Two years after a World Cup in South Africa to be forgotten, a “new look” French team, led by Laurent Blanc, comes to Euro 2012. It will fall in the quarter-finals against the defending champion and future winner. .
THE CONTEXT
Blues in reconstruction
Twenty-four months have passed since the elimination at the South African World Cup and it is a rebuilding French team that comes to the 2012 European Championship, co-organized by Ukraine and Poland (June 8-1 July). At its head? For the first time, a French world champion: Laurent Blanc. Appointed in the summer of 2010 to succeed Raymond Domenech, the former international defender (97 caps, 16 goals), withdrawn from the field in 2003, led the Girondins de Bordeaux for three years, which he led to a title of champion of France in 2009 and in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2010. His mission? “Put the French team back on track from a sporting and moral point of view”, had detailed Jean-Pierre Escalettes, president resigned from the FFF on June 28, 2010.
For his first rally, Blanc did not summon any of the Globalists and the start was sluggish during the friendly in Norway (1-2, August 11, 2010, photo below). He will then integrate them while largely renewing the workforce in order to obtain a direct qualification for Euro 2012. Returned to group D, the France team finished in the lead with one point ahead of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Laurent Blanc during his first match as coach of the Blues in Oslo in August 2010 (photo Bertrand GUAY / AFP).
On December 2, 2011, Kiev will host the draw for the finals. While the followers feared a hellish group (Spain, Germany, Portugal) in view of the presence of the Blues in the hat 4, Zinédine Zidane has a light hand. It will ultimately be England, seeded and « favorite » according to Laurent Blanc, Ukraine and Sweden. The only downside is the possible quarter-final looming against Spain, the reigning world and European champion.
At the end of May 2012, the coach reduced his expanded list to 23 players. A group renewed by half including 10 elements who participated in the 2010 World Cup (Lloris, Mandanda, Carrasso, Evra, Clichy, Réveillère, Alou Diarra, Malouda, Ribéry, Valbuena). Before tackling this last Euro with 16 teams, the Blues have maintained their confidence: they have not lost since the summer of 2010, or 21 matches without defeat (15 wins, 6 draws).
See the course of the Blues at Euro 2012
Read the interview with Yohan Cabaye: “We had to win back the hearts of the French”
Watch the video testimony of Philippe Méxès:
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THE ORGANIZATION, THE PLATEAU AND THE WINNER
Long live the Red!
The 14th European Championship in history takes place in Poland and Ukraine. This is the third Euro co-organized by two countries after the Netherlands and Belgium in 2000 then Austria and Switzerland in 2008. If Poland has already experienced the joys of participating in the previous edition, Ukraine is taking part for the first time. Unfortunately for the two host countries, they will not go further than the group stage, a mishap that already occurred in 2008.
This is the last 16-team Euro before the move to 24 nations in 2016, synonymous with the introduction of the round of 16. All the big countries are there and the legitimate favorite is Spain, even without Carles Puyol and David Villa. Finalists of the 2010 World Cup, the Netherlands are eliminated from the group stage while Italy, which left the South African World Cup prematurely, manages to reach the final despite the Calcioscommesse affair and the earthquake that touched the country during preparation.
July 1, 2012: Spain’s players and staff are crowned in Kiev (photo Franck FIFE / AFP).
Reigning European and world champion, La Roja, coached by Vicente Del Bosque, is living her golden age. After a group stage completed in first place but where they suffered against Italy (1-1) and Croatia (1-0), the Spaniards eliminated the Blues in the quarter-finals (2-0) then the Portugal at the end of the suspense in the semi-finals (0-0, 4-2 at the tabs). In the final, they find the Nazionale. La Roja had his best match and, with a difference of four goals (4-0), signed the largest score in the final of a European Championship or a World Cup. This success allows him to become the first nation to win two Euros in a row and keep his title (2008, 2012).
2012, IT’S ALSO …
January 13: the financial rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgrades France’s rating by a notch, from AAA to AA +.
January 13: sinking of the cruise liner Costa Concordia in the Mediterranean causing 32 deaths, including 6 French.
February 25: launch of the musical tele-hook show The Voice: The most beautiful voice on TF1.
February 27: French actor Jean Dujardin wins the Oscar for best actor for his performance in The Artist.
March 11, 15 and 19: attacks in Toulouse and Montauban, against a Jewish school and French soldiers. The attack left 8 dead.
21 mars : Mohammed Merah, the person responsible for the Toulouse attacks, was killed during his arrest by the RAID.
Photos top left: the stranded Costa Concordia (STRINGER / AFP); top right: Jean Dujardin waves his Oscar (Joe KLAMAR / AFP); bottom left: Montpellier HSC of Olivier Giroud and Louis Nicollin celebrates his title of champion of France (Gérard JULIEN / AFP); end of June: the minitel goes out (Pascal PAVANI / AFP).
May 15: François Hollande (PS) is invested President of the Republic, succeeding Nicolas Sarkozy. He is elected with 51.6% of the votes. The Socialists are returning to the top of the state after 17 years of right-wing presidency.
May 20: Montpellier HSC is crowned French Ligue 1 champion for the first time in its history. He is also the first unprecedented winner since Lyon in 2002.
May 31 : French Paul-Henri Mathieu, then 261st in the world, won the second longest match of the Open era at Roland Garros against John Isner (seeded n ° 10) after an epic fight of 5:41, concluded on the score of 18-16 in the last set (6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 18-16).
June 16: death of Thierry Roland, sports journalist and commentator of the French team matches, at the age of 74.
June 30th : end of the Minitel service, launched in 1982 by France Telecom.
December 12: launch of 6 new DTT HD channels (HD1, L’Équipe 21, 6ter, Number 23, RMC Découverte and Chérie 25)
Read also :
Witness Yohan Cabaye: “We had to win back the hearts of the French”
The players selected for Euro 2012
The course of the Blues at Euro 2012
The Euro 1960 saga
Euro 1984 saga
Euro 1992 saga
Euro 1996 saga
Euro 2000 saga
The saga of Euro 2004
Euro 2008 saga
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