France leave out Trezeguet
David Trezeguet will not play in Euro 2008! France coach Raymond Domenech did not pick him in a 30-man list announced on Sunday. Seven more names will be dropped before the May 28 deadline to name the final 23-man squad for the June 7-29 tournament in Austria and Switzerland.
Trezeguet, who played in France’s 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000-winning squads, has scored 34 goals in 71 internationals, third on his country’s all-time list behind Thierry Henry and Michel Platini. This season, he scored 20 goals for Juventus in Serie A.
Trezeguet is the lad who break the Italian fans’ heart at Euro 2000, scoring in extra time to stop Italy from winning the European Championship. And now he will no longer caused the Azzurri any more harm!
In place of Trezeguet, Domenech picked St Etienne forward Bafetimbi Gomis, who score 16 Ligue 1 (French League) goals this season. Gomis and reserve goalkeeper Steve Mandanda are the only two uncapped players.
Trezeguet has not been Domenech’s favourite due to his lack of flexibility. His play is of the traditional centre forward, which wait for the ball to come to him to score. Domenech preferred players who can create and score, and Trezeguet exclusion is a clear indication that this is the way the French is going to play.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Gregory Coupet (Olympique Lyon), Sebastien Frey (Fiorentina), Mickael Landreau (Paris St Germain), Steve Mandanda (Olympique Marseille).
Defenders: Eric Abidal (Barcelona), Jean-Alain Boumsong (Lyon), Francois Clerc (Lyon), Sebastien Squillaci (Lyon), William Gallas (Arsenal), Julien Escude (Sevilla), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Philippe Mexes (AS Roma), Willy Sagnol (Bayern Munich), Lilian Thuram (Barcelona).
Midfielders: Alou Diarra (Girondins Bordeaux), Lassana Diarra (Portsmouth), Mathieu Flamini (Arsenal), Claude Makelele (Chelsea), Jeremy Toulalan (Lyon), Patrick Vieira (Inter Milan).
Forwards: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Hatem Ben Arfa (Lyon), Karim Benzema (Lyon), Sidney Govou (Lyon), Djibril Cisse (Marseille), Samir Nasri (Marseille), Bafetimbi Gomis (St Etienne), Thierry Henry (Barcelona), Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich).
