Opponent of the Blues, Friday, the Netherlands inevitably brings back bad memories to Lilian Thuram. It was against the Oranje that the French defender played his last match for the France team.
Like several other glories of France 1998, Lilian Thuram ultimately missed her exit. To his advantage throughout the 2006 World Cup, where he formed an intractable hinge with William Gallas, the Guadeloupean experienced a real nightmare, two years later, at Euro 2008. Despite his 36 years, the former Monegasque was still the basic man of the French defensive base in the eyes of Raymond Domenech.
By the central defender’s own admission, who retired internationally after Euro 2004 before imitating Zinedine Zidane and returning to qualify the Blues for the 2006 World Cup, the two men nevertheless had an agreement even though it seems much less imperial than in the past. “I have a pact with Raymond Domenech: he won’t make me play too many matches…”, he confided shortly before the Euro. The match too many will take place on June 13, 2008 on the pitch in Berne. Four days earlier, the vice-world champions delivered a dull performance against Romania but the native of Abymes had no trouble containing the rare Romanian attacks.
It will be quite different against the Netherlands where Robin Van Persie, Dirk Kuyt, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder put the Blues through hell in general and Lilian Thuram in particular to finally win 4-1, which constitutes the heaviest defeat for the French team since 1980. Despite the nightmare experienced against the Oranje, Lilian Thuram, who admits to having “ cheated twice » is ready to take revenge against Italy. But his counter will ultimately remain stuck at 142 selections, which has long been the record in this area.
“ I knew I wouldn’t be a starter. As I said, we were on the same wavelength with the coach. I went to see him to tell him that with fatigue and the accumulation of matches, it was better for someone else to start. he explains, Raymond Domenech specifying: “We agreed before the match that repeat matches could cause problems. He was honest, he is a great man, I admire his behavior and what he did” Facing the Nazionale, the French coach decides to field Eric Abidal, who will experience another hell: the former Lyonnais will in fact be excluded after only 25 minutes of play…
