Beaten 3-1 by Italy on Friday night at the Parc des Princes in the Nations League, the French team had not conceded three goals in a home match in an official competition since June 5, 1999! The Blues, world champions in 1998, sank at the end of the match against Russia (2-3) at the Stade de France, on a goal by Valery Karpin. Roger Lemerre, Aimé Jacquet’s successor, had to do without Zinédine Zidane, who had surgery on his right knee.
Youri Djorkaeff led the French attack, with Sylvain Wiltord and Christophe Dugarry on the wings and Nicolas Anelka up front, but the French performance was extremely disappointing. Anelka found himself alone up front against a tightly packed Russian side. A deflected free kick from Emmanuel Petit and a solo raid from Wiltord allowed Les Bleus to take the lead early in the second half. In vain, the Russian players, in the middle of the Russian championship season, finished the match in a blaze of glory against exhausted French internationals.
Djorkaeff replaced by Dhorasoo
Djorkaeff, who was coming off a 40-match season with Inter and the Blues, collapsed on the pitch at the end of the match. After yelling at Robert Pirès over an action, “The Snake” then fainted, visibly suffering from fatigue. The 31-year-old striker, still at Inter, was taken off on a stretcher, clearly unconscious. Disturbing images.
8pm News from TF1, Claire Chazal launched her story on the French team with Youri Djorkaeff leaving the field.
More fear than harm, however, since Djorkaeff quickly regained his senses in the locker room. “He’s fine, he didn’t even lose consciousness.”Lemerre strangely stated after the match. With Djorkaeff sent home, the coach of the Blues called up Vikash Dhorasoo for the next match against Andorra. The OL playmaker was started in 10 with the same three attackers as against Russia, at the expense of Robert Pirès again on the bench, for a 1-0 victory on a penalty from Frank Leboeuf in the 87th minute…
