Transition year arrives early for French

Forced to make too many changes too quickly, Raymond Domenech's reign is in danger of spinning out of control, writes Matthew Spiro.

For the best part of a decade France's starting line-up has read more like a shortlist for the Ballon d'Or award than the composition of a single team.

Since the mid-1990s - when the outstanding generation of Marcel Desailly, Lilian Thuram, Zinedine Zidane and Didier Deschamps emerged on the international scene - through to this summer's European Championships - which featured a younger generation of stars including Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Robert Pires and Patrick Vieira - Les Bleus have fielded teams bristling with world-class performers.

Since their ignominious quarter-final exit at Euro 2004, however, that has no longer been the case. With Zidane, Desailly, Thuram, Bixente Lizarazu and Claude Makelele joining Deschamps and Laurent Blanc in international retirement, new manager Raymond Domenech has the difficult task of finding replacements capable of steering France through a tricky World Cup qualifying group.

The decision to appoint Domenech rather than one of the more fashionable frontrunners Jean Tigana or Blanc is a logical one given the circumstances. The former Lyon and France defender had been in charge of the French under-21s for 11 years before this summer, and if anyone is capable of smoothing over the transition by integrating new talent it is Domenech.

However, despite Domenech's familiarity with the players (he has worked with all of the current squad bar Fabien Barthez) his new-look team have started badly. After a 1-1 friendly draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina, they were held 0-0 in their first qualifying match at home to Israel then laboured to a 2-0 win in the Faroe Islands.

The negativity surrounding those sub-standard performances has been compounded by speculation in the French press about conflicts between the coach and senior players, while Domenech has also been accused of draining the confidence of his young players with tactless comments. He firstly said he had "raclé les fonds de tiroir" (scraped the back of the drawer) to find enough players for his squad and added that "turning club players into internationals overnight is an impossible task".

Domenech is furious with the press for making so much out of those remarks and insists the latest generation of players is no less talented than the ones that produced players such as Zidane and Henry.

"We have some excellent young players in France, that's not the problem," he explains. "The problem is that for many years now France has had a stable team. As a result, the young players coming through spent the whole time on the sidelines. Then we lose five world-class players in one fell swoop and suddenly they're expected to step in and start playing like experienced internationals. It just doesn't work like that."

Domenech's biggest worry ahead of Saturday, aside from the absence of one of his star strikers, Trezeguet, is in midfield, where he will be without suspended captain Vieira and the injured trio of Benoit Pedretti, Jerome Rothen and Ludovic Giuly.

Olivier Dacourt of Roma is the only experienced midfielder available, meaning one of the two newcomers - Rio Antonio Mavuba and Alou Diarra - may play, though Domenech yesterday called twice-capped Toulouse midfielder Daniel Moreira into the squad as a replacement for Giuly.

France also have problems at the back where, again, they lack experience. Chelsea's William Gallas has started all three matches under Domenech - playing in the centre and at right-back - and seems sure to keep his place, while Monaco youngsters Patrice Evra, Sebastien Squillaci and Gael Givet are also in favour, though another new face, Jonathan Zebina, is also in contention for the right-back role.

The French Connection: New kids on the block

Rio Antonio Mavuba
Age: 20
Club: Bordeaux
Position: Midfield

Announced himself on the French scene last season by scoring a blistering goal on his Bordeaux debut. Born on a boat off the west coast of Africa while his mother fled war-torn Angola, Mavuba represented the country of his father, DR Congo, at under-21 level before being selected by Raymond Domenech to play for France in the Toulon youth tournament earlier this year, which they won. Mavuba was rewarded with his full international debut in Domenech's first match in charge, a 1-1 friendly draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina in August. A tenacious tackler he has already drawn comparisons with former France star Jean Tigana.

Alou Diarra
Age: 23
Club: Lens (on-loan from Liverpool)
Position: Midfield

Tall and athletic, Diarra started his career with Louhans-Cuiseaux but made just three appearances for the French second-division side before being signed up by Bayern Munich. He spent two years on the fringes in Bavaria before signing for Liverpool in 2002. Has yet to play for the Merseyside club, spending the last three seasons on loan at Le Havre, Bastia and his current club, Lens. He was a regular in Domenech's last under-21 team and received his first full call up for the Bosnia-

Herzegovina friendly, but did not get on the pitch. Diarra's leggy style sees him frequently compared to Patrick Vieira.

Jonathan Zebina
Age: 26
Club: Juventus
Position: Central defender

Like Vieira and Zinedine Zidane, Zebina is a product of the famous Cannes youth academy. A pacy central defender, Zebina spent two years at the club but left when they were relegated in 1998 and joined Italian side Cagliari. Moved to Roma two years later but inconsistency lost him his place and it was only when manager Fabio Capello moved him to right-back last season that his fortunes changed. Impressive displays persuaded Capello to take the 26-year-old with him when he moved to Juventus this summer. Zebina has since established himself as Juventus's first-choice right-back, with right-back Lilian Thuram moving into the centre.

Patrice Evra
Age: 23
Club: AS Monaco
Position: Left back

An attack-minded left-back, Evra was a regular in the under-21s with Domenech and has started all three matches since the coach took charge of the senior team. Born in Dakar, he moved to Paris aged three and later played for the PSG youth team. He moved to Italian Serie C side Marsala at the age of 17 and had a brief spell in Serie B with Monza before returning to France to join second-division Nice in 2000. Evra's talent was spotted by Monaco, and the diminutive defender has been one of the stars of Didier Deschamps' team for the past two years. Evra's ability to play wing-back as well as full-back appeals to Domenech, who often favours a 3-5-2 formation.