At the World Cup this summer, both England and France fans were dealt some disappointing blows. Sure, the details of what happened in the squads may be different. Arguably, what happened to France was by far worse. While England merely fizzled out (with a few sparks-both good and bad) during the tournament, France exploded. I don’t want to go into details for fear of triggering any post-traumatic stress symptoms fans may still have. So I encourage you to read this (France) and this (England) post at your own risk. World Cup Blog assumes no responsibility for any rage, sadness or deep depression you may fall into after…

But, following those disappointing weeks and the furious pace of the media in both countries trying to find someone to blame – the Federations are back in the spotlight to see how effective their changes are when both countries participate in friendlies this week. And while friendlies, especially the August friendly, aren’t normally important and don’t mean anything in terms of qualification points – this friendly may turn out to be very important for both federations, coaches and the players chosen. So here is how each country has attempted to mend the damage that caused their failures this summer..

France Football Federation (FFF)

• Confirmed Blanc, who had been announced as Domenech’s successor prior to the tournament, as the next coach of Les Bleus;
• The President of the FFF, Jean-Pierre Escalettes, resigned for his role in causing (and not preventing) the catastrophe;
• Opened an official investigation into the events that transpired during the World Cup (leading to massive political jockeying to elect new President to replace the one that resigned);
• Approved Blanc’s request to make all 23 players involved in France’s World Cup ineligible to be called up for August friendly;
• Celebrated an U19 European Championship win (and then embarrassed themselves by getting into a pissing contest with media consultant during celebratory speech);
• Unanimously voted that 5 players be held for additional investigation by the Disciplinary Committee;

For better of worse – all this (plus a few smaller changes not necessarily worth mentioning here) – led to the call-up of an almost entire new squad for France to face Norway on August 11th.

KEEPERS: Stephane Ruffier (Monaco), Nicolas Douchez (Rennes)

DEFENDERS: Rod Fanni (Rennes), Adil Rami (Lille), Philippe Mexes (AS Roma), Sakho (Paris SG), Benedict Trémoulinas (Bordeaux), Aly Cissokho (Lyon), Mathieu Debuchy (Lille).

MIDFIELD: Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid), Moussa Sissoko (Toulouse), Yann M’Vila (Rennes), Samir Nasri (Arsenal ), Yohan Cabaye (Lille), Charles N’Zogbia (Wigan), Blaise Matuidi (Saint Etienne).

STRIKERS: Hatem Ben Arfa (Marseille), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Loïc Remy (Nice), Jimmy Briand (Lyon), Jeremy Menez (AS Rome), Guillaume Hoarau (Paris SG).

ENGLAND FA

• Confirmed Fabio Capello will remain in charge of England after World Cup based on a “football criteria” (then revealed his assessment of players without his permission);
• “Outlined” the FA’s plans to give England “a better chance in the future” – which included working closely with club academies, encouraging licensing of English coaches and managers and approving Capello’s “request” to have an English coach join his set-up;
• Lowered ticket prices for England’s upcoming game vs Hungary as a “we’re sorry” olive branch to fans
• Boys U17 wins Nordic Title
• Boys U19 successfully progress to semi-finals of the European Championship before losing to Spain

These tweaks of the system resulted in Capello calling up a squad filled with familiar and new faces for England when they face Hungary at home on August 11.

KEEPERS:  Ben Foster (Birmingham), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Paul Robinson (Blackburn Rovers)

DEFENDERS:  Wes Brown (Manchester United), Gary Cahill (Bolton Wanderers), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Michael Dawson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), John Terry (Chelsea)

MIDFIELD:  Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Aston Villa), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)

STRIKERS:  Darren Bent (Sunderland), Carlton Cole (West Ham United), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Bobby Zamora (Fulham)

JUDGMENT TIME

The biggest difference between the two strategies, for me at least, is the decision on what was at fault. England seem to think that they have the right people performing the tasks- its just the system they are using that is at fault. Whereas France seems to think they have the right system, just the wrong people managing it.  I’m not so sure you can separate the two so cleanly.

For me, it is too early to tell who is right. Of course, they could both be wrong.  I can’t really speak for England fans, but as a France fan I’m cautious in putting my faith in the FFF.  Because despite the public way in which they’ve announced changes to make it seem like real progress is being made, they are still a silly bunch who are more concerned about their egos and saving face than putting the good of the team first (I only have to point to Houllier’s recent public spat as an example).  There are differing opinions on how brilliant of an idea it is to suspend all 23 players considering the Euro 2012 qualifiers are just around the corner.  I, for one, am glad.  Sure, that means we will be entering qualification a little rusty.  But, forcing ourselves to think out of the box instead of relying on what “feels comfortable” isn’t going to work either.  Some of these players may never receive another call-up for France in their careers – but for others, it creates a real chance to challenge the 23 players who had largely owned their spot in the national team for several years.  Though the game means nothing and this young group of players have never played together before – this is a team that will be hungry to prove themselves to Blanc and France.

On the flip side of the coin…we have the English FA who, for better or worse, did not bend to media pressure and public sentiment to make significant changes in their team and the way their federation conducted themselves.  And they’ve had their fair share of embarrassments since the World Cup, such as the Capello index being revealed without his approval.

So where do you fall on this debate? Do you prefer the tweaking ’till you get it right strategy of England or the blank slate strategy of France (new coach, new team, new captain, new Federation President)?

Houllier’s lack of class this time definitely did not get a thumbs up from me…

Well, if you are a France fan, you might replace “entertain” with “mortify” or “embarrass.”  A number of dramatic and laughable incidents have continued to emerge from the French Football Federation (FFF) headquarters- proving that replacing former President Escalettes (who “voluntarily” resigned after World Cup debacle) with more of the same does not miraculously change everything.   The bureaucratic leaders at the FFF continue to remain self-indulgent egos who are more likely to pat themselves on the back than take responsibility for a damn thing (unless, of course, it turned out well).

And while Escalettes was indeed the biggest sycophant of them all, there are many who weren’t far behind him in that contest. One of them being former Liverpool and Lyon manager, Gerard Houllier.  Now, Houllier has managed to avoid most of the fall out regarding the crisis of the senior team at the World Cup because as National Technical Director (DTN), he is responsible for every team BUT the senior team (ie youth and development teams only).  Let the games begin (as the insanity continues)!

Round 1

Unfortunately, not everyone bought Houllier’s excuse- including former Bleus alum and World Cup tv consultant, Christophe Dugarry.  Dugarry publicly criticised the “triumvirate” in the FFF – Escalettes, Domenech and Houllier- and declared they were all three responsible for the state of French football and needed to go…

Round 2

This obviously irked Houllier, who didn’t like the company he was being put in (Domenech and Escalettes). So, feeling the need to restore his bruised ego, he took a jab at Dugarry while celebrating the  U19 European Championship the Bleuts won this summer, beating Spain.

Essentially, at a time when Houllier was looking pretty good and should  have been high on euphoria, he felt the need to say this…

I would first like to pay tribute to the team of France’s U19. This is a great picture that our youth have given the team of France. And I would like to dedicate this victory to Dugarry who doesnt think much about National Technical Director.  This is the fifth time in fifteen years that France has won a European championship. Behind [the team], we [the Federation] work well and contrary to what Christopher said, we get results.”

As a France fan, I can’t tell you how great it is when our leaders use our moments of victory to satisfy their own personal disputes. What more could we ask for?  Did I mention he did this in the opening speech at a meeting to celebrate the title at the FFF with the press?  That’s pure class.

Round 3

Christophe Duggary, proud man that he is, couldn’t let it go and responded in a column in L’Equipe…

Gerard Houllier is nice to think of me, I am touched that he dedicated this title to me. I commend the youth for their title, but I hope that the Federation has other global ambitions. From what I see, [by] looking at the history of  the U20 and U17 FIFA World Cup is that France have failed to qualify 24 out of 30 times!

The column continues, but basically Duggary accuses the FFF and Houllier of taking credit for more than they have actually accomplished and implied [to put it nicely] that Houllier’s performance had been sub-par..

Round 4

Now feeling aggrieved, Houllier whipped out his own numbers and stats to prove just how successful he has been…

I am delighted that Christophe Dugarry began to document [France's record] himself because before he did not do so.  Among our youth, in the European rankings, we moved from sixth to second. I would add that it’s been two consecutive years that the U17 and U19 teams have qualify for the final tournaments, boys and girls. Finally, since 1996, [there has been] a total of 15 World Championships for the U17 and U20 teams.  France has had 5 entries, which is not bad considering there are a few skilled European [teams]. In fifteen years, France has [won] a World title, the same as Spain. Only Portugal and the former USSR have two.

If the U19s refuse to enter the U20 FIFA World Cup, would anyone blame them (I jest..kind of)?  But, you have to agree that it seems even when France wins, the team and the fans lose…

I should add that Houllier isn’t the first of the “triumerverate” to get into a public dispute with Christophe – you can see his interactions (to put it nicely) with Rayray in the video below (in French, but still funny to watch them)…

To continue keeping tabs on all the French Federation absurdity, visit us at the France World Cup blog. The only guarantee I can make is that you will be entertained…or frustrated.  One of the two.

Austria celebrate their win over the Netherlands…and 3rd place in Group A.

Fans hoping to see a rematch of the Netherlands-Spain World Cup final played out on a younger stage will be disappointed to learn that they will have to wait at least another two years for the senior European Championships in 2012 after the Netherlands were elimated today.  Because only the top three teams in each group qualify for the U20 FIFA World Cup next year, the Dutch team’s elimination in last place in their group also rules out their participation along with Italy.   Each group’s third place participant – Austria and Portugal – will have to hope to avenge their losses next summer as their failure to qualify for the tournament’s semifinals ends their run in this competition.  As those teams head home, the teams remaining – Spain, France, Croatia and England – are preparing to meet each other in two semifinals on Tuesday (July 27).

GROUP A

ENGLAND 1 – 1 FRANCE

France took advantage of their lead in Group A after beating both the Netherlands (4-1) and Austria (5-0) in the first two group games by resting several key players from XI that started in the two previous games.  France’s captain, Gueida Fofana (defense, Le Havre)  as well as Chris Mavinga (defense, Liverpool) and Francis Coquelin (midfield, Arsenal) were rested the entire game.  Meanwhile, Alexandre Lacazette (forward, Lyon) as well as Antoine Griezmann (midfielder, Real Sociedad) and Timothee Kolodziejczak (defense, Lyon) were not summoned for action until well into the second half.  Many of the players rested for France had played a majority of minutes in the two previous games and had picked up a yellow card (Fofana, Mavinga, Lacazette, Kolodziejczak) in the tournament.  By using these players sparingly, France’s coach, Smerecki, ensured they would be available in the semifinal against Croatia.

Meanwhile, England only made three changes to the XI that started against the Netherlands- leaving out Nathan Baker (defense,Villa), Reece Brown (defense, Manchester United) and Matthew Phillips (midfield, Wycombe Wanderers).  Of those rested for England, only Reece Brown had picked up a yellow card in the two opening matches.

Despite the numerous changes in the lineup, France maintained the attacking prowess they exhibited in the first two matches- forcing England’s keeper (Declan Rudd, Norwich) into several important saves.  England appeared sluggish in the opening half, only managing to get two attempts on goal.  After the break, England did not initially appear to fare much better- and France continued to apply pressure.  Shortly after, France were rewarded with the opening goal in the 56′ as Tafer (forward, Lyon) scored for Les Bleus in his first appearance in the tournament.  In the closing third of the match, England became increasingly dangerous and were unlucky not to equalize when Matthew Phillips scored in the 3rd minute of overtime after coming on as a substitute.

In the end, neither France nor England needed a win to progress and they qualified as first and second in the group respectively.

NETHERLANDS 0 – 1 AUSTRIA

After seemingly bouncing back from their opening loss to France in game 1 by beating England on Day 2, the Netherlands were unable to challenge England and France for a spot in the semifinals.  Coming into the match, Austria seemed to have little chance of progressing thanks to consecutive losses in the first two matches and a staggering goal difference after being slaughtered 5-0 by France.

The Netherlands started this match with only one change from their starting XI vs England.  Imad Najah (defender, PSV) was replaced by Tim Eekman (defender, Feyendoor) after picking up two yellows in the first two games.  Austria made 4 changes to the lineup that succumbed to France in the second game of the group – leaving out Mahmud Imamoglu (defense, First Vienna), David Alaba (midfield, Bayern), George Tiegl (midfield, Red Bull Salzburg) and Marco Meilinger (forward, Red Bull Salzburg).

Both teams approached the match cautiously in the first half, not wanting to ruin their chance of qualifying for the semifinals, qualification for the U20 FIFA World Cup, exposure on a bigger stage or risk their pride.  Given the pressure both teams were under, it took a while for the match to build up to a shot on goal- almost twenty minutes.  The first shot, produced from a free kick, was the first of only five attempts Austria made the entire match.  Both teams had opportunities (though few and far in-between) to take the lead in the second half- but key saves from the keepers on both ends kept the score 0-0.

The start of the second half saw Austria push back more, but the turning point of the match occurred 10 minutes from time when Bacuna, a Dutch defender, was shown a red card for a hard foul.  A few minutes later, as both teams became increasingly desperate to end the game on top, the Dutch committed a foul in the box. Through a penalty taken by  Djuricin (forward, Hertha), Austria took the lead 3 minutes from time.

For a short period of time, Austria were set to progress to the semifinals as England had failed to equalize in their game against France.  However, despite the dissapointing news received a few minutes later  (that England had equalized) – Austria’s 3rd place finish, qualification for the 2010 U20 FIFA World Cup and Dutch scalp will allow them to return home with their pride intact.

The same cannot be said of the Dutch team – whose performance can only be summarized as a disappointment.

GROUP A FINAL STANDINGS

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GROUP B

SPAIN 3 – 0 ITALY

With a third consecutive win and with France only managing a draw with England, Spain are the only team left in the tournament able to boast a 100% winning record.  Spain’s first two wins against Portugal and Croatia coupled with results of the other group matches allowed them to secure qualification before game 3.  With that security, Spain made six changes to their starting XI.  But despite Spain having already secured their progress to the semifinals in the previous game and lineup changes, they continued to play with the flair and energy they demonstrated in the competition previously.

Unsurprisingly, Spain dominated possession from the start of the game and Italy, at times, seemed unable to keep up with Spain’s quick passing style.  Italy were put on warning from the 3rd minute after Spain almost took an early lead which ended up going wide (barely).  It should be said that despite going scoreless, Italy did manage to get in a few good shots-and according to UEFA stats, Italy barely out-shot Spain in goal attempts (8-6).  However, Italy’s downfall was a collective poor defensive performance.  The Italian team appeared sluggish in comparison to the pace of the Spanish.  Worse, Italy’s inability to gain possession led to them to commit fouls both out of frustration and simply because they were outclassed (and thus unable to get the ball cleanly even if they wanted).

After conceding two goals in the first half, Italy tried to rally for a comeback- but their movements forward left them exposed at the back.  Spain took advantage of the space and continued to get themselves into dangerous positions.  In the 57th minute, Italian defender Crescenzi committed a hard foul on Spain’s Calvente in the box- and a penalty was granted to help Spain solidify their win and dash Italy’s hopes.

As Spain moves forward to face England in the semifinals, they may find comfort in the fact that the last time they qualified for the semifinals, they won the tournament (2007).  Thus far, they’ve managed to thrive under enormous pressure- but it remains to be seen if they can continue performing in the same manner or if they’ve peaked too soon.

Meanwhile, Italy leave this tournament having only secured a single point in their draw against Croatia and having failed to score a single goal.  Their performance at this tournament, coupled with the performance of their senior team at the World Cup, will have made for a disappointing summer for Italy fans.

PORTUGAL 0 – 5 CROATIA

Croatia have managed to progress to the semifinals of the this tournament in their first appearance- and they managed to do it with style.

In the opening minutes of the game, Portugal seemed to start off a bit brighter with some good opening attempts.  But, by the 19th minute, Croatia managed to contain Portugal and take the lead through a Andrijasevic penalty after Ozobic was brought down in the area.  After that, Portugal were unable to get ahold of the game and seemed unsure how to stem the tide of Croatian attacks.  Six minutes after the penalty, Pamic doubled the Croatian lead with a quick header.  At the 37th minute, Croatia found another goal through Pamic who scored from a 30m free kick to make it 3-0 at half-time.

Shortly after the break, Croatia appeared to run into a bump in the road when their captain, Kelic, was issued a straight red.  But, Portugal failed to capitalize on their numbers advantage and a mere 13 minutes later they were down 4-0 as Ozobic scored for Croatia.  After only pausing to allow a quick Portuguese substitute, Pamic completed his hat trick in the 69′ and made it 5-0 for Croatia.

GROUP B FINAL STANDINGS

Spain celebrating their win over Portugal…

Spain became the first team to qualify for the semifinals on Day 2 of the U19 European Championships Group Stage.  Spain’s second consecutive win means they will feature in the semifinals for the first time since they won the tournament in 2007.  Meanwhile, Italy failed to score in their second consecutive game, Croatia failed to take advantage of an extra man against Italy, France continues their scoring streak with five more goals against Austria and Netherlands rebounded from their game 1 loss by beating England (making Group A very interesting going into Day 3).

SPAIN 2 – 1 PORTUGAL

In a rematch of the World Cup round of 16 between the two neighbors on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain once again emerged victorious.  The Portugese team was confident going into the match having beaten Spain 1-0 in the qualifying round, but couldn’t best the two goals scored by Daniel Pacheco (Liverpool).  Pacheco’s second goal, which was scored in the final minutes of overtime, was the reward of a game largely dominated by Spain not only by possession but by quality of chances as well.  Portugal can thank their goalkeeper, Tiago Maia, for keeping them in the game as he denied several promising shots by Spain in the opening minutes of the match.

CROATIA 0 – 0 ITALY

The losers of both Group B matches from Day 1 faced each other, with both sides appearing desperate for a win.  In the opening moments, Croatia looked to be leaving Italy in the dust as they got themselves into several dangerous positions- particuarly a freekick from Ozobić and a shot Vukušić that just barely sailed over the goal.  But, in typical Italian fashion, Italy managed to absorb the Croatian attack and slowly inched their way back into the match, despite being a man down for the last 30 minutes of normal time once left back Michelangelo Albertazzi received two yellow cards in less than 2 minutes.  The top goal scorer from qualifying, Destro, managed to force a few saves from the Croatian keeper but ultimately neither team were rewarded for their diligence and entertaining performances.

ENGLAND 0 – 1 NETHERLANDS

After losing 4-1 to France on Day 1 (including conceding an own goal), the Netherlands team definitely had something to prove in this game.  The England team being from England almost always have something to prove- especially after some harsh criticism in the press on their first game against Austria.  Given the pressure on both teams, the stage was set for an entertaining game- and though the Netherlands dominated most periods of the game, the score line is an accurate reflection of how the game felt to watch.  Throughout the game, England managed to carve out a few good opportunities, but didn’t manage to become dangerous.  While the Netherlands only had 4 attempts on goal, England didn’t manage a single shot on goal except a goal that was a ruled to be a result of a handball, voiding the equalizer.  Both England and Netherlands have the opportunity to advance – though the Netherlands will be facing almost certainly eliminated Austria while England face the group’s top side (and tournament host), France.

FRANCE 5 – 0 AUSTRIA

Two doubles by Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad) and Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon) and a single effort by Enzo Reale (Lyon) helped to continue the winning streak France established in their Day 1 game against the Netherlands.  In the first two qualifying games, France have score 9 goals- which is 2 goals more than the sum of goals scored by their Group A competitors combined (NED=2,ENG=3,AUT=2).  So while France seem to be thriving in front of a home crowd, it remains to be seen if they can sustain both the motivation and these types of performances for the rest of the competition.  Fortunately, the U19 tournament is much shorter than senior tournaments and thus the fear of “peaking too soon” is much less dangerous.  Fans of France will be happy to know that the goal scorers in this game weren’t the only bright spots-both Mavinga (formerly PSG,now Liverpool) and Gael Kakuta (Chelsea) were also a pleasure to watch…

I also recommend checking out The Offside-Ligue 1 Prospect blog for reactions and reviews of games!

In one of his pre-World Cup posts, Chris provided the average ages of all the teams and listed them youngest to oldest.  In hindsight- the list is even more fascinating to me.  After revisiting this list, I think its fair to say some of the most exciting teams to watch at the World Cup were some of the youngest- Ghana (24.1), North Korea (24.8), Germany (25), Cameroon (25.2), Spain (25.9) and Chile (25.9) were the six youngest teams at this tournament.

And not only were these teams exciting- but they were also some of the best success stories of the tournament.

• Four out of six of these teams qualified for the knock-out stages (Ghana, Germany, Spain and Chile)
• Half of them were in the quarters (Ghana, Germany, Spain)
• A quarter of them were in the semis (Germany and Spain)
• One of them won the whole thing (Spain..I hope this was obvious)!

These facts- coupled with discovering a country’s next “[insert each country's international legacy here]” make the under-19 European Championship an even more exciting prospect.  If you aren’t convinced then I suggest revisiting Chris’s post to check out the top six oldest teams who played (and largely failed) at the World Cup…

For those already convinced, here is a primer on what you can expect from the tournament which kicks off tomorrow (Sunday, July 18th) in Northern France…

When and Where is this? The competition kicks off tomorrow (Sunday, July 18th) and is being held in Northern France.

Competition Format: The competition has three stages- a qualification round, an “elite” round and then a final round.  The qualification stage which kicked off in September was made of groups of four where teams played “round robin” style both home and away and the top two teams in each group advanced to the “elite level.”  A number of 3rd placed teams also advance (depending on number of teams competing) based on their records versus the top two teams that automatically advanced.

The elite level took place last Spring where seven teams won the opportunity to join France in the finals tournament.

The final tournament consists of two groups of four teams where the top two teams in the group advanced to the semi finals and then the winners of those matches play in the finals.

Which teams are in the finals? Honestly? Most of the countries you’d expect with only a few surprises- Austria, Croatia, England, France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.  It seems Germany used up all its youth at the World Cup finals…

And what are the Groups and Match Schedules? Good question – Screen captures courtesy of UEFA.com…

So, no chance of an ESP-NED rematch unless both teams make it out of their groups?  Is this likely and who are the favorites?

Well, historically, Spain have qualified the most times since the U-19 championship replaced the U-18 tournament in 2001.  Including this years tournament, they’ve qualified seven times beating England who have qualified six times and German and France who have made it to this point five times.

Of the seven times Spain have qualified they’ve won it four times (2002, 2004, 2006, 2007).  France, who historically dominated the U-18 competition, have only won this tournament once (2005) along with Italy (2003), Germany (2008) and Ukraine (2009).

But, take all those historical indications of success with a grain of salt as Spain have failed to make it out of the group stage since their win 2007.  And even their coach has recently admitted that the youth teams in Spain are under more pressure than ever to succeed since the success of their senior team both in 2008 and this summer.

France are also considered favorites no only because they are hosts but also because most of the team was present at the U-17 finals two years ago where they lost to Spain.  France have a tough first game against the Netherlands who beat France last October 4-2- but the coach is optimistic that the thrill of having their families watch them will help France overcome the Dutch who are suffering from player suspensions.

The current titleholders, Ukraine, did not qualify.

And you really think future stars of the game will be there? Yes- at least the future stars of European teams.  When France won the U-18 edition (which later became the U-19 tournament), their team included William Gallas, Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet- Henry and Trezeguet won the World Cup with the France senior team two years later.  Other players who dominated this tournament that may seem familiar to you include Gianluigi Buffon, Francesco Totti, Andrea Pirlo, Robbie Keane, Fernando Torres, David Silva and Sergio Ramos…and they are just the top top of a long list.

In about a week, and once the first controversial call has been made, googling a referee’s home address, scouting the area with streetview, writing death threats and painting little Hitler mustaches on his face will become one of the Internets favorite past times.

Carrying out these hate and anger filled tasks is of course much easier, when you emotionally distance yourself from your target as much as possible. Which isn’t that difficult, as referees are usually presented to us as rather flat anonymous characters, who are just getting in the way of enjoying a football match.

Giving a more in-depth and balanced insight into the work of referees and their private lives with friends and family, is the documentary feature Les Arbitres (The Referees – or Referees at Work/Kill the Referee) by French filmmakers Yves Hinant and Jean Libon.

A film crew followed a couple of referees and their families around during the European Championships in Austria and Switzerland. Thanks to the support of UEFA, the film makers were also given access to the recorded headset conversations between the referees during a match.

So, what do we learn from the documentary? As the above clip shows, we learn that Swiss referee Massimo Busacca doesn’t like all the gesturing of Greek midfielder Karagounis. We also learn that the role of the fourth official is really only to try to distract the referee with useless small talk about the weather. They can’t count down to zero properly either. A larger part of the movie is dedicated to English referee Howard Webb, whose officiating of the Austria – Poland group stage match wasn’t particularly well received by Polish fans – to put it mildly – and who was subsequently given the standard Internet treatment. We meet his family, see a debriefing by UEFA and their analysis of the mistakes and are generally given a feel for some of the things that take place behind the scenes during a major tournament. And without spoiling too much, Peter Fröjdfeldt is the Matthew McConaughey of referees.

Les Arbitres has toured a couple of film festivals so far. I haven’t yet read anything about a potential date for an English DVD/BD, but it has been released on DVD in Germany in time for the World Cup. As part of the launch PR, the German video portal MyVideo is streaming the documentary online. As a lot of the action centers around Howard Webb, it’s in English for the most part. The more Italian, French and to some extent Spanish classes you took at school the better. I think English + Italian will allow you to watch 90% of the movie. Otherwise you may need to type some German subtitles into Google Translate. Every ten minutes, the site will interrupt the movie to try and sell you a Toshiba TV, promising you your money back, should Germany win the World Cup, but I think it’s still worth taking a sneak peak.

>> Referees at Work (German subtitles)

Of the 5 sites polled, these are your (rough) Euro 2008 odds (subject to change – maybe):

Germany – 9/2
Italia – 5/1
Spain – 13/2
France – 7/1
Netherlands – 9/1
Portugal - 10/1
Czech Republic – 14/1
Croatia – 14/1
Switzerland – 21/1
Romania – 24/1

The other teams – Russia, Greece, Sweden, Turkey, Poland and Austria – are just below, and you can find more extensive odds here.

As far as the odds go, it’s hard to argue between Germany and Italia being 1a. and 1b. favorites at the moment. Although, I’m sure certain Azzurri fans would contend that the team has very little chance of winning anything with Robert Donadoni at the helm. Nevertheless, you heard it here first: On June 29th in Vienna, Germany and Italia will have a rematch of the classic in Dortmund.

They have created an online petition to try to get their team banned from the Euro 2008 competition. Yes, the very same competition that Austria and Switzerland will jointly host.

In an open letter, its creators explain: ‘Dear friend. Your entering this site is no coincidence.

‘It means you care about attractive football. It means you appreciate a blind pass that actually reaches its destination. It means you thoroughly enjoy amazing dribbling skills.

‘It means you jump for joy when a free kick is expertly bent into the far corner of the goal. In short: it means you love this great sport for the sheer beauty of it.

‘However, it also means you fall into a dismal state of depression when watching a match featuring the Austrian national team.

‘For all those displays of true skill, on a field taken by our team, occur about as frequently as meteorite impacts.’

Even though the petition will in no way, shape or form actually lead to Austria’s ban, you have to admire its moxie.

Here’s a look at the upcoming games.

Friday, 07 September 2007
Austria v Japan, 19:30
Switzerland v Chile, 17:00
Bahrain v Jordan
Solomon Islands v Vanuatu
New Caledonia v Fiji

Saturday, 08 September 2007
European Championship Qualifying
Belarus v Romania, G, 17:00
Croatia v Estonia, E, 19:30
England v Israel, E, 17:00
Georgia v Ukraine, B, 16:00
Hungary v Bosnia-Herzegovina, C, 15:00
Iceland v Spain, F, 21:00
Italy v France, B, 19:50
Latvia v Northern Ireland, F, 17:15
Luxembourg v Slovenia, G, 16:00
Malta v Turkey, C, 18:30
Moldova v Norway, C, 19:00
Netherlands v Bulgaria, G, 19:30
Portugal v Poland, A, 21:00
Russia v FYR Macedonia, E, 16:00
San Marino v Czech Republic, D, 19:15
Scotland v Lithuania, B, 15:00
Serbia v Finland, A, 19:15
Slovakia v Rep of Ireland, D, 19:30
Sweden v Denmark, F, 19:30
Wales v Germany, D, 19:30

Euro 2008 tables

African Cup of Nations Qualifying
Ivory Coast v Gabon
Burundi v Egypt
Niger v Uganda
Seychelles v Mauritius
Tunisia v Sudan
Cameroon v Equatorial Guinea
Liberia v Rwanda
Angola v Kenya
Eritrea v Swaziland

2008 CAN tables

Friendlies
Ecuador v El Salvador
Peru v Colombia
Ghana v Morocco
Kazakhstan v Tajikistan
Cyprus v Armenia

Sunday, 09 September 2007
Costa Rica v Honduras
Mexico v Panama
USA v Brazil
Venezuela v Paraguay

You’ll recall that earlier this month Domenech was widely quoted as saying that Italy had bought a referee for a match against France’s your squad during a qualifier for the Sydney Olympics. UEFA boss Michel Platini asked Domenech to explain his comments and evidently the explanation wasn’t to Platini’s liking.

So now France will be without their manager during a critical match against Italy. It is hard to feel much sympathy for Domenech. Even if his allegations are true the fact that he waited years to bring them forth and the fact that he did so through an interview with a magazine only point to his own foolishness.