing us to take golfers. This was not negotiable. Sure, Marseille took three players with Remy who I wanted to come but we could not afford. (…) I’m happy with the players I have. Above all, I hope to make progress.
Do you think that there are currently youth Girondins who have the potential to hope for a career at the Henry, Trezeguet or Giuly? And if so, who?
Jean Tigana : We’re not there yet. There is potential but there is much work to do. There are things to improve. I come back with a fresh eye and experience. You just mention the players who put the bar very high.
Why not have hired a “real” right back to relieve Chalme for some matches or to be replace in case of injury?
Jean Tigana :I It is a question of resources. We had priorities. We have not invested because we could not afford to invest. I wished to double all the posts with the players I wanted but my President did not agree (laughter, Ed).
IN BORDEAUX FOR A LONG TIME
On the 30th of August, The chief executive of M6, M. Tavernost, talked about recent decisions that have effected the club over the ladt year or so. “We must be harder.” He also covers the topic of the new stadium.
“We had a second part of last season nightmare that I wish for nobody. The failure of last season remains a mystery to us but it may be necessary in the future, taking faster decisions, even if they are not always easy to take. Being a bit harder, a little less … Bordeaux, in the management of the workforce.
Sometimes, we tend to think that problems will solve themselves, as in the case Chamakh (free party at the end of last season for Arsenal, Ed) which has not been set. Let’s be a little more stubborn in conflict management. ”
It was thought that Chamakh, formed in the club, would extend his contract and then be transferred. This was the case with Briand (Rennes), and this is the case with Cavenaghi, who was very elegant. Hence, M. Tavernost’s call to learn from the transfer.
“I took an active part in the decision of the sale, which is a wise decision. We agreed with Jean-Louis Triaud and myself on the conditions under which it was transferred. We’ve got what I wanted. This is one of the largest EU transfers. If we had not won this award, he would have stayed. The player was bought well and sold well, this will allow us to properly spend the season.”
“In total, we provide 100 million euros between what we put to and the rent on a budget estimated at 165 million. There are no great teams without big stadium. If you can not, we will be below the standard. We are taking a risk but we are prepared to commit ourselves to 30 years. This is a historic opportunity will not arise again. Without the stadium, the development of the club would be hampered. The first stone may be laid end 2014, we have no time to lose. We believe in it. This will, hopefully, be a beautiful stadium and the goal is to make 43,000 or 44,000 seats. ”
My Comments : It’s M. Tavernost’s responsibility to recruit a sporting director for the Girondins so that the sports policy is not conducted entirly to the will of the coaches and their respective address book. (There has not been a stable direction in recruitment, as a coach goes the recruitment changes)
Mr. Tavernost must also see to replace Jean-Louis Triaud, (part-time volunteer president) whose liability is becoming heavy in recent months (unable to manage the contract of Chamakh, unable to handle the case of Blanc, rolled in flour by Aulas each season, disaster communication, lack of vision and foresight…)
It belongs to Mr. Tavernost to invest in the club for it to become “a big European club” instead of being concerned only with balancing the books. Between the Real, Arsenal and the follies of the recruitment of Bordeaux, there must be a way to find a place.
This season, more than any other, Tavernost appears as the sole decision-maker to the Girondins, JLT is no longer a kind of superintendent that he was. I think the M6 shareholders are not to pleased with him either.
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A couple of new additions and a few departures from the team. I am still weeping for Cavenaghi’s loan to Mallorca, but excited about the addition of Maazou and Ben Khalfallah (both who will feature today.)
The group that will be travelling:
Carrasso Olimpa – Chalme, Ciani, Henrique, Savic, Trémoulinas, Marange – Diarra, Fernando, Plasil, Wendel, Ducasse, Ben Khalfallah – Gouffran Modeste Saivet, Maâzou.
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It’s official! Olympique Lyonnais and Girondins de Bordeaux have reached an agreement for the permanent transfer of Yoann Gourcuff. The price is set at 22M€, to be paid in 3 instalments by December 31st, 2012. Bordeaux can also gain to profit from his resale from OL, to a maximum of 4.5M€. According to Tom Williams on twitter, Gourcuff’s transfer to Lyon is the most expensive transfer between two Ligue 1 clubs, more than the 19.8M€ Monaco paid Rennes for Shabani Nonda in 2000.
On Saturday evening, Gourcuff and his lawyer met with Jean Louis Triaud to discuss his discontent with Bordeaux and announced that he wants to go to Lyon. Jean Tigana dropped him from the starting lineup subsequent to this announcement.
Tigana said that dropping Gourcuff was not a penalty but is in fact a reaction to his inappropriate behaviour of bringing up his transfer right before a very important game in the league. He added that if he did want to punish Gourcuff, he would have left him at home and not even on the bench.
When interviewed on the bench last night against PSG and asked about his impending departure, he stated that he will only talk about the game. When asked if this is his last game with les Girondins, Gourcuff replied: “We’ll see.”
Well, we did see, he was then subbed on for Jussiê around the 70th minute, and provided the corner that assisted Diarra with his headed goal. And that was in fact his last game in the Bordeaux jersey.. Only a mere 2 days passed from the first announcement, his transfer has been agreed on.
So, where do we go from here? Wendel is also slated for a departure. He had asked for a contract extension but Bordeaux was unable to meet his requests (monetary ones, to be clear). Now, with more cash injected into the club from the sale of Gourcuff, we can once again discuss Wendel’s extension. Losing two midfielders that are experts at set pieces could be dangerous, and I think we can at least keep Wendel in lieu of Gourcuff leaving.
As for Gourcuff’s replacement, the best candidate in my mind would be Lille’s Yohan Cabaye (because you can only replace one Yoann with another Yohan). Bordeaux has been interested in Cabaye for a long time now, and this is the perfect opportunity to purchase. Cabaye’s contract with Lille runs until 2013, but apparently there is a clause that states that he can be purchased for 7M€ (we can spend our first instalment signing Cabaye).
All in all, I’m a little disappointed with how Gourcuff handled his transfer. I think Tigana needs to make the point that we can win without him.
Ciani has been interviewed saying:
“Will Yoann be missed a lot in FCGB? Yes and no. Yes, because he is an important player and we know his qualities. But Jussiê played a good game in his position against PSG and we will have other players to make up for Yoann’s absence. It’ll be a blow if Yoann leaves, but that’s football. We’ve already lost Chamakh, but it doesn’t prevent us from winning without him.”
Diarra said:
“Tonight he came into the game and he has been decisive. If he leaves, obviously it will be a pity for Bordeaux but it will be his choice. It is normal for him to think about it. He is a big boy. I talked with him about it, but that will stay between us.”
Gourcuff’s departure is quite a big blow to the structure of the team. From what I saw last night, none of the midfielders have the creative abilities of Gourcuff, and have difficulty getting the ball through to Gouffran. While Jussiê won many of his tackles against Bodmer, he could not get the ball past midfield through to our offense, which really reduced the amount of opportunities to score for us. None of our strikers, neither Gouffran nor Cavenaghi or Bellion played as deep midfield as Chamakh did to assist with the movement of the ball, and now without a playmaker in midfield to move the ball, we can be in big trouble. Bordeaux has always been scoring from setpieces, but with Gourcuff gone, we can only count on Wendel, who might be on his way as well. The most important thing right now is to find a playmaker and try to keep Wendel.
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(Savic provided the goal against Tours.)
I tweet a lot! Follow me on twitter @BordeauxOffside
Top tweets of the week:
1. According to Traoré, last season’s disappointment has no place in le Hallian, especially not with Tigana at the helm. He says that the team has lots of spirit and is working well together.
2. Tigana apparently interested in 22 year old Nice striker Anthony Modeste for 2-3m euros, but Nice is asking for 4m. Modeste spent the last season on loan at Angers, and is relatively inexperienced.
3. Bordeaux non-target Dragan Mjrda announces that he is going to Bordeaux.
4. In a new interview with him, Gourcuff talks about the vacations being too short, about training, about Tigana, and about continuing at Bordeaux.
6. Daisuke Matsui: There have been no contact with Bordeaux.
7. ChristianGourcuff: “Yoann is not inclined to leave [Bordeaux]. We are not looking for other clubs.” Papa Gourcuff reveals that there was contact with Manchester City, that he even met with them on behalf of Yoann but nothing materialized.
I was in the middle of writing a post on the whole (non)transfer saga that went on, but before you know it, it’s the start of a new season. As usual, I’m not good with previews so I’m not sure what to say about the coming season, but I’ll do a little summary of preseason and perhaps what to expect of the group in tomorrow’s opener against Montpellier.
There wasn’t a lot of frenzy on the transfer market for us, but we quietly signed Vujadin Savić, a CB that we’ve been needing to sign since last season. It’s been quite difficult for Savić to integrate into the group as he does not speak a word of French, but certainly the goal against Tours in his debut with us will help him a lot.
From what I saw of the preseason (as in, I saw one friendly against Legia Warsaw), I really think that we will see a lot of Cavenaghi this season. Tigana seems to have a lot of confidence in him, much more than Blanc. He’s been scoring goals left and right in preseason, and I’ve always had belief in his ability to finish and just slot in goals. I say: let ‘em rip Cavé! As for the others, as usual Gourcuff has been indispensable and account for many of the goals, as with Trémoulinas who has been called up by Blanc to play against Norway. I’ve also noticed that Plasil has been playing the kind of role that Chamakh had played. Cavé and him make a great partnership on the pitch, which also obviously translates from their close friendship.
Also, WE STILL DON’T HAVE A REPLACEMENT FOR CHAMAKH! Anyone else a little bit concerned? I know Tigana is counting on Cavenaghi and to some extent Saivet, but buying a replacement is very very important at this point, even if the target is not too experienced.
From all the interviews that I’ve read about Tigana, his training regiment and tactics aren’t a big departure from what we were used to with Blanc. He is someone with the right amount of ambition and I do think he is the right fit.
As for the preview part of this post, both OM and OL have a rocky start to the season, losing and drawing respectively. Montpellier just recorded a shock loss to Hungarian club Gyor and are probably out to prove themselves against Bordeaux (and vice versa). Would their form continue from last season? Bordeaux’s form definitely will not be as crap as how we ended the past season.
The team for tomorrow (no probable lineup from me since I don’t know what Tigana is thinking):
Olimpa, Andrietti – Sané, Savic ,Trémoulinas, Marange – Diarra, Fernando, Gourcuff, Plasil, Wendel, Ducasse – Ayité, Bellion, Cavenaghi, Gouffran, Jussiê, Saivet
I’m pretty damn excited to see Henri Saivet play, though I don’t think he’ll get much playing time in the first game of the season, but I have a feeling that we will see a lot of him.
Carrasso, Ciani, Chalmé, Henrique are suspended, while Ramé (injured the 2nd day of preseason), Keita, Planus (injury sustained at the WC) remain injured injured. Lasne, Sertic, Traoré & Saunier were selected to play with the CFA.
STREAMS WILL BE POSTED IN THE COMMENTS AS THEY APPEAR. It will be best if you check atdhe.net as well as myp2p.eu before the start of the match. I will also be live tweeting the game, so check my twitter for updates.
I forgot to mention winning the Tournoi de Paris after drawing and beating Roma and Porto’s reserve squads with our starting XI, weee!
If you want to read a more insightful preview of the season in general, here is one.
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After a couple days of speculation and news from Serbia (Vojvodina’s unofficial website) that Dragan was on his way to Bordeaux, it looks as if this rumour is now dead. Dragan will not be the new replacement for Mauroune Chamakh. Tigana said yesterday, Sunday August the 1st after the match against FC Porto that possibly a young player will arrive. Triaud also confirmed this morning that Mrdja will not arrive at Bordeaux.
I know nothing about the player, but he looks like a good player. A positive one, infact. The Serbian has signed from Vojvodina for a fee that should be below 5M euros (still unknown). He comes for relatively cheap after scoring 22 goals last season for the Serbian side. In his last two season he has scored an astonishing 35 goals. I’ve got to be honest about this signing, I’m a bit skeptical, and I’ll explain why later. There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic, tho. I think he should be able to score about 18 goals a season if he adapts well. I don’t know if he has any European experience, which isn’t much of a concern now, at least.
Here is a video of him:
Today we played AS Roma. The final score was 1-1 with goals from Wendel (pk) and Brighi. Here are the goals:
Review
We started of well and played a really good first half. We moved the ball around well, quick one touch combinations, good movement. Although, we did look to be playing in a manner very similar to Laurent Blanc’s system, there were some differences. We played in a much faster rhythm and exploited the wings much more. Gourcuff played a lot deeper in the midfield. Instead of playing right behind the strikers he played in almost a distributing role, which, I think, may benefit him more. In the second half, we didn’t so great. We couldn’t connect offensively and were sloppy defensively. To be honest, we looked tired. It’s still very early into the season and this our first real match that served as a good test. Thing will improve.
On another note, Bellion has to go. What did he do this match? Nothing.
Next match tomorrow vs FC Porto
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“I chose Girondins de Bordeaux… I know the values and history of the club Bordeaux. I hope to prove my qualities in the championship of France.”
20 year-old Vujadin Savic commits for 5 years. Bordeaux has finally made their first recruit from Red Star Belgrade for a price between 1 and 2 M euros. Standing an amazing 1.94m, he’s a CB that can also play on the right. The Serbian defender has featured in all levels of the youth category of Serbia’s selection and was captain of the youth team before signing for Bordeaux. Interestingly enough, he is the son of Serbian football legend Dušan Savić, who also played in France for both Lille and Cannes.
“We used to always play for the title. This also reflects the philosophy of Bordeaux. My goal is to find my place in this team and try to play every year in the European Cup and if possible the Champions League.”
Although, Savic does not speak a word of French. he does, however, have a dual nationality, for both parents have French nationalities.
To my surprise, it was actually Tigana who recruited him. Savic was being followed by Manchester City and Newcastle in the EPL but he opted to play with us. Great work by Tigana, (maybe he’ll recruit Chamacho from Flamengo, for us 
)!
Savic is expected to play in today’s friendly. He’ll come on in the second half as a substitute and will probably play about 30 minutes. He has great aerial ability and technique. It appears as if he’s a great addition.
Diarra and Gourcuff will stay
On other news, it was announced yesterday that Diarra will not go to Marseille. He will remain with the club unless a foreign club comes and pays his clause. Likewise for Gourcuff; he will remain at the club this season. He in particular looked great in the friendly Tuesday. I’m happy to keep him.
Friendly today: Girondins de Bordeaux will face Tours FC tonight at 19h, near Dinard. 1pm EST.
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It the start of the 2010/11 season and les girondins look ready to bounce back from a disappointing end to last season. Jean Tigana led his first training session along side Pavon.
The training session was the typical recovery/fitness practice. The players did some jogging in the forest and some ball work and technical training on the lawn.
Eric Bedouet, the clubs physical trainer, currently being recruited by Laurent Blanc, offered a little scrimmage between the players, nine against nine. He concluded the training with some jogging and stretching to end the first meeting.
Tigana will take these next couple of weeks to see the squad and some of the players. He’ll decide who he’ll want to keep, who will go on loan and who will be transferred. He assured us that his ambition is to win something this year!
25 players except the internationals (Carrasso, Diarra, Gourcuff and Planus) were on the lawn today. Some players arrived late, which Tigana “found surprising”. I imagine he wasn’t to pleased about. 
We also had some returning faces on the squad: Ayité, Diabaté, Ducasse, Lasne, Marange, Olimpa and Saunier, who all cam back from loan. I have some good expectations for Saunier. I hope he remains with the team. Ducasse should be a good back up to Diarra after solidifying himself on Lorient; I expect him to stay.
In Tigana’s presser, he reviled that he was expecting some players to pick up a few pounds, but everyone one was in relatively good shape, which I will take as a good omen, especially for Cavenaghi!
Transfers
Tigana also had a few thing to say about transfers: “With Bobo, there has been no contact whatsoever,” he said. And my favourite. “For Trezeguet, we must see the possibilities.” If you don’t know already, I’m a huge advocate for natural goal-scorers. Trezeguet may be on the wrong side on 30 but he has one more, maybe two more good season in him. He is the type of player that makes the difference between losing to Lyon/Marseille 1-0 or winning 1-0.
Since we are on the subject of transfers, we have also been linked to Remy. France football reports that he is our number one priority to replace Chamakh. Also, It looks like we are on the verge of signing Foued Kadir of Valenciennes, according to many sites. He is a play maker, I think, he’ll most likely be the understudy to Gourcuff.
Finally, the best for last. Hatem Ben Arfa! Take of it what you will. Manchester United are also reported to be interested. I don’t see it happening but you never know.
The New Kits
The 2010-2011 kits we’re presented today
From left to right: Home, Away & Third
The Home kit is the traditional Marine with the white scapular. The scapular seems to be a bit to high but it’s very nice. The Away kit, although not the traditional Marine & Blanc. It has a very appealing design, and the tan colour has also been considered an official Bordeaux colour since the 90’s. The Alternate (Third) kit has a simplistic design but the colour skeam is…. well… I won’t say. This kit should have the ugly KIA logo.
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Everyone is suffering from World Cup fever, myself included, so there isn’t much coming from the Bordeaux camp. But perhaps it’s time to do a little update on the 4 Bordelais in the French camp.
Firstly, some real updates in the form of my tweets this week:
1.Rumour is circulating that former Bordelais Obertan might return to France, though very likely to ASSE, or maybe to Galatasaray.
2. Adbou Traoré to be loaned out to Toulouse?
3. Training kit for Bordeaux leaked.
4. Surprise, Yoann Gourcuff is married (to Thierry Henry’s wife).
5. Lille and St. Étienne interested in Gouffran.
6. Puma releases new ball for Ligue 1…I’m not a fan.
7. According to le Parisien, Bordeaux are now tracking Galatasaray’s Sabri Sarıoğlu, a right winger who can also play wingback/rightback.
8. Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud defends the France national team and is confident in their abilities.
9. Friendlies are released for FCGB: Lille, Ajaccio, Legia Warszawa, Tours and participation in the tournois de Paris, playing Roma & Porto. Exact schedule is available here.
Remember you can follow me on twitter @BordeauxOffside.
As all of you probably already know, Carrasso, Les Bleus’ third keeper injured his left hamstring in training (it’s a muscle spasm) earlier this week and is expected to be out for a month. Thankfully there are 2 keepers before him but as we all know shit happens (i.e. when Keita had to start for us…). The FIFA rule is that after the first game is played, there will be no replacements allowed, and Carrasso was declared to be unfit 2 days ago, France having played the previous Friday. They submitted an appeal for an exemption to call up Ruffier from Monaco, but that request was turned down today.
Now Carrasso will sit out the World Cup and France will be whittled down to 22 men for the rest of the tournament. Ho hum, he seemed to have enjoy beating out Mikaël Landreau for that 3rd keeper spot too.
Next topic on the agenda is the issue of Gourcuff’s isolation and our golden boy being bullied. Reports are arising that Gourcuff has been eating his meals alone because no one would sit with him, and that people are reluctant to train with him as well. Based on my pictorial research, Gourcuff’s only friends in the NT seem to be his Bordeaux teammates Carrasso (who is his seatmate) and Planus, as well as Lyon’s Toulalan and friend Lloris. Maybe it’s the nature of his character (the fast kind of partying lifestyle apparently no longer appeals to him, and he prefers to sit around at home), or perhaps it’s the the prestige of his upbringing (the son of an acclaimed former player and coach), but many French players (Ribery, etc.) prefer not to talk to or befriend him.
(Old-fashioned souls sticking together.)
Speculation are now surfacing that his isolation and strained relationships with much of the team are now affecting his performance on the pitch and ability to communicate with the other starters (though Gourcuff chalks this up to the annoying buzzing of the vuvuzelas.)
(Gourcuff, the loner.*)
Whatever the case is, it seems now that his performance against Uruguay was not satisfactory. Despite being Domenech’s clear favourite and the coach’s pet, Gourcuff will not start in tomorrow’s game against Mexico, and might only come off the bench (this is purely in the realm of speculation). His role will be filled with Toulalan and Ribery, with Anelka pushing forward.
*By the way, note that he is NOT tweeting. Gourcuff does not have a twitter, those of you fangirls be warned.
(Marc enjoying the benefits of the luxury hotel, oh wait — no, that’s the physio.)
First time WC’er Marc Planus is doing just fine, maybe with a bit of extra physio work to help him through the injury he sustained in the past season. While he isn’t having a stellar time playing for Les Bleus…he seems to be enjoying himself.
To be honest I have no clue what’s going on with him ’cause no one bothers to report on some substitute defender who wasn’t even called up before the warmup against China. Here’s a picture anyway.
Unlike Gourcuff, Alou Diarra integrates into the group perfectly, with him considered the stingiest of the group (from the videos released Euro2008…). Here he is flipping through a comic rendition of les Bleus. Actually a picture of Alou not flipping comics. I will now look at lots of Diarra photos and try to memorize his face.
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Hi everyone, My name is Anicho. This will be my first blog for theOffside, and I will be Jennifer’s new co-blogger. I look forward to helping Jennifer keep you updated on Les Girondins for the next couple of years. I’ve been following Bordeaux for about four season, now. It was under Ricardo in 2007 that I began to watch, but it wasn’t until Laurent Blanc’s first season with the club that I decided to become a fan, and I’ve been a fan ever since.
Yesterday the transfer window officially opened. I don’t expect Bordeaux to be very active in the next few weeks during the World Cup, but hopefully we’ll hear some interesting news, especially in regards to Chamakh’s replacement. So far there has not been any concrete rumours; we have been linked to players like, Mario Mandzukic from Dinamo Zagreb, Ljuboja from Grenoble, Bobo from Besiktas, and even Brandoa ! (Incredible!) We have also been reported to be following Cabaye, Dieumerci Mbokanito of Standard de Liege and Issiar Dia. We haven’t been linked to Gameiro as of yet; he appears to have a price tag of 15 million euros which I believe is too much for the club.
At the moment I doubt the legitimacy of many of the rumours because Jean Tigana is not even here! He’s in Brazil right now watch matches in Sao Paulo. I’m hoping that he’ll find some really exciting young players to add to our squad with the help of Ricardo who practically set the frame work to our current squad.
Looking into next season, I think for the most part we will keep the majority of our players. I can only see Alou and or Gourcuff leaving due to none European qualification, and Bellion, Gouffran, Henrique and maybe Cavenaghi leaving due to being surplus to requirements or playing time issues.
Alot of people have already begun to write us off and seem to think that Bordeaux are done and will not reach the same heights as the did in 2009, or that Bordeaux will fall into helm of mediocrity and become an average team. I think, this team (If it remains intact) is still very capable of competing with Marseille and Lyon, although they still do have a superior team to us. At the very least, we should be competing with Lille for the final Champions league place. After what we achieved last year, I don’t see why we can’t achieve similar results with one or two good additions.
Last season it was not our individual quality that had won us the title; it was hard work and team spirit instilled into the team by Blanc and Gassets, that helped us win our first L1 title in 10 years. The never say die attitude, sweat until every last drop of sweat is gone attitude. It was our mentality that set us appear from Lyon and Marseille last season, the beautiful football only follows after the team spirit. I think Jean Tigana will instills a similar philosophy of worth ethic, so why not? Why can’t we do it again?
If you have any questions, no problem don’t hesitate to ask.
Allez Bordeaux!
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