“Elegance personified” - Gianluigi Buffon drowns out booing fans at Italy-France friendly

Many might (rightly) maintain that the so-called “beautiful game” ain’t exactly what it used to be.

Big bucks and “state of the art” hairdos (or “hairdon'ts) seem to count as much as on-the-pitch skills for the elite that make it to the top of the game.

And let’s not take a nightmare trip down memory lane to the “Knysna affair” at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa when the French national side threw a collective tantrum and refused to train.

It surely marked an all-time low in (French) football.

But there are exceptions of course. And perhaps it should come as no surprise that the man who recently showed such outstanding behaviour should be an Italian.

After all, it’s a country in which football is revered - even among those who don’t really follow the game.

Look at the recent Euro 2016 (held in France) when every Italian man, woman and child (enough hyperbole?) seemed to follow the fortunes of Gli Azzuri until they were knocked out at the quarterfinal stage.

Anyway, back to that man, Italy’s goalkeeper and captain and (more hyperbole perhaps - but just ask an Italian) legend, 38-year-old Gianluigi Buffon.

Gianluigi Buffon (screenshot from Rahim Abdullaev’s YouTube video)

“An example to what we should be seeing on the pitch”, said Fifa president Gianni Infantino after a friendly played on September 1 in the Italian city of Bari between the hosts and France (a game which Italy were to lose 1-3)

But what exactly had Buffon done to earn such plaudits - not only from Infantino but much of a soccer mad world.

Quite simply he had single-handedly led the response to counter booing that occurred from a small section of the crowd at the Stadio San Nicola while the French national anthem was being played before the match began.

Buffon reacted immediately, applauding La Marseillaise throughout, followed by his teammates and, it has to be said - a vast majority of those in the stadium.

Such class Monsieu Buffon!

World Cup fever - let's get a grip

What is it with football?

Yes the World Cup - warts (Fifa) and all - is a major sporting event.

There's no doubting that.

But really, does it mean our elected leaders can afford to forget the really important things happening in the world to ride - albeit briefly - the crest of the feelgood wave they hope might somehow benefit them?

Russia reduces its gas supply to Ukraine "raising the possibility of disrupted transit of gas to Europe" and a difficult winter ahead if things aren't sorted.

And what are our illustrious leaders up to?

Well, the German chancellor Angela Merkel hot-footed it over to Brazil to watch "die Mannshaft" make clinical mincemeat of Portugal (with a little help from an imploding Pepe early into the game)

Back in France as the country limps through its economic muddle, now complete with the inevitable industrial ("non") action from SNCF employees and les intermittents du spectacle, how did the president François Hollande spend his time during Les Bleus' opening game?

He ostentatiously invited 200 people (and the cameras) to la salle des fêtes at the Elysée palace to gawp ("with collective passion") at a giant screen as France ran out victorious over mighty Honduras in their first match.

Giant screen at the Elysée palace (screenshot BFM TV)

Oh well. Winter is months away, so why should politicians care about gas supplies right now?

Perhaps the football commentators will help jog their memories by broaching the subject during Russia's first game against South Korea on Tuesday!

Nigeria kicked off its tournament on Monday with a thrilling 0-0 draw against Iran, and in the meantime the 200 or so missing schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram in April are still being held hostage. They've been located apparently, but still haven't been freed.

Never mind. Who gives a damn anyway?

French TV news reports spend an inordinate amount of time analysing and speculating on the Les Bleus' chances, interviewing individual French players and managers - past and present - wheeling in the "experts" to give their opinions and asking the man and the woman in the street what they think.

And at the same time Sunni Islamist militants have taken control of Iraq's second city Mosul and are now approaching Baghdad.

The world watches - says little and does nothing as the focus of media attention seems to be elsewhere.

And that "elsewhere" of course is Brazil - the host country, profiting from the glory and the money it's not going to make and the prestige the whole tournament will bring as an answer to its social problems.

Just ask South Africa, the host of the 2010 tournament.

Don't get me wrong. I love the so-called beautiful game. But I also care about other things.

And a World Cup which is as much about business and displays of exaggerated patriotism (whatever that might be) as it is sport, surely simply deflects attention away from those other things that really matter.

Friday's French music break - David Serero, "On veut la coupe sur les Champs Élysées"

Nothing could be worse than the Eurovision Song Contest (and epsecially the French entries) when it comes to music, could it?

Think again - and not too hard. Because the answer to a somewhat loaded question (and what would under other circumstances surely be purely rhetorical) comes in the title of this week's Friday's French music break "On veut la coupe sur les Champs Élysées".

(screenshot from YouTube video)

It's the unofficial "anthem" of the French team for this year's World Cup and a timely choice as the whole shebang is set to kick off in São Paulo on June 12 with hosts Brazil taking on Croatia in the first match of the tournament.

To accompany Les Bleus in their attempts to forget the nightmare that was Knysna four years ago in South Africa, French opera and Broadway musical baritone (and all round showman according to his official bio) David Serero has teamed his tonsils with those of "un collectif d'artistes anonymes" to produce a song which is presumably meant to inspire the team's performance on the pitch and drum up enthusiasm among fans back home.

David Serero (screenshot "Autumn leaves - Les feuilles mortes" with Jermaine Jackson)

Quite frankly though, it could well have the opposite effect - prompting the players to run back to their dressing room in embarrassment (should they have the misfortune to hear it in the first place) and leaving supporters in no doubt that the Eurovision result (two points and last place, remember) was not a one-off when it comes to appreciating French music.

It's meant to be a "festive" offering with a sunny Caribbean-South American beat and flavour but the result is just a mess.

The 33-year-old Serero might well have a voice well-suited to opera and popular standards (the latter is a matter of opinion) but when set among the cacophony that is ""On veut la coupe sur les Champs Élysées" he just sounds...well ridiculous and slightly off-key to boot.

All right. If your ears are up to it, here's the song.

How many seconds will you be able to endure?

Let's just hope that Benzema, Giroud, Ribéry and co prove more effective on the pitch than Serero and others did in the studio.

Courage!

François Hollande stands firm on same-sex marriage

Well good for the French president François Hollande.

He has repeated that there won't be a referendum on proposals to allow couples of the same-sex to marry or to adopt.

"It's a promise I made to the French and it has to be honoured (some throat clearing might be necessary in believing the next bit) just as the other promises I made, have to be," he said in his New Year wishes to parliament this week.

All right so the protests might not be over yet, but with the end of January approaching and the proposals due to go before parliament, it's maybe Hollande showing that he actually has the cajones to follow through on a pledge.

Perhaps he's not so "Flanby" after all and is less lightweight with no hard core set of principles than his critics might claim.

From Wikipedia

After all, isn't there a sense of social justice in allowing those who wish to marry someone of the same sex, to do so?

Those 800,000 who marched in Paris recently (a questionable figure anyway as official statistics provided by the police put the number at around 350,000, even if we all know those can also be "massaged") will now just have to get used to the idea that the law is likely to pass.

As will those who claim to be oh-so-proud of their discriminatory and reactionary views as to what constitutes a "marriage", because - well it's going to happen, just as it has in Argentina, Belgium, the Netherlands, South Africa or Spain (to name but a few).

And that, dear reader, is called progress.

Welcome to the 21st century...France.

Friday's French music break - Dave Dario, “Aujourd’hui”

Friday's French music break this week is from another of those contestants who took part, but didn't win the now-defunct television talent show Nouvelle Star: proving once again that the jury and the public don't always get it right.

Dave Dario (screenshot from “Aujourd’hui” official clip)

It's Dave Dario with his second single, “Aujourd’hui” - the kind of song that could well be surprise summer hit in France.

It's charming, easy on the ear and rides the wave of folk-influenced pop music which seems so fashionable at the moment.

There's also the obligatory mouth harmonica solo thrown in for good measure and of course, not forgetting that Dario actually has quite a pleasant voice.

Dario left his native Mauritius when he was just 17, first for South Africa and then London where he tried out unsuccessfully for X Factor.

In an interview recently he said the years spent in the UK were tough, but also helped him.

"I didn't have much money and I found myself busking quite a lot," he said.

"I managed to get by and slept on friends' sofas, waiting for the next audition."

One of those auditions was in Paris in 2010 for the eighth and, what would be, final season of Nouvelle Star.

The then 27-year-old made it through to the last 15, appearing each week on the show until being knocked out. He finished sixth behind the eventual winner Luce (Lucie Brunet) after weeks of not-exactly fulsome praise from the four-member jury who had chosen him in the first place.

Since then he has been quietly but consistently tailoring his craft, was recently the warm-up act at one of Canadian singer Isabelle Boulay's Paris concerts and has secured a recording contract with Polydor France.

His debut album, from which “Aujourd’hui” is taken, is due out later this year and is as Dario describes one which, "mixes pop, folk and groove," just in the image of the man himself with "warmth and sincerity."


Oh yes, and once again, he has a very pleasing voice to listen to.

So enjoy and let it groove you into a weekend feeling.

Annecy crosses its fingers for 2018 Winter Olympic bid

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will be gathering in the South African city of Durban on Wednesday to decide which city will host the 2018 Winter Games.

In the running still are three bids; Pyeongchang in South Korea, Munich in Germany and Annecy , the picturesque "Venice of the Alps" in the Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France.

(screenshot from official video)

The French candidature has been beset by problems, not least of which was the resignation in December 2010 of the president of its bid committee, former Olympic medallist Edgar Grospiron, because he feared the city couldn't stump up enough money to be successful in securing the games.

A replacement was eventually found in the form of French businessman Charles Beigbeder who remains upbeat about Annecy's chances even though most pundits rank them as pretty slim.

"Anything is possible," Beigbeder told Europe 1 radio on Wednesday morning.


"There are still three candidates in the running and the president of the IOC, Jacques Rogues, has said that they're all strong bids," he continued.

"Hosting the games is not just about business," he said.

"The Games is an opportunity for the Olympic movement to fulfil its mission of transmitting sporting values to the entire world."

Doesn't that sound like the speech of a man who reckons he's on the losing side?

As the weekly news magazine Le Point says, international leaders turning up at the final presentation in front of the IOC to support a bid has paid dividends in the past; Tony Blair for the 2012 London Olympic, Vladimir Poutin for the 2014 Winter Games in Sotchi and Lula (Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva) supporting Rio's 2016 Summer Games success.

The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has chosen to stay away from Wednesday's presentation, a move which the magazine says some (cynics) might interpret as not wanting to be associated with a "loser" ahead of next year's presidential election.

Nothing could be further from the truth as far as Beigbeder is concerned.

'The president has always supported our bid and has written to each member of the IOC personally - which is very rare," he said.

'The prime minister, François Fillon will be making part of the presentation and we're proud of the team we've built," he continued.

"We are confident, determined and humble because we know it'll be difficult. But anything is possible."

Bonne chance.

At least Annecy cannot lose to Qatar!


Carte-postale-sport par annecy-2018

Raymond Domenech breaks his silence and admits his "mea culpa"

It has been quite a while since the former coach of the French national football team, Raymond Domenech, has given an interview of any sort.

He has remained discreet and refused to go into any details over the disastrous performance of Les Bleus at last year's World Cup finals in South Africa, the players' infamous strike, the disappointing Euro 2008 showing or his post-managerial plans after being fired in September 2010.


But in this week's edition of the French news magazine L'Express, published on Wednesday, Domenech breaks his silence.

Responding to some of the questions that others have been answering in his place over the past couple of months is, says Domenech, "an attempt to restore the truth and show that I'm not the moron I've been described as being."

And the 59-year-old doesn't mince his words.

"With hindsight I see them as a bunch of irresponsible brats," he says of the players who, in that now "legendary" non-footballing moment, returned to their bus and refused to get off for the training session before the team's final match against the hosts South Africa.

He admits that he didn't want to read out the players' statement but had little choice in the matter.

"There were hundreds of kids waiting on the sidelines and all the cameras were trained on the bus," he says.

"We were the laughing stock of the world. Somebody had to take responsibility and stop the charade."

Legal reasons prevent Domenech from speaking of the incident that sparked of the players' strike - the alleged altercation with Nicolas Anelka during the half time interval in the match against Mexico and the subsequent sending home of the striker.

But the former coach says quite simply that he did his job as trainer.

He has harsh words for the then-sports minister, Roselyne Bachelot, who was also in South Africa during the debacle and said that she had given the players a pep talk and believed that some of them had "tears in their eyes."

"The players were close to tears? Maybe of laughter," he retorts.

"I never got involved in the vaccination campaign (against H1N1 flu, for which Bachelot was also responsible as health minister) and when I'm not competent (in a matter) I hold my tongue."

The interview is far from being one in which Domenech passes the buck and blames others.

Far from it. He admits he made mistakes; from choosing the wrong players and not explaining himself sufficiently well to failing to step down from the job after the Euro 2008 campaign when France went home with just one point and one goal after the group stage.

"I've asked myself why I didn't resign then," he reveals.

"More than that, I wonder why I wasn't asked to step down."

But for all the admission of mistakes made Domenech doesn't take criticism well, and it's a trait which perhaps gives him an air of arrogance.

"If others have the impression that I have no regrets, then perhaps that's because I'm a bad communicator," he says.

"Let's be clear; I made mistakes in not choosing the right players or finding the right words," he continues.

"I don't accept the criticism of politicians or former players who are now journalists but that doesn't stop me from drawing my own conclusion over my record as a manager."

You can read the full interview on the website of L'Express.

France retain men's handball World Championship

France's men's handball team proved once again they're the best in the world after beating Denmark 37-35 in extra time in the final of the World Championships in Malmö, Sweden on Sunday.

Les Experts celebrate winning the men's handball World Championships (screenshot from YouTube video)

And congratulations for "Les Experts" as they're nicknamed have been coming in thick and fast as they, in the words of the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, "Distinguished themselves throughout the championship, for their ability to stand with confidence, conviction and talent against formidable opponents."

Sarkozy will get the chance to heap even more praise on trainer Claude Onesta's men when he welcomes them to the Elysée palace on Monday afternoon

It's a far cry indeed from those dark sporting days of last summer when the country's football team brought shame and disgrace on themselves (and others) during their dismal campaign in the World Cup finals in South Africa.

And that was surely not far from the mind of the sports minister, Chantal Jouanno, who earlier on Sunday had said that it would be "unacceptable" for players such as Patrice Evra and Franck Ribéry, to make a return to international football.

Commenting on the handball team's performance in Malmö, Jouanno said, "They were magnificent. There is no secret; it's all about training, team spirit and the will to win. They weren't taking part to finish second!"

Qualities which few would surely deny were missing from Raymond Domenech's team in South Africa.

After his tears of frustration last week over France losing out to Qatar to host the 2015 World Championships, the president of Fédération française de handball (French handball federation, FFHB) Joël Delplanque, once again had watery eyes, but this time around they were, as he told RTL national radio, happy ones.

"I kept a supply of tears but this time they're of joy and they're ones that are welcome after the wonderful performance the French team put up against Denmark," he said.

"Experience made the difference and it was extraordinary for television viewers and spectators at the game to see how deep the players had to dig into their reserves and the guts they showed to win the game."

A win which Onesta admitted had been "one of the most difficult of his career" with the icing on the cake being direct qualification for next year's Olympics in London and the 2013 World Championships in Spain.

Sunday's win confirms the French team's status as the best in the world. They have now won the World Championship four times (1995, 2001, 2009 and 2011) and are the current Olympic and European champions.

Raymond Domenech's new job

He's back! The former manager of the national football team, Raymond Domenech, has returned to the Beautiful Game.


Ah how he has been missed since the Fédération française de football (French football federation, FFF) fired him in September for "gross misconduct".

Mind you his latest job is a world removed from the one he held for six years and no way as lucrative. Quite the opposite really as Domenech is lending his indubitable expertise on a voluntary basis to the L'Athletic Club de Boulogne-Billancourt (ACBB) in the suburbs of Paris.

And what will the man who won nothing while coaching Les Bleus, managed just one title (Division 2 champions with Olympique lyonnais in 1989) during his eight years as a club manager and of course was such a shining example of leadership, humility and respectful behaviour (in refusing to shake the hand of South Africa's manager Carlos Alberto Parreira at the end of the France-South Africa match) at the fiasco that was France's World Cup campaign this Summer?

You might well ask.

The 58-year-old will be in charge of ACBB's under-11s.


"It's part of a long-term commitment he has made," Jacques Migaud, the president of ACBB's football section said.

"He'll be training the kids every Wednesday in an advisory role," he continued.

"And he's agreed to do it to get back to basics and simple enjoy being with children. It's entirely voluntary."

Quite.

With the tidy sum of around €5,600 in unemployment benefit rolling in every month and a claim of €2.9 million in compensation from the FFF currently being reviewed by an industrial tribunal, Domenech can more than afford his mastery of football with others - for free.

His first match in charge of ACBB's under-11s will be on Saturday against neighbouring Suresnes.

France's World Cup footballers want their bonus...for a good cause

If you thought you had heard the last of the debacle that accompanied France's participation at the last World Cup in South Africa, take a deep breath and prepare yourself for the latest twist.

The players who took part in the shambles now appear to want the bonuses they had previously said they would waive.

Or more accurately, they're refusing to put pen to paper and sign the document giving up their claim to a share of sponsorship money to which they're entitled.

On Tuesday the sports daily L'Equipe revealed that the players seemed to be going back on a promise made by the former captain Patrice Evra just after the team ignominiously crashed out of the competition that, "They would be waiving all bonuses" and "wouldn't accept a centime of sponsorship money."

But that was four months ago, as the paper pointed out.

And although the Fédération Française de Football (French Football Federation, FFF) wouldn't be offering compensation, to which the players were ineligible after their first-round exit, there was still the matter of €2 million linked to sponsorship deals.

That's a figure, says the national daily Le Parisien, based on the number of international matches played in one season, and has nothing to do with the World Cup per se.

Just about now you might be thinking that those hard done by millionaires imagine they have a right to the dosh no matter how disgraceful their behaviour was on an off the pitch in South Africa.

Or perhaps you're wondering whether last week's decision by their coach during the fiasco, Raymond Domenech, to claim €2.9 million in compensation from the FFF played a part in appearing to renege on their earlier promise.

Alou Diarra, speaking during a press conference at the 2010 World Cup (snaphot from YouTube video)

But wait. There's apparently another perspective on the news, if the current captain Alou Diarra is to be believed.

He admitted later in the day during an interview with RMC radio that the players wanted to get their mitts on the dosh, in a manner of speaking because, "Contractually the FFF was obliged to hand it over. and we want to know what's going to happen to it."

But it's not for the indecent or insolent reasons implied in L'Equipe's report.

"It's a time of year when a lot of people find it hard to make ends meet," he said.

"We would like to see the money go to good causes, charities that really need it," he continued.

"It's not an action by the FFF or anyone else, but a decision taken at the initiative of the players."

Raymond Domenech's 2.9 million euros counter attack

In spite of what you might think of the man's managerial skills, you have to admire Raymond Domenech's audacity - or do you?

The former coach of the national football team, Les Bleus, is claiming €2.9 million in compensation from the French Football Federation (FFF).


Domenech was fired for "gross misconduct" after France's disastrous (putting it mildy) World Cup campaign in South Africa this year.

As far as the FFF was concerned, the grounds for his dismissal in September were three-fold.

Domenech's failure to mention the insults striker Nicolas Anelka made to him during that infamous half time incident in the game between France and Mexico, his reading out of a letter when the players refused to train and "went on strike", and his refusal to shake the hand of South Africa's coach Carlos Alberto Parreira at the end of the final group match.

And it's that term "gross misconduct" which Domenech is contesting because it meant that the FFF was able to terminate his contract without severance pay.

"We're seeking compensation for the salary to which he would have been entitled during his notice period," Domenech's lawyer, Jean-Yves Connesson, told RTL national radio on Wednesday.

"As well as that, there's severance pay due and damages for the personal harm, all of which amounts to €2.9 million," he continued.

"His dismissal on grounds of 'gross misconduct' (and therefore without compensation) made one man the scapegoat in a collective sinking and although the split was as amicable as possible it was one based on political and legal grounds."

Responding to the news the acting president of the FFF Fernand Duchaussoy issued a statement saying the amount sought by Domenech was "outrageous and provocative".

The claim will first go to the Prud'hommes (industrial tribunal) for conciliation, but if no agreement is reached, Domenech could pursue his case through the courts.

Domenech may well be within his rights - legally speaking - but the 58-year-old is unlikely to make many friends within the footballing world or the general public.

Nothing new there!

Domenech refuses to shake hands with Parreira

It was surely the final humiliation in France's catastrophic World Cup campaign.

The sight of the manager, Raymond Domenech, not only refusing to shake hands with Carlos Alberto Parreira at the end of the match which had seen South Africa beat France 2-1, but also his arrogant behaviour in front of journalists from around the world at the press conference afterwards.

Raymond Domenech refuses to shake hands with Carlos Alberto Parreira (screenshot Canal +)

When one journalist asked him why he hadn't shaken hands with Parreira and whether he had been ashamed at the behaviour of his players during the tournament, Domenech said he had understood but had already answered the question.

"I don't have the intention of replying," he replied. "Is there another question?"

There was that audible silence in the room (apart from the sound of those omnipresent vuvuzelas in the background), the sort you would probably expect from those clearly nonplussed by the response.

But it didn't stop another journalist trying a slightly different approach.

"Sorry, it os the same question," he said.

"Why is it you don't want to answer why you didn't shake the hand of Mr Parreira?" he asked.

To which Domenech in all his glorious arrogance replied, "Is there another question?"

You can see the exchange here at 39:32 in the second segment of the morning news magazine La Matinale on Canal +.

Over the past week there has of course been much talk in the domestic and international media about the lack of respect shown by the French players towards fans, especially in light of their refusal to train last weekend, and the failure of the French Football Federation to put its house in order and sending home striker Nicolas Anelka for allegedly verbally insulting Domenech at halftime during a 2-0 defeat to Mexico last Thursday.

But should any of us really be surprised when the man at the helm proves himself to be equally lacking in humility and manners

By the way, the likely explanation for Domenech's refusal to shake hands was his displeasure over Parreira's remark after the World Cup draw last year when he said that France owed their qualification to that infamous play-off goal created by Thierry Henry’s handball.

Is the French team's World Cup hotel too Bling Bling?

Rama Yade (photo from Wikipedia, Marie-Lan Nguyen)

With less than a week to go before the World Cup finals kick off in South Africa, the French junior minister for sport, Rama Yade, has caused a controversy by lashing out at the amount of money being spent on the accommodation for the French football team.

In a radio interview on Sunday morning Yade suggested that the French Football Federation's choice of the luxury five-star Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa in Knysna, Western Cape Province as the base camp for Les Bleus hadn't been appropriate at a time when everyone else was being encouraged to tighten their belts.



"I wouldn't have chosen this particular hotel," she said, noting that Spain, one of the favourites for the tournament, had opted for a university campus.

"Should France do well in the World Cup, then the choice of a site offering the best training conditions might well turn out to be a wise one," she continued.

"But if the team underperforms then there'll be some explaining to be done (on the choice of the hotel and its cost) by those in charge," she added.

"I hope that the French team will dazzle us more with their results rather than flashy hotels and I had called on the FFF to show some decency in these times of (economic) crisis."

http://www.lepoint.fr/actualites/2010-06-06/mondial-rama-yade-juge-indecent-l-hotel-des-bleus/1037/0/463507

Later in the day, Yade's immediate boss, Roselyne Bachelot, the minister for health and sport, while not openly criticising her junior minister's comments, didn't exactly back her up either.

And she refused to be drawn into what she called an "unnecessary controversy" over the national team's accommodation in South Africa.

http://www.rtl.fr/fiche/5942169500/roselyne-bachelot-invitee-du-grand-jury-rtl.html

"As far as I'm concerned, now is not the time to create a polemic over our team," she said when being interviewed on RTL national radio's Le Grand Jury, with Yade looking on in the audience.

"The team needs our support, and both Rama and I will be present during the World Cup," she continued.

"The French Football Federation has made its choice, and they're the ones responsible," she added.

"It won't cost the taxpayer anything and now it's time to say 'stop' and get behind the team."

When interviewed by the news agency Agence France-Presse over his reactions to Yade's comments, Jean-Pierre Escalettes, the president of the FFF refused to be drawn into the debate. was interviewed by the news agency

"What do you want me to say?" he's quoted as responding.

"If the junior minister speaks, she speaks. I'm not going to make any comments about a hotel I don't yet know myself. It's not my role," he added.

http://www.leparisien.fr/coupe-du-monde-2010-football/hotel-des-bleus-roselyne-bachelot-recadre-rama-yade-06-06-2010-952841.php

Raymond Domenech's World Cup pay off

In spite of his denials, Raymond Domenech, rakes in a tidy sum for getting Les Bleus to the World Cup finals

It should be interesting to see how the manager of the French national football team, Raymond Domenech, reacts to the news of how much he has earned for helping the side reach the finals of the World Cup in South Africa next year.

After the French controversially qualified last month thanks to that now infamous "hand of Henry" in their match against the Republic of Ireland, speculation in the French media was widespread over just how much Domenech and his players had made.



More than €820,000 in total for Domenech alone, was the figure bandied about, and one which the 57-year-old was quick to dismiss.

"If I had earned that much I would be extremely happy," said an astonished Domenech when questioned about the amount on national radio.

"But it's far from being the case and I'm not even going to try to contradict something that appears to follow the usual editorial line," he continued, referring to the constant criticism over his management style that he has received from many quarters of the media during his five years in charge.

"It's a complete lie."

Except it wasn't if figures the national daily, Le Monde, has managed to get hold of from the French Football Federation (FFF, a pretty good source) are to believed.

They reveal that in fact Domenech earned €826,222.

Now of course we're all used to hearing about the elevated salaries of the world's top players.

And there's unquestionably room for debate over whether they're merited, the true "value" of those at the top of the beautiful game and the morality behind splashing out such vast sums.

Similarly it has to be admitted that Domenech's earnings pale somewhat in comparison with some of his international counterparts such as the England manager, Fabio Capello, whose annual salary is £6.5 million (€7.2 million).

But the confirmation coming just a couple of weeks after that denial from the French manager doesn't exactly put him in a good light, which is perhaps the reason Jean-Louis Valentin, the deputy director of the FFF has so readily leapt to his defence.

"He didn't lie," insisted Valentin, explaining that the total was broken down into several elements over a number of years.

"When you look at the salaries earned by politicians or film stars, you would never think about calculating them on a period covering two or three years," he continued.

"And Raymond Domenech could never have imagined (when asked the question) that the media would do exactly that in working out his salary."

So that's all cleared up then, and we can be rest assured that Domenech didn't in fact fall into the same trap of telling a lie - the very accusation he made of those French media reports.

Instead we can now happily hope that he breaks his habit of managing to produce less than the best from a squad of some of the world's most talented players and concentrate on him might actually win something in South Africa.

That would be a first in his managerial career.

Row continues over Ras Dumisani "singing" South Africa's national anthem

In Toulouse last Friday the French national rugby team took on the might of the reigning world champions South Africa - and won 20-13.

A fantastic victory for Les Bleus over the Springboks, but not the only reason the game made the headlines.

Instead the focus has been on the rather wayward singing (and that's putting it politely) of the visiting team's national anthem before the game started as self-styled "South Africa's biggest reggae man" Ras Dumisani gave what everyone seems to agree was an unforgettable performance of "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika".

"Mauled, mutilated and murdered" is pretty much the description that summed up what most on the pitch, in the stadium and commentary boxes or at home in front of the small screen thought of Dumisani's rendition.

After the match the Springboks' trainer, Peter de Villiers accused French organisers of having shown a lack of respect by having someone sing the South African national anthem who clearly wasn't up to the job.

"I just want to say that the South African national anthem was performed by someone who didn't know how to sing properly," he said

But as far as the French were concerned the fault lay not with them, but with South Africa for having "chosen" Dumisani in the first place.

"Every time we host an international match we ask the embassy here in France of the visiting country to suggest someone to sing their anthem," said Joseph Maso, the manager of Les Bleus.

"It was therefore the South African embassy which put forward his name and we respected that choice," he added.

The tale might have ended there except that over the weekend it continued making headlines in South Africa with commentators going as far as to blame Dumisani for the Springboks' defeat.

On Monday the country's rugby federation expressed its "shock and horror at the interpretation of the national anthem" in a letter addressed to its French equivalent, and some South African politicians even stepped into the debate calling Dumisani's interpretation a "vocal misfire".

A Facebook page to "Ban Ras Dumisani From Ever Singing Again" already has over 3,000 "fans".

In fact the whole incident has taken on almost diplomatic proportions after the South African embassy in Paris issued a statement on Monday saying that its role had been limited to supplying information on South Africans living in France who might be able to sing the anthem.

And while it had provided the organisers with Dumisani's name it hadn't necessarily "constituted a recommendation because nobody had ever attended any of the singer's concerts and he was not, moreover, a renowned artist."

As for the main protagonist in the tale, well his version of events seems to have changed as the story has escalated.

At first he insisted that he couldn't see (or hear) much wrong with his performance.

"Nobody told me they were upset with the singing," he insisted.

"The Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika has been my tune since a baby," he said. "How can I not know the words?"

But as the furore in South Africa continued, he changed his tune (sorry) somewhat and blamed the organisers for having provided him with outdated material in the form of an old cordless microphone and monitor.

All right so you've read all about it. Now it's time to hear what players, spectators and television viewers were subjected to as Dumisani belted out his rendition of "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika".

This and other videos of the same performance currently circulating on the Net, should perhaps carry some sort of health warning, and surely even the most tone deaf among us couldn't fail to recognise just how much of a hash Dumisani made of it.

Or as the South African commentator says (more kindly) at the end, "This is a highly experience South African team, but none of them will have experienced their national anthem being sung quite like that."

Happy listening?



For those of you who managed to make it through the clip and can't hear anything wrong with it, maybe you're unfamiliar with how the South African national anthem usually sounds, here's a - how to put it - more traditional version.

Or in other words - how it should sound when sung properly.

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
par TxupaTxups

Paris sways to the sounds of the Soweto Gospel Choir

Audiences at the Théâtre du Châtelet in the French capital this past week have been delighting in the sights and sounds of the Soweto Gospel Choir.

In a run lasting just six days, the group has been serving up its own mix of traditional African gospel songs along with US spirituals, reggae and popular music all combined with the colour and power of dance in what is described on its website as "sharing the joy of faith through music with audiences around the world."


"Certainly not unique" began perhaps rather harshly the review in the French national daily Le Monde, pointing out that there are dozens of gospel choirs in South Africa.

"And not necessarily perfect either" it continued, maybe not too far off the mark as the sound levels weren't always faultless although that might well have had more to do with the venue than the voices.

But the sheer energy and enthusiasm from the choral ensemble complete with some powerful dance moves demonstrated clearly why the group has quickly built up an international reputation since it was formed in 2002, garnered two Grammy awards for its albums and won plaudits and fans around the world.

As even Le Monde had to admit, there's no getting away from how impressive the Soweto Gospel Choir is, or its appeal.

"The depth and quality of voices, the fascinating energy of the dances, the shimmering colours; with the Soweto Gospel Choir, all conspire to seduce the public," it enthused.

And the Paris audience certainly seemed to be seduced.

Even as the group made its way through the first selection of African traditional songs which might not have been familiar to an initially rather polite and unnecessarily restrained public, any inhibitions those in the audience might have had were quickly cast aside as they began clapping in time and warmed to the rhythm.

That's surely the strength of the choir: its ability to make an audience relax and (collectively) get to its feet to join in.

From African traditional the group switched to songs that had no religious undertones but were nonetheless "spiritual" and familiar to anyone.

Bob Marley's "One Love" was given the gospel treatment and a rendition of "Bridge over troubled water" had the two lead singers giving inspirational rafter-raising performances of the Simon and Garfunkel classic.

Some more traditional gospel songs, a sketch "In the canteen" which illustrated the group's ability to add humour to the performance, the instantly recognisable "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and some more spectacular dancing.

Throughout the choir swayed, leaned, shuffled, and clapped in rhythm. The audience too got in on the act keeping time to the beat. Clearly the exuberance and enjoyment of those performing on stage was infectious.

And then all too soon it was the final song "World in Union" made famous by, among others of course, the South African male choral group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo.



The audience demanded - and got - a two-song encore: more magnificent dancing accompanied Johnny Clegg's "Asimbonanga" and the gospel standard that probably everyone knew, "Oh Happy Day", which inevitably brought the whole theatre to its feet.






It's hardly surprising then that wherever it performs the Soweto Gospel Choir elicits descriptions such as "Spirited and spectacular", "Sheer jubilation...earthy and unrestrained...the rhythm of life" or "Sparky, spiritual and spellbinding".

And few at the Paris performances will have found fault with any of those and similar reviews - probably hoping that it won't be too long before the choir makes a welcome return.

The Soweto Gospel Choir completes its short run at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris with a final performance on Monday November 9.