What remains of the sinking of the Blues in Knysna during the 2010 World Cup

Text by: Nicolas Bamba Follow

On June 20, 2010, the French football team imploded in the eyes of the world with the now famous players' strike on the training ground in Knysna, South Africa. Back to one of the darkest pages in the history of the Blues and its consequences.

Publicity

Knysna is a city overlooking the Indian Ocean, south of the Western Cape province in South Africa. For the staff of the French football team a decade ago, it was to be the seat of the quest for world glory, four years after failing on penalties against Italy. This place ultimately turned out to be the cemetery of dying blue-white-red football. On June 20, 2010, the France team sank in Mondiovision.

The worrying signals had multiplied before this first World Cup on the African continent . In 2008, the vice-world champions collapsed during the Euro in Austria and Switzerland (elimination in the first round). In November 2009, France snatched its ticket for South Africa in roadblocks against Ireland at the price of a huge controversy, with the hand of Thierry Henry. A few weeks before the South African meeting, it was a matter of morals, called "the Zahia affair", which tainted the tricolor group.

And finally, during the 2010 World Cup, the French team stung its crisis. Crisis of results first, with a disappointing draw against Uruguay (0-0) then an undefeated defeat against Mexico (0-2). A crisis of confidence and a crisis of nerves too, with a group undermined by enmities. And finally a total crisis, with the insults of Nicolas Anelka to Raymond Domenech, the controversial of the daily L'Equipe titling with the insults used (two versions always clash over the exact words), the exclusion of the attacker , and finally the players' strike on June 20. Unhappy that the Anelka case had not been resolved internally, the Blues refused to train and leave their bus, on which is inscribed a slogan somewhat off-beat in front of such a situation: " All of you towards a new blue dream  " Finally, the players do not want to speak, the press chief of the French team, François Manardo, categorically refuses to read their press release in front of the cameras of the whole world, and it is therefore the coach in person who will do it.

The wounds took a long time to heal. Ten years later, calm and success returned to the three-colored house. The Blues remain on a lost Euro 2016 final against Portugal and a 2018 World Cup victory against Croatia. And the protagonists of the fiasco of 2010, what has become of them?

Lloris and Mandanda, the last survivors

The two goalkeepers experienced the worst in 2010. They were still newcomers to the France team, international for barely two years. Hugo Lloris was already number one and Steve Mandanda number two. Eight years later, the hierarchy has not budged, and the two men knew the best by being crowned world champions in Russia, the first with the bonus of the captain's armband, recovered after Patrice Évra and the South African nightmare . They are the only players present in 2010 to have won the 2018 World Cup.

Domenech no longer trains

His fate was already sealed before the fiasco. Criticized for the failure of Euro 2008, for the game and the results of the team and for its communication, Raymond Domenech, in office since 2004 after Jacques Santini, was dismissed after the 2010 World Cup for serious misconduct. The French Football Federation (FFF) criticized him in particular for not shaking hands with Carlos Alberto Parreira, the coach of South Africa (who had criticized the Blues for their qualification a few months earlier), and the management of the clash with Nicolas Anelka. Laurent Blanc succeeded him, before being himself replaced in 2012 by Didier Deschamps. Since then, Raymond Domenech has been a consultant for various media. He also wrote, at the end of 2012, a story of his years at the head of the Blues: All alone (Flammarion edition).

Robert Duverne continues on his way

It was one of the strong images of June 20, 2010: Raymond Domenech stood between Robert Duverne, his physical trainer, and Patrice Évra, his captain. The latter had just explained that the Blues refused to train. Out of him, Robert Duverne ended up furiously throwing his stopwatch and gained despite himself a notoriety that he would probably have preferred to avoid. After four years in the staff of the France team (2006-2010), the technician did not stop on this episode: he then officiated in England (Aston Villa), in France (Lyon, Metz, Lens) , in Canada (Montreal) and in China (Beijing Guoan).

Anelka, Éra, Ribéry and Toulalan, the four sanctioned

In August 2010, the FFF sanctioned four players for their role in Knysna's psychodrama. Nicolas Anelka was suspended from 18 matches with the France team because of his insults at the France-Mexico break. The then 31-year-old striker said he didn't care. This fatal France-Mexico will remain the last of its 69 international matches. Nicolas Anelka recently promised to reveal "  the truth about the case  " in an upcoming documentary on Netflix. Patrice Évra took five suspension matches. He returned to the French team, stripped of the captain's armband, in 2011 and was selected for Euro 2012, the World Cup 2014 and Euro 2016.

Franck Ribéry was suspended three games. Back afterwards, he participated in Euro 2012 and contributed to the qualification for the 2014 World Cup but was unable to participate due to a back injury. He announced his international retirement soon after, no longer feeling in tune with the French team. Finally, Jérémy Toulalan was sanctioned with a suspension match because he had requested the help of his agent to draft the press release read by Raymond Domenech. Hard hit by the events of the 2010 World Cup, the midfielder never returned to the France team.

10 years ago, @lequipe published this splendid front page which was to be the spark of an FFL bonfire. 😍 pic.twitter.com/UiIBgLuAEy

Escalettes et Valentin, far from football

Appointed president of the FFF in 2005 after the eleven years of reign of Claude Simonet, Jean-Pierre Escalettes did not resist the fiasco of Knysna. The leader, who had worked to maintain Raymond Domenech in 2008 when many demanded change, resigned after the elimination of the Blues against South Africa. Fernand Duchaussoy took over the interim, and in 2012, Noël Le Graët was appointed president. Since then, Jean-Pierre Escalettes has been living away from the media.

Jean-Louis Valentin, the deputy director of the FFF in 2010, was the one who had first explained to the media, tremolos in his voice, the strike that was taking place in Knysna. He also resigned, he then worked at the International Automobile Federation before occupying local political positions (president of the Cotentin agglomeration community from 2017). Jean-Louis Valentin has announced his intention to devote himself now to his profession as a lawyer.

Sarkozy, Bachelot and Yade left politics

A great football lover, Nicolas Sarkozy has had very little taste for the events of the 2010 World Cup. Furious at seeing the French team implode in the eyes of the world, the one who was then President of the Republic summoned his ministers to put an end to the ongoing fiasco, in vain. From the premature end of the World Cup, Nicolas Sarkozy summoned Thierry Henry, top scorer in the history of the French team (51 goals in 123 caps) and captain ousted before the start of the competition, to have his impressions of what had happened. The head of state was later beaten by François Hollande in the 2012 presidential election, then defeated in the right and center primaries for the 2017 presidential election.

Already shaken by the controversy surrounding orders for vaccines against the H1N1 virus, the Minister of Health and Sports, Roselyne Bachelot, found herself in the spotlight when the France team twisted. Facing the National Assembly, the minister castigated the Blues, describing them with a formula that remained famous: "  Immature bosses who command frightened kids."  After 2012, Roselyne Bachelot married a career in the media. Rama Yade was the Secretary of State for Sports. She put her back on the French team even before the episode of June 20 when she criticized the "  glitter  " of the luxury hotel in Knysna where the group resided. She was then Regional Advisor in Île-de-France until 2015 before failing to run for president in 2017.

The group of 23 Blues at the 2010 World Cup:

Goalkeepers  : Cédric Carrasso, Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda

Defenders  : Éric Abidal, Gaël Clichy, Patrice Évra, William Gallas, Marc Planus, Anthony Réveillère, Bacary Sagna, Sébastien Squillaci

Backgrounds  : Abou Diaby, Alou Diarra, Yoann Gourcuff, Sidney Govou, Florent Malouda, Franck Ribéry, Jérémy Toulalan, Mathieu Valbuena

Forwards  : Nicolas Anelka, Djibril Cissé, André-Pierre Gignac, Thierry Henry

Reservists (not convened)  : Hatem Ben Arfa, Jimmy Briand, Rod Fanni, Mickaël Landreau, Yann M'Vila, Adil Rami

Among all these players, 14 are now retired: Éric Abidal, Nicolas Anelka, Cédric Carrasso, Abou Diaby, Alou Diarra, Patrice Évra, William Gallas, Yoann Gourcuff, Sidney Govou, Thierry Henry, Marc Planus, Anthony Réveillère, Sébastien Squillaci and Jérémy Toulalan. Mickaël Landreau, reservist, also hung up the crampons. Djibril Cisse has not played at a high level since 2015, but he plans to return to the field for 2019-2020.

Newsletter Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

Follow all international news by downloading the RFI application

• South Africa
• 2010 world cup
• Soccer
• France
• Sports

On the same subject

Ten moments that marked the 2010 World Cup

The South African Siphiwe Tshabalala talks about his 2010 World Cup and after