- Title: FRANCE: FOOTBALL/SOCCCER: Coaches speak about French 1-0 friendly win over Brazil
- Date: 10th February 2011
- Summary: FRANCE COACH LAURENT BLANC ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE CAMERA DURING CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRANCE COACH LAURENT BLANC SAYING: "Firstly we are happy about the result because when you prepare a match and you play it, it is to win it. And to anticipate your questions, the fact that we played with 11 players against 10 made things certainly easier for us, but I liked what I saw. Some things we didn't manage, but the game play was there, we wanted to be as good as the Brazilian team circulating the ball and with possession of the ball, so I think we can be satisfied with the game as a whole" FRENCH FOOTBALL FEDERATION LOGO (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRANCE COACH LAURENT BLANC SAYING: "The referee decided to send off a Brazilian player, we saw that in the second half we had a better possession of the ball because 11 against 10 makes things easier and of course the Brazilians are forced to play with only one player at the front and it makes them less dangerous and made things easier for us, but it is still an important victory" FRENCH FEDERATION LOGO (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BRAZIL COACH MANO MENEZES SAYING OF SENDING OFF (OFFICIAL TRANSLATION): "It is true that it was quite a hard tackle and I haven't had the occasion to see it again but it is true that for a friendly this action was a bit harsh. The player knows it, it's not allowed, it's not necessary, it's Hernanes' mistake, he didn't see Benzema who was coming towards him relatively fast" JOURNALISTS AT WORK (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BRAZIL COACH MANO MENEZES SAYING (OFFICIAL TRANSLATION): "No I have no doubt about this strategy, it's obvious that in a first phase we will be taking risks but it would be too easy for me to resort to players such as Kaka or Ronaldinho. It would resolve some problems today but that's not what we are looking for, we are looking towards the future" NEWS CONFERENCE TAKING PLACE
- Embargoed: 25th February 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: France, France
- Country: France
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVABZCTBO371NUV07OTTIYLYFP4M
- Story Text: France stepped up their post-World Cup revival and brought back memories of home glory in 1998 as Karim Benzema struck to give them a 1-0 win over 10-man Brazil at the Stade de France on Wednesday (February 9th).
Benzema, left unattended in the middle of the box, converted a perfect cross from Jeremy Menez in the 55th minute to settle a match played at the scene of France's 3-0 triumph over the same opponents in the World Cup final 13 years ago.
Brazil started well but the game turned when Hernanes was sent off in the 40th minute for kicking Benzema.
After the interval, France, who are regaining their form after last year's first-round exit and off-field controversies at the World Cup in South Africa, put on a more spirited display.
"Firstly we are happy about the result because when you prepare a match and you play it it is to win it. And to anticipate your questions, the fact that we played with 11 players against 10 made things certainely easier for us, but I liked what I saw, some things we didn't manage, but the game play was there, we wanted to be as good as the Brazilian team circulating the ball and with possession of the ball so I think we can be satisfied with the game as a whole," France coach Laurent Blanc said.
"The referee decided to send off a Brazilian player, we saw that in the second half we had a better possession of the ball because 11 against 10 makes things easier and of course the Brazilians are forced to play with only one player at the front and it makes them less dangerous and made things easier for us but it is still an important victory," Blanc added.
Both teams had 2010 World Cups to forget, with Brazil bundled out by Netherlands in the quarter-finals, but they have been showing signs of improvement with rejuvenated teams.
Brazil coach Mano Menezes said of the sending off: "It is true that it was quite a hard tackle and I haven't had the occasion to see it again but it is true that for a friendly this action was a bit harsh. The player knows it, it's not allowed, it's not necessary, it's Hernanes' mistake, he didn't see Benzema who was coming towards him relatively fast."
Menezes confirmed his choice of having young players in an effort to build a team in the long run:
"No I have no doubt about this strategy, it's obvious that in a first phase we will be taking risks but it would be too easy for me to resort to players such as Kaka or Ronaldinho. It would resolve some problems today but that's not what we are looking for, we are looking towards the future," Meneszes said at the post-match news conference.
France confirmed their upwards progress and grabbed their fifth success in a row after two initial defeats under Laurent Blanc, while the Brazilians slumped to their second defeat in a row after a 1-0 loss to Argentina in the Autumn.
France who top their Euro qualifying group will hope to take their new found confidence into their next game against Luxembourg on March 25. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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