Senegal's victory in the eyes of the French in Cairo

Sadness and surprise dominated the faces of the French residents in Cairo following the unexpected defeat Friday of the French football team against Senegal (0/1) in the opening game of the 2002 World Cup.

At the beginning of the ceremony organized by the French Center for Culture and Cooperation (CFCC) for the match, all the french fans were preparing themselves to celebrate, until the 30th minute, the first victory of the "bleus", holders of the title, at the World Cup held in South Korea and Japan. However, when the "Lions of Teranga" scored their goal, the French fans began to worry. At the end of the match, a state of silence won the French supporters who did not believe their eyes.

The defeat of the "Bleus", according to french fans, is due to several reasons. The most important is the absence of the brain of the team, Zinedine Zidane. The attackers missed his assists and his vision of the field. An absence which has also caused the loss of contact between defense and attack in the french team.

The second reason for the defeat is the presence of Djorkaeff as play-maker, he was a weak point in the middle of the French selection. Djorkaeff normally leads the left wing of the French attack, a tactical role that requires the presence of Zidane as play-maker.

Similarly, the absence of Robert Peres has forced the French coach Roger Lemerre to replace Thierry Henry in attack left the "Bleus", which reduced the effectiveness of Henry in front of the senegalese cage. At the same time, the Senegalese have resorted to the defense and the counterattacks by taking advantage of the slowness of Defense the "Coqs".

Fans should not forget that 21 players among the 23 of the Senegalese selection play in the French league. Also the coach of the team is French (Bruno Metsu). In other words, the Senegalese were fully aware of french tactics since the two selections belong to the same school of football.

It also seems that the "Bleus" are fed by the titles they have won since 1998. Saturation that led to a sort of super confidence in their ability to achieve victory at any time.

The French fans in Cairo believe that if the "Coqs" had scored a goal before the Senegalese, the result would have totally changed. But at the same time, they are aware that the performance of the french team were lower than what they displayed during Euro 2000 although the selection includes the best strikers in English Premier League (Thierry Henry), the italian "Calcio" (David Trezeguet) and The France league (Djibril Cisse).