- Title: FRANCE: VIEIRA SAYS FRANCE IN GOOD SHAPE FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS, TRAINING.
- Date: 25th March 2005
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (25 MARCH 2005) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS OF FRENCH TEAM TRAINING AT CLAIRFONTAINE 2. FORMERLY INJURED PLAYER VIKASH DHORASOO TRAINING (WEARING SKI CAP) 3. GOALKEEPER FABIEN BARTHEZ TRAINING 4. COACH RAYMOND DOMENECH ARRIVING AT PRESS CONFERENCE 5. (SOUNDBITE) (French) COACH RAYMOND DOMENECH SAYING: "You know people who say they are going to end their careers in mid-flow and then continue to play for another 10 years, well I've known a number of them. Between what they say at the time and - the other day I saw that Cannigia said he was going to finally end his career and then in the end he changed his mind. First just let us play our games, and just let him play in peace and then we can talk about all of this later. But as I've said, and I'll confirm it again, if he tells me that he wants to end his career on July 9 at around 23:00, after the final, well that's not a problem." 6. CUT-AWAY CAMERAS AND JOURNALISTS AT PRESS CONFERENCE 7. (SOUNDBITE) (French) COACH RAYMOND DOMENECH SAYING: "What we try to do at all games is to make the game ours, to try and provoke things so that something happens during the match that will make the spectators buzz because that would mean that everyone is happy and that everyone is into it. We don't want to be passive, or scared, we want to aspire to outdo ourselves, to show the large number of spectators who are going to be at the Stade de France that this team is in the process of creating itself, of creating an identity and a soul and that that is what is important to us." 8. CAPTAIN PATRICK VIEIRA ARRIVING AT PRESS CONFERENCE 9. (SOUNDBITE) (French) CAPTAIN PATRICK VIEIRA: "No, not at all, the only difference is that there are several players who arrived with injuries but all in all of course our concentration has been the same and as a team we have felt concerned because we understand the importance of Saturday's match - but all in all we have weathered this without any problem." 10. CUT-AWAY CAMERAS AND JOURNALISTS AT PRESS CONFERENCE 11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAPTAIN PATRICK VIEIRA: "The team is feeling really well. We had four or five days to really prepare the game and hopefully for the players who had a small injury they will be fit for the game on Saturday. It is quiet really important because we lost some points already at home. Of course it will be really important for us to win the game." 12. FRENCH TEAM "LES BLEU" TRAINING AT CLAIRFONTAINE (VARIOUS) 13. FABIEN BARTHEZ TRAINING Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 9th April 2005 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Reuters ID: LVABEULL9SFHSEPMTBMPZBU01BFM
- Story Text: The French national soccer team has trained ahead of
Saturday's match against Switzerland.
Ailing former world and European champions France,
who will face a testing fixture as qualifying resumes for
the 2006 World Cup on Saturday, trained at Clairfontaine,
in the outskirts of Paris, on Friday (25 March).
According to team captain Patrick Vieira, the "Bleus"
are in good shape, despite several injuries amongst key
players.
"The team is feeling really well. We had four or five
days to really prepare the game and hopefully for the
players who had a small injury they will be fit for the
game on Saturday. It is quiet really important because we
lost some points already at home. Of course it will be really
important
for us to win the game."
There are 17 games on Saturday with a further 21 next
Wednesday, by when the identity of those making the trip to
Germany should start to become a little clearer.
France's hopes of being among those making the trip to
Germany next week will not be decided by Saturday's home
Group Four match against Switzerland nor by next week's
trip to Israel but failure to take six points would
certainly put "Les Bleus" under pressure.
And adding to the pressure was star goalkeeper Fabien
Barthez's surprise announcement on Thursday
(March 24) of his plans to retire.
Domenech however reassured journalists that such talk
was premature. "You know people who say they are going to
end their careers in mid-flow and then continue to play for
another 10 years, well I've known a number of them. Between
what they say at the time and - the other day I saw that
Kalliga said he was going to finally end his career and
then in the end he changed his mind."
The 1998 World Cup winners and 2000 European champions
are locked in a three-way tie at the top of the group with
Ireland and Israel, who meet in Dublin on Saturday (March
25).
Normally, a Stade de France clash with a Swiss team who
have won one and drawn two of their opening games would be
a straightforward task but these are nervous times for
Raymond Domenech's team. They go into the match on the back
of five successive home draws as the coach who took over
from Jacques Santini in July still seeks his first home
win.
He was confident, though, that strikers Thierry Henry
and David Trezeguet would be fit for the Saturday's game.
The Arsenal player has been treated for a strained calf
muscle while Trezeguet has a sore ankle.
France have drawn five successive home games since being
knocked out in the Euro 2004 quarter-finals and are level
on points with Ireland and Switzerland in World Cup
qualifying Group Four.
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