The position of back-up goalkeeper is often one that sees limited opportunities but huge responsibility when their time in the spotlight comes. France it seems has been blessed with a large number of excellent goalkeepers in recent times and the friendly matches against Brazil and Denmark at the end of March gave les Bleus’ coach Didier Deschamps a chance to try out a couple of his deputies in the absence of captain Hugo Lloris.
With Lloris an undroppable presence in the national team, we look at those currently contesting the back-up positions as well as running the rule over a few alternatives and wildcards as we head towards Euro 2016.
The Incumbents
Steve Mandanda, captain of Marseille and a hero to the fans of les Phoceens, has been part of the French team since 2008. The 30-year-old has been an almost ever-present understudy to Lloris and has 20 caps to his name. Injury ruled him out of the trip to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup but he is now back and perhaps justifiably so after a much improved 2014/15 season. Experience is the watchword with Mandanda and with coming up for 400 appearances for Marseille, there is no other keeper who competes with him for Ligue 1 appearances. Authoritative and commanding in his box, this season has seen Mandanda arguably return to his best after an inconsistent 2013/14 season.
His strengths continue to lie in pure shot-stopping ability which comes as a result of his excellent reflexes. His previous weakness, being the uncanny knack to produce mistakes in the big games, has seemingly been eradicated for the most part this season. There will always be some doubters with Mandanda, with most citing the aforementioned mistakes he used to produce. However as we saw in the recent game against Brazil, albeit a friendly, he did demonstrate that when on form, he is still a very good goalkeeper.
In a duel for the role of second deputy, Stephane Ruffier has been rewarded for a run of excellent form for Saint-Etienne. The-28-year old has come on in leaps and bounds since joining les Verts and has been a key part of the Christophe Galtier revolution. Ruffier has been in and out of the French squad since 2010, when he was competing with Mickael Landreau and Cedric Carrasso for the third goalkeeping spot.
Since Mandanda’s injury that ruled him out of the World Cup last summer, Ruffier has been a part of the national set-up on a more permanent basis. Quick and again blessed with excellent reflexes, Ruffier perhaps doesn’t quite have the same commanding presence as Mandanda, and will this season sadly be most remembered for his unfortunate own goal in the 5-0 drubbing by Paris Saint Germain. He has shown inner strength though to come back from that and play a key part in Saint-Etienne’s push for a Champions League place.
Rewarded for a level of consistency many cannot challenge, Rennes goalkeeper Benoit Costil was finally given the call-up many Ligue 1 fans had been pushing for in November. Included in the squad since then, in part due to injuries to Ruffier and then Lloris, there can be no doubt that Costil has deserved his inclusion amongst the national elite. A seeming ever-presence for his club since joining from Sedan as a replacement for PSG-bound Nicolas Douchez, Costil has risen to become one of France’s top shot-stoppers. That really is Costil’s strongest area. His reflexes are second to none and whilst Rennes have undergone consecutive seasons of disappointment, their number 1 has always been the shining light.
In so many games throughout the last four seasons Costil has been the difference between points or nothing for Rennes and has shown the absolute value of a dependable goalkeeper. With more than 170 games in the top flight under his belt, he certainly now falls into the category of a senior Ligue 1 player and whilst he doesn’t have the international experience others do, les Bleus could do a lot worse than a man who is so able to make the difference in games. The fact that he currently sits as the highest rated goalkeeper in Ligue 1 by France Football goes a long way to help his case.
The Youngsters
There are currently three goalkeepers aged 22 and under who could also make a claim to being part of the national set-up sooner rather than later: Alphonse Areola, on loan to Bastia from PSG, Mouez Hassen of Nice, and Paul Nardi, on loan with Nancy having been sold by the Ligue 2 club to Monaco in the summer.
Currently Areola perhaps has the biggest claim to be part of Deschamps’ plans. The 22-year-old spent a successful 2013/14 season on loan from PSG with Lens and was instrumental in helping the northerners win promotion to Ligue 1. PSG then elected to send him back out on loan for the 2014/15 season, this time with top-flight side Bastia, to continue his progression.
Despite only having played 104 minutes for his parent club, PSG would be foolish to keep sending Areola out on loan. If they do not see him as part of their future plans then PSG need to let him join a club on a permanent basis. He is too good a player to not have the stability of a permanent home and it could ultimately be to the detriment of the national team if Areola is forced down a nomadic career path. Looking at his strengths, Areola is athletic and lightning quick off his line. He is very good under the high ball and possesses good reflexes.
His weakness arguably is positioning but this will come with further experience. He ticks the boxes as far as working through the national youth teams goes and was perhaps the key player in Pierre Mankowski’s team that won the 2013 Under-20 World Cup, saving two penalties in the victorious final penalty shoot-out. He went on to play for the under-21 side but now at 22 he finds himself in international limbo. Unable to play a part with les Espoirs, Areola must now demonstrate patience if he is to find himself part of the senior team.
Hassen and Nardi are the current under-21 goalkeepers with Hassen perhaps laying claim to the number 1 jersey for les Espoirs. The 20-year-old has had a terrific start to his career having already established himself as first choice goalkeeper for Nice following David Ospina’s move to Arsenal. A strong Ligue 1 campaign and the experience that that has brought gives him the edge over the equally promising Nardi. He has put the ground work in with strong showings in Ligue 2 with Nancy and secured a lucrative move to Monaco in the summer of 2014. Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim immediately sent Nardi back on loan to Nancy for the season but with Monaco having recently extended the contract of Danijel Subasic, it may be that Nardi could go down the Ligue 1 loan route as Areola has done to further his levels of experience.
The Outsiders
There are probably four candidates who fall into this category. Montpellier’s Geoffrey Jourdren is the player with currently the strongest opportunity and in recent weeks he has been unafraid to vocalise his disappointment that he hasn’t already received a call-up, going further to say that he sees himself better than some of the goalkeepers in the senior side. Whilst that is a point of opinion, the fact is that no one can argue with the experience Jourdren can bring and with a Ligue 1 title in his cabinet there are few who could dismiss him as a player who deserves to go uncapped throughout his career.
Another goalkeeper with plenty of experience is Bordeaux’s Cedric Carrasso. Having been part of the national set-up under both Raymond Domenech and Laurent Blanc, Carrasso has only a solitary appearance for les Bleus to his name. The fact that Deschamps elected to drop him from his first squad means he can only be classed as an outsider at the very most.
Despite it being a torrid season for the club, Lorient have unearthed a goalkeeper of real quality in Benjamin Lecomte. The 24-year-old played only a handful of games under Christian Gourcuff and spent last season on loan with Dijon but under new Lorient coach Sylvain Ripoll, Lecomte has blossomed. He has put in some real eye-catching performances that will mean if Lorient do say goodbye to Ligue 1 come the end of the season, Lecomte will have plenty of suitors to come calling for him.
A young goalkeeper who at one point was destined for the top was Zacharie Boucher. The Toulouse goalkeeper has found his second season in Ligue 1 significantly more challenging. This hasn’t been helped by the dreadful form Toulouse have found themselves in and being in and out of the squad, competing with Ali Ahamada, will have done his confidence no good at all. If Boucher can find a way out of the club to a team who will give him the number 1 jersey for a sustained period, there is no reason he cannot rediscover the form that made him such a bright prospect.
The Verdict
Whilst the obvious answer here is that Deschamps will continue to pick Mandanda and one of Ruffier and Costil, it may be that he needs to start looking at calling up one of the talented youngsters at his disposal. With those three goalkeepers 30, 28 and 27 respectively, they will be another year older come Euro 2016. With Mandanda perhaps not quite the goalkeeper he once was, Ruffier and Costil not being the most distant of long-term successors and Areola currently unable to play international football for les Espoirs, I would suggest that Deschamps give consideration to the Bastia man. At 22 and with considerable experience for one so young, he seems to be the long-term future for France so why not, pre- or post-Euro 2016, give him the recognition he seems destined for. One thing that can be said from this review, however, is that while there are some positions France do have current and will have future problems with, the man between the sticks is certainly not one of them.
