Les Bleus Get'er Done

To the French troublemakers who made their country and themselves look like a mockery in front of the World in South Africa, here is my advice to you...STAY HOME!  YOU'RE NOT NEEDED.

I watched the Euro 2012 Qualifier today between France and Romania.  The French faithful, who were so horribly embarrassed by their National Team, made it very clear...win, or else be flogged by Dior handbags on your exit from the stadium.
New manager, Laurent Blanc, has felt the pressure on his back since taking over for pathetic failure Raymond Domenech.  The former took on the almost impossible task of marshaling a decimated side (in part by self-imposed sanctions by the FFF and in part due to injuries) left by the latter.
So with a raised eyebrow, the French eyed the starting lineup of Blanc and wondered, "We can beat Romania with this side?"  No doubt the additions of Adil Rami (who decided to forgo playing for Morocco), and other untested members, made the fans in the Stade de France outside of Paris wave the Tricoleur tentatively.

The French side came out with guns blazing and were unlucky to be paired against a Romanian side which resembled the Berlin Wall.  Clogging the box proved effective for them and France could not find a goal in the first half.  No changes were made to Blanc's Bleus for the start of the second and they continued to press the Romanian goal only to be rebuffed.  Part of the reason was Florent Malouda.  The  Chelscum striker was tres horrible ce soir  (no photos, you know my

rules).  His shots were desperate and left the other striker, Real Madrid flop Karim Benzema, shaking his head on many occasions.  I have to say that Benzema's sad displays in Spain were forgotten as he looked very dangerous for most of the match.  This was in part to Samir Nasri's spirited play.  The Gunner put in several perfect crosses, only for Malouda or someone else to head it wide...way wide!

I was curious as to why Yoann Gourcuff was not starting the match.  He has always been a favorite of Blanc's and seeing him languishing on the bench made me wonder.  But obviously Blanc was in tune with me and decided to sub in Loic Remy and Gourcuff with 15 left to play.  It was a brilliant move.  A long throughball forward from Alou Diarra found Remy running down the right midfield, with a Romanian in tow.  The Romanian keeper, Costel Pastilimon, had no choice but to move slightly out of his goal and BAM!  Remy thread a beauty past his hand into the lower left.  To say it was a relief for those at the match in Paris, is an understatement.  But to say that it happened in the 83rd minute will make you understand why the French Faithful were beyond grateful for the strike.  Anything less than a win would be disastrous for the NT's chances of featuring in Euro 2012.
My eyes went to the clock as I realized the match was not over.  With five to play and who knows how many minutes for added time, I was a bit nervous as the Romanians had found a way through the French defense all night.  One such shot, which ricocheted off the post and into the hands of French keeper Hugo Lloris, made the air in the Stade de France seemingly stand still.  But not to worry...as the other Blanc sub made good on his subbing.  In the 90' third sub Dimitrie Payet kept his cool and found Gourcuff waiting at the top of the box to slot home a killer.  Game over.
The smiles on the faces after the match told the story.  This team was gutted by the actions of the idiots in South Africa.  Blanc's overhaul of the team raised eyebrows, but his clinical players proved their worth...and his.

"Something is being created here. The team was not discouraged and always believed in the victory, and this state of mind pleases me very much."

Au Revoir Losers (Ribery, Evra, Abidal, Anelka, Toulalan)...you're no longer needed.

Laurent Blanc's look (L) must have been regret for his look in training the day before (R)

Never too many Lashes photos on my blog!

Okay...one more, promise!!!

New man Adil Rami....yummmmmm!

Loic Remy scores on a throughball from Alou Diarra (Bordeaux)

Remy gets props from Benzema and...OOPS...is that Gourcuff? My bad. :)

He SCORED, alright?!  He deserves many photos!!

If you don't like the Lashes photos, then get your OWN blog!

Alou and Yoann get squeezed (with loser Malouda from...er...em...C-Scum...sorry folks, but he inserted himself into this photo) after the win!!!  I must say that I'm a bit jealous.

Allez, les Bleus!