Domenech not making Friends; Lippi Receives Backing

France coach Raymond Domenech isn’t endearing himself to his country’s press and to some of the players. The coach is under fire for the way he handled the roster announcement last week. In front of a national television audience, Domenech merely pointed to the players faces as they were projected on a wall and did not even announce their names. The projector was so blurry that Pascal Chimbonda did not even know he had been called up until friends phoned him.

Can you imagine being Chimbonda in that situation? You’re sitting there looking at the announcement, nervous as hell that you won’t be called and a blurry face appears on the television screen. It might be you or it might be an alien life form. Your life’s dream hangs in the balance and you curse yourself for not buying a television with a higher quality picture. What a tense moment that must have been.

Another person not happy with Domenech is Barcelona midfielder Ludovic Giuly whose blurry image was not revealed by the coach. Not only wasn’t he selected to play in Germany, but Domenech never bothered to call him to see if he would be available for call up in the event that another player is ruled out. Really a poor move on the coach’s part.

Domenech is not the only one who isn’t making friends with the press. France team doctor Jean-Pierre Paclet said the team will not discuss player injuries during the World Cup. “I will not give any information on the nature of injuries,” Paclet said. “For the simple reason that it is illegal in France to reveal anything to do with a patient’s health.” Just when you were eager to read about Fabien Barthez’s hemorrhoid problems.

Meanwhile, in Italy the news is better for coach Marcello Lippi. After newspapers published calls for him to resign from coaching the Azzurri yesterday because of his alleged involvement in the Italian match-fixing scandal, he was given a vote of confidence by the head of the Italian Football Federation today who said Lippi will lead the team in Germany.

As for Lippi, he is ready to focus on the task ahead: “This is the last time that I will deal with these matters and from this afternoon I will think only about the team and the World Cup,” he said. “I’ve read a lot of things in the newspapers that have shown bad faith and I will be sueing soon.”

Thatta boy, Marcello! When it doubt, break out the lawsuits.