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Coelho Makes Positive First Impression

June 23rd, 2008 | By: Rami | 25 Comments »

Coelho Dropping Knowledge Humberto Coelho was officially introduced at the FTF headquarters today where he gave his first press conference.

In stark contrast to the departed Lemerre who always relied on platitudes and “la langue de bois”, Coelho spoke in detail about his tactical preferences and his plans for the national team.

He also outlined how he conceives of his relationship with the press. I’ve taken the liberty of transcribing some of what I heard on the radio and mixed it in with what I’ve gleaned from articles that have been written about his introduction. Please note that this is my personal translation and paraphrase meant to capture the gist of his declarations.

His French isn’t perfect also so there’s a lot of approximation involved and different websites have different snippets of his speech so I’ve tried to amalgamate them all into a succinct speech while keeping as close as possible to the way in which he spoke. From the very start though he did something Roger never did: He said a word in Arabic:

Memories of 78

Sabah el Khir, it’s a pleasure for me to be here. Firstly because I think that Tunisia is a beautiful country and at the same time because Tunisian football is one that many youngsters who have a passion for this sport have enjoyed and appreciated since the team in 1978 made us dream.

Coelho and The Media

The relationship between me and you (the media), in a national team, has to be the best possible. Of course I would never ask you to always say good things. That is impossible in football because it is a passion, there is always going to be the good and bad things to say. However, I ask for constructive criticism because that is in the best interest of everyone, be they the players, the technical staff, the federation, the journalists, or the public. We want to the maximum for the national team and that is why I am here. In terms of the relationship with the media, I think that a national team should never close itself off. Instead, it should open itself up while making sure that it can stay concentrated. This is why I’m going to tell you how I’m going to work with you, so that we can understand each other in order for the national team to perform well.

As you know, there are press conferences before matches and after matches. That’s going to continue. As for training sessions, you will have two players at your disposal to answer your questions at the end of the day. I won’t be speaking at those times because I would like to focused on the job at hand. In any case, during this time it is best to talk to the players as they are the artists and they are the ones who can tell you how the training is going. I think that’s important. I will be available for exclusive interviews with various newspapers or television stations as long as my press attachee has coordinated this with you.

Rades Not the Only Option

I’d like to visit the various stadiums and check on the infrastructure in different parts of Tunisia because I think that national team should change the venue where it plays sometimes. The national team is a reflection of it’s people and their passion which is why I’d like to explore this possibility. The fans cannot always come to Rades, there’s a lot of people who love the team, who watch it on TV but don’t have the means to come support it in person. I will try to bring the national team to them, when possible, in order to tighten this bond that is so important in football.

The Match Against Burkina

This match is extremely important. We know we lost here so we have to go over there and win. We don’t have much time but we have to use the time we have and work hard. The players will have to be ready for this responsibility and they will have to feel the importance of this match. We want to finish first in the group. Tunisia is a country that should always be aiming for the top spot. The next group is going to be even harder and our objective is the world cup.

Football Philosophy

The formations that I rely on are 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 depending on the adversary. More importantly I favor playing “en zone.” In defense you have to rely on some individual marking but when we have the ball I want us to have grouped attacks where the players are close to each other and provoke the opposing team by running into space, not only with the ball but without the ball. Football for me is creating numerical superiority. When you get past one defender, the ball should not go backwards towards our goal, that is fundamental. In order for this to work you have to have players ahead of the ball. When you don’t have the ball, you need players behind it but when we take the ball I want us to have options up front.

Thoughts on Burundi Match

This was an atypical match. The circumstances were not the best with players at the end of their season who are tired both mentally and physically. Then you have the situation with the first goal that destabilized everyone. The game stopped for more than ten minutes and the players lost their concentration. I think we need to forget about this match…

Relationship With Players

Discipline is important to me but I like it when I am close to my players and they feel they can talk to me. We are going to spend lots of time together so its important that we get along.

Locals/Expats

For me this is not an issue. Everywhere in the world you have players that are playing in foreign championships. For example Cristiano Ronaldo, he plays in England but we see him in the Portuguese team. These players who play abroad in very competitive leagues can certainly bring something to the team if they are in top form. No matter if the player is based there or here I will give them all a fair chance and they will be in the team if it is their moment.

Principles

1. Participation: Everybody must participate in constructing our attacks. Everybody will attack, everybody will defend. In defence there are different zones we will have to press. There is a high press, a medium press, and a low press depending on where the ball is. I will explain to the players what is expected of them in each of these zones. I want to create a team where everyone is participating and not one where three or four are attacking and the rest are watching. We need to put rhythm in our play.

2. Concentration: You see a lot of times, people concentrate for one hour when the game lasts ninety minutes. We need to be completely focused until the referee whistles the end of the game. Then you can go and rest up in the dressing room. Before that moment I need everyone to be concentrated on every detail. You know in competitions, its not only the systems and players you are using, it’s the details. We must reduce our mistakes.

3. Communication: Sometimes you have players who don’t communicate. We need our players to vocal in defense and attack. For example, in defense you tell a player when they need to watch out behind them and in attack if there’s a situation where someone is about to control the ball you tell them when they are alone and they will naturally control the ball with more confidence. In football this is pivotal.

4. Intelligence: Intelligence is cleverness in the style of play. By this I mean free kicks that are taken quickly, players that anticipate quickly, passes that are made quickly, and players who recover defensively quickly. You have to be active. This is what I mean by intelligence. The players must make themselves available to receive the ball. Taking the ball is one thing but you have to know what to do with it after. There’s no use having five strikers if they don’t know what to do once the ball is at their feet.

After reading all of that, one thing is for sure. This guy is media savvy. He knows what we want to hear, he’s been fully briefed on our problems, and he has solutions that he is going to try to install. Let’s hope he makes good on his promises. Just hearing him speak so openly about his plans is a huge step in the right direction.

He confirmed our suspicions that he has an attacking mindset and pleasantly surprised many by his announcement that the national team could potentially play at other stadiums besides Rades. He also laid the foundation for a good working relationship with the press and will be more approachable than his predecessor. I’m not jumping for joy yet because we haven’t see the fruits of his labor but there’s definitely reasons to be positive at this early stage. He’s yet to choose his assistant but Le Temps is reporting that it will be Habib Mejri.

After the Press conference he was scheduled to have a lunch with Roger Lemerre. Although they don’t share the same tactical outlook I hope it wasn’t too awkward for them to have a meal together. Not sure if he should listen to what Lemerre thinks about the players given his substitution patterns! They are both professionals though and I imagine it went just fine.

Our new coach leaves for Portugal tonight and will return on July 1st to fully immerse himself in his new functions. Safe trip and Inshallah Zina Mr. Coelho!

Video Update

Conference de presse Humberto Coelho
Uploaded by Artiste-Tunisien

Tags: Coelho, Federation Tunisienne de Football, FTF, Group H, Humberto Coelho, Roger Lemerre, Tunisia Football

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Comments

By Rachid | June 23rd, 2008 at 4:00 pm

What a relief! No more stern faces of Lemerde! I particularly like the idea of playing in different places. How is the assistant coach job being picked? I hear the FTF picked one name (Kasri?) and Majri kind of niminated himself. How come no one else is interested in this job? Just curious and hoping we don’t end up with another Maaloul.

Posted from United States

By Rami | June 23rd, 2008 at 4:21 pm

Yea this guy is saying all the right things… I love the idea of playing in other places. Imagine a small stadium that is packed to the brim with chanting supporters jumping up and down. I forgot what that looks like when the national team plays! No more empty seats in Rades. Sousse, Sfax, Bizerte should get priority. Hell, I’d rather play in a packed Menzah stadium than a semi full Rades. Those empty seats are so demoralizing.

As for the assistant coach, they gave him about four options and he met with each one of them (Kanzari, Belgacem, Kasri, Mejri). I think Kanzari has made it clear that he’s not super interested because he likes his job with EST and perhaps thinks he can take over when Cabral leaves. Belgacem has disciplinary problems with the FTF stemming from his time at Bizerte and I don’t know much about the other two. Once he makes his decision I’ll research and find out more.

By Achraf | June 23rd, 2008 at 4:30 pm

Thank God! Coelho sounds like he is a very smart person when it comes to football. I like the formation 4-3-3, because of the attcking. I think he should plan a friendly match sometime in August to get the players used to the way Coelho wants his player to play.

By devoted reader | June 23rd, 2008 at 5:21 pm

I hope the adage first impressions are lasting impressions hold true in this instance. It’s good to hear something positive uttered on this blog regarding coaches and the national team. May it last!

Posted from United States

By faithful fan | June 23rd, 2008 at 5:26 pm

Hey Rami, good job on the translation of the coach’s speech. It seems that he has both technical capabilities and the right approach. However, he needs a lot of courage in order to break away from the past including the surrounding Tunisian bureaucracy. I hope he gets rid of the so called technical staff around him. We need a new blood of managers.

Posted from United States

By Tahar | June 23rd, 2008 at 7:11 pm

Thank you thank you thank you rami!

So I’m in Tunisia and I still opted not to go to the stadium for the Burundi game. As hard as it was for me to decide, I dont regret it one bit. Everyone I asked to go with me laughed or didnt even know there was a game. sad that it takes us expats and those living near rades to go fill the stadium…

Anyways I was at the airport today around 2 (Tunis time) and there I see Tahar Sioud and his entourage and Humberto Coelho himself. I couldnt hold back and decided I had to talk to him. I told him about the site and kind of introduced myself as part of the site family. Though Sioud was looking at me kind of funny because I was talking with him in portuguese, Coelho was real nice and positive. He confirmed his 443 preference and told me he looked forward to coaching us. I didnt know what to ask him, but he did assure me he knew about our championship and its stars. I did throw in Club Africain names because Im a)petty and b) biased, but I seriously have faith in this guy. I actually met Lemerre last summer at Rades for the EST x CA game and he was not easy to talk to and was even being hassled by fans for his coaching strategies. This guy was open to questions and said hed even check out the blog even though his english is limited.
Last note about that, the whole time I kept thinking about asking him to grow out his mustasch for you Rami… maybe next time.

Also Habib Belaid to Eintracht Frankfurt? any truth in this?

By Rami | June 23rd, 2008 at 8:36 pm

Achraf, you’re right about the friendly. I imagine that they would schedule one for August 20th, I think that is a designated FIFA day for friendlies. At least i read that somewhere on Tunisie Foot. It would be dumb for him to be testing his ideas for a first time in a must win game! The FTF needs to get their act together and help him out.

Loyal reader, thanks for the positive thoughts. I have a good feeling about this guy but good intentions won’t be enough. He will need to get results too. Time is short and he has a lot of work to do. I think he can pull it off though…

Faithful fan. Thanks a lot, apparently Tahar Sioud might resign in the coming days so maybe we’ll get our wish. Remains to be seen though…

http://www.infosfoot.net/fr/articles/article.php?id_article=72

Tahar! You’re awesome dude!!! Hahhaah, I can’t believe you saw him in the flesh and talked to him about the blog lol. Does that mean I need to watch what I say now? Hehe, well so far everything is positive and he’s got rave reviews. I’ll reserve judgment for later but I don’t foresee myself being hard on him for no reason. Some people in Tunisia are skeptical but I just get a good feeling when I hear him speak. Thanks for repping CA. Maybe he’ll actually let our players get a game in now? Honestly I don’t care as long as he treats everyone equal and just executes the plan he outlined. Hell, if he executes half of it he’ll have done more than Lemerre maybe. It’s a new day for all of us. Everyone has to rally around our players now, we have no excuse and we should offer our support. That’s hilarious you almost asked him about the mustache. I bet he woulda found it funny you knew what he looked like before he came. Keep enjoying the Tunisian sunshine buddy.

Also, not sure about the Habib Belaid rumor but that would be pretty cool. I haven’t seen anything about it in any newspaper or website. Where did you see that?

By Rami | June 23rd, 2008 at 9:00 pm

Oh and Tahar, how is it you speak Portuguese?

By Momo | June 23rd, 2008 at 10:17 pm

I am happy Roger Lemerre is gone. It is way too long for a coach to remain at the same team for six years. I think Coelho will be a great coach especially at this moment. Tunisia is producing many attacking players and Roger Lemerre was simply too confused on who to pick. If Coelho stays true to what he’s already said, we’ll probably be able to see the national team finally play the way we want it to play. And then, even if, God forbids, we don’t make it to the Finals in South Africa, I won’t be as angry as I would have been if Lemerre stayed on, because he has not shown any signs of change after the African Cup (playing with 3 defensive mids against Burkina Faso in Tunisia!). Let’s wait for our next crucial match in Burkina Faso and see what Coelho can bring to the team, because I know and I am sure that this team can bring him and us a lot of good things.
In regards to the 4-3-3 tactic, this portrays his typical Portuguese mindset. Virtually all Portuguese clubs rely on this tactic, as well as their National team. But I personally don’t see him opting for that with Tunisia. Our football does not rely at all, at all levels, on wingers and target men, and we don’t have any body that can be fixed into one of these positions even temporarily, aside from Issam Jemaa, who can possibly play as a left winger. I think Coelho will go with the more Tunisian 4-4-2. Pack the midfield and put two quick, technical forwards up front, who can create play and chase deep passes. A combination of Chermiti and Mouihbi is probably our best option as of now. Behind them I think he’ll go for Chikhaoui on the right and either Jemaa or Ben Saada or maybe even a bolder move with Inter Milan youngster Tijani Belaid on the left side. In the defensive midfield department he will surely go for Nafti. The other guy next him is the mystery. Will he call on 32 year old Mnari again? or will he be shopping for something different? If he takes my advice, he should go with new Red Bull Salzburg signing Majdi Traoui. This player is moving up the ranks at lightning speed. It was only yesterday when nobody heard of his name and was a regular substitute on Etoile Sahel’s roster. I was amazed by his leadership and his footballing attributes at the last African Cup of Nations. Although he lacked experience at such high levels of international football, he was able to catch the eyes of everyone, and definitely exceeded what everyone expected out of him. This is hard evidence and a witness to his great determination , bravery and hard work: A definite YES for this man to be on the starting eleven. The back-line is probably easiest to predict, but here is what I think: Ben Fraj is the right back, Hagui and Ghezal will be the two center backs, on the left the little devil Yassine Mikari will be in charge. In front of the net the much more stable Balbouli will probably be Coelho’s Number 1. Why Lemerre never thought of this? I know exactly why, because he is a very conservative coach and he proved it on many many times. You all remember the last World Cup, and the last African Cup. Against Ukraine, when Tunisia could have clinched a historic qualification to the second round of the World Cup with only a win, Lemerre was playing with no forward for 40 minutes after his only forward Zied Jaziri was sent off. He did not bother changing a thing, as if attackers were a bonus in the first place! Very conservative coach, his football is very rigid and very mechanical. We Tunisians don’t do it that way. We have a much more fix-it for now mentality, and see what happens later. Lemerre is total opposite, he will loose and loose and keep loosing and won’t bother about fixing the problem even temporarily, because what we think is problematic and wrong, he thinks is the right thing to do. Basically, it’s as if he’s coaching football out of an instruction manual! Some people might say that’s professionalism, and I will say OK Agree! That style might work for Germany or Switzerland, but not for Tunisia. Good thing Coelho is Portuguese.

By Rami | June 24th, 2008 at 7:23 am

Thanks for the input Momo! Interesting take on why he will opt for 4-4-2 rather than 4-3-3. I guess we’ll have to wait for his choices to confirm your hypothesis. While I don’t share your level of enthusiasm for Majdi Traoui I do admit that he has is a good player (it doesn’t take a genius to see that). Although his placement is good and he is tactically aware, I find him to be a bit on the slow side. He has a good strike though and I won’t forget his blast against Senegal in the African Cup anytime soon. He’s versatile but I prefer Ben Yahia to him at that position. I find him to a be superior athletically and technically. It’s just my opinion though and Coelho might very well disagree. We’ll see. Pairing them together is possible if we’re going to have just two defensive midfielders, although that would mean dropping the experienced Mnari and the lionheart Nafti. I wonder if we’ll ever see the day where we only have one defensive midfielder?

You’re right on with Lemerre’s bizarre choices. Not invention and no offensive invention. He worked our defense and hopefully it stays solid under Coelho. It will be a new system though. By the sound of it we will press the opponents relentlessly and give them no space to breathe. I like that better than sitting back and waiting for teams to find holes in our “bloc.” It’s going to take a big shift for the players. Their whole mindstate has to change after 6 years of repression.

One thing I think is very interesting is that Coelho is even changing where the team will train and do their stages (even the hotel in hammamet will change). You can tell he wants to completely disentangle himself from the Lemerre influence. As Turkey is showing us through these Euros, the mental aspect is perhaps more important than any other element of the game so I think this is great idea!

Posted from United States

By Momo | June 24th, 2008 at 11:17 am

Thanks for your thoughts Rami. I think Wissem Yahia is a fantastic footballer. I saw him play with Club Africain against Etoile Sahel at the end of the season and I was very impressed with his athletisim, technique as well as goal scroing abilities. I think right after that game rumours spread about him making a move to Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund! This tells you how well he played. But personally if I were to play him on my team, and I think Coelho will think this way too, I would use him in a more attacking role. If Tunisia was to play a more attacking version of 4-4-2 with only one defensive mid, he will probably fit into this a lot easier on the left flank of midfield, much more like the role Adel Chedli or Hamed Namouchi used to play on the National Team. But to play him as a defensive mid, you are definitely not exploiting his capabilities, and in many ways you are not being fair to him. I wonder if Partizan Belgrade’s new signing Kamel Zaiem can also play as a central midfielder next to Mehdi Nafti? For Me I will still go with Traoui. Like you said Rami, the mental aspect of football is becoming more crucial than ever. And mentally Traoui is superior to many other Tunisian players. To have a successful African Cup of Nations with no previous experience, and to take the initiative to score such unbelievable goal when you feel your team almost gave up the game is evidence that this man can rise up to big occasions and remain focused for 90 minutes, unlike many of our players. I still have to see Yahia playing that role with the Carthage Eagles to make any judgements.
Regarding Coelho defensive tactics, playing with defensive pressure is typical Spanish-Portuguese thing. You watch Spain play and you’ll see what I am talking about. “When you get past one defender, the ball should not go backwards towards our goal, that is fundamental.” This what Coelho said, he wants to push the team to its limits and do what his much more cautious predecessor could not or did not want to do (well..it’s up to you pick). Brace yourselves for some fiery, fast and furious attacking football from the African Spain the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia. I hope we can see that in Burkina Faso, so we can show them that their win in Tunisia will remain labeled as only an upset..

By Moni | June 24th, 2008 at 3:27 pm

To have a successful African Cup of Nations with no previous experience ????????

Yo MOMO , Traoui was already an Talent from ESS , along Kahled Meliti and others, It was not so surprissing ,But really the guy is slow and I think the national team should get rit of some Etoile players because its not good for the stability of the national team. Traoui isn’t so special i think, Hatem marabet of CSS is much more better as a Defencive Mid

Dear Rami, There a photo that U used in the previous post, showing Chermiti, Ben Diffalah , Felhi and co together , for me this shows that the National team misses other players like Ben Yahia ore Mouihbi , who was really disapointet on the bank in Rades (mouihbi, the cam focused on the bench , and I thought that Lemerre made them go away, during the match).

Aledine Yahia and Saidi SHOULD come BACK !!!

Posted from Netherlands

By Moni | June 24th, 2008 at 3:31 pm

the picture of this post :

Tunisia vs. Burundi: The Return Leg Preview

GHEZEl,CHERMITI,BEN DIFALLAH, FELHI.

Posted from Netherlands

By Rami | June 24th, 2008 at 3:36 pm

I know what you’re talking about. Traoui is in the original too, he’s to the left of Ghzel but I had to cut him out to make the picture fit nicely into the post. Etoile National hahah. I don’t have a problem with where the players come from as long as the players pick are in TOP FORM! The problem lately is that Lemerre is picking the players that are completely not in shape. Nafkha has been out of it for a while and he starts instead of Ben Yahia? It makes no sense. Ben Dhifallah too… What’s ironic is that Lemerre left Nafkha at home right before the African Cup when he was in TOP SHAPE! The guy seems to be attracted to players that are sturggling physically. I don’t understand why. The rest no problem.

It’s behind us hopefully…

Posted from United States

By Rami | June 24th, 2008 at 3:52 pm

Momo, I hope what you say about our future comes to fruition. I know the players have it in them. Kamel Zaiem isn’t the most technical player we have but he’s got quite a shot from distance. Plus he’s not a bad header of the ball. I really hope he succeeds at Partizan. They’ll be playing in Champions league which is pretty cool. I think they’re playing Lyon in a friendly pretty soon too. Hope he plays!

Posted from United States

By Momo | June 24th, 2008 at 6:45 pm

Moni, when I said Traoui had no previous experience I was trying to tell you that it was only his first Cup of Nations. I mean look at how Chikhaoui struggled during his first African Cup, although he’s a better player than Traoui. For some reason there many players that rise up to the occasion when they put on the National Team jersey, and Traoui is one of them. Jaziri is less known than Trabelsi in the football world, but put a national team jersey on Zied and see who plays better him or Trabelsi? You might not be convinced by what I say, but your choice of Mrabet won’t convince me either and it is rather preposterous thing to claim, to say the least! The guy can’t get a regular starting position with CS Sfax let alone to represent Tunisia and especially at this crucial stage! If Coelho wants to dig deep and look for any hidden gems, then I got one for him. 21 years young Franco-Tunisian Jamel Saihi. He is a regular starter for Montpellier in France’s 2nd Division (Ligue 2). Played a total of 29 games last season, and already featured for Tunisia’s U-19 team. He is 21 now, so he will only be able to represent Tunisia, which is definitely great news. If he keeps this form, he will be with the Eagles in no time.

By Moni | June 24th, 2008 at 8:14 pm

okee thats good to hear MOMO , but wich player should you propose as Right-Back for the squad ?

Do any of you know the name of an tunisian kid at Fulham FC ?

Posted from Netherlands

By Rami | June 24th, 2008 at 8:21 pm

Right back is pretty much locked up by Saber Ben Fraj or Souheil Berradhia in my opinion. Left back we got Mikari.

I think that kid’s name is Karim Laribi and I’m not sure he’s opted for Tunis yet. He grew up in Italy and has dual citizenship.

By Momo | June 24th, 2008 at 9:57 pm

Just like Rami told you. For right back I’ll go with Ben Fraj as a starter and Berradhia on the bench. Ben Fraj is a much more stable and capable player than Berradhia. Souhail has his ups and downs, but overall no one else in the Tunisian league can do better than him, unless youngster Bilal Ifa can prove me wrong, which I hope he does, by playing more regularily with Club African. Who knows? Chermiti was able to attract attention at only 19, maybe Ifa can do it when he is 18, being the great talent that he is.
The player called Karim Laribi, who was brought up in the Inter Milan Academy, not necessarily as great of an institution as the senior team is, has just signed with Fulham in the Premiership. It is very unlikely he will pick Tunisia, because I remember him once saying he dreams of playing with the Azzuri. Now whether that will happen or not is a different topic for a different day, but for our concern this is credible and legitimate evidence of his lack of interest to represent the Carthage Eagles. So here you’re looking at another Hatem Ben Arfa or Sami Khedira. I do respect their position, and I think it is pretty legitimate, although it is a bit hard to live with, because we want the best for our National Team..but hey that’s life!

By thamer | June 25th, 2008 at 12:26 am

a bit of topic, but does anyone know what the deal is with Hamza Baghouli? i remember reading somewhere that he went to jail or failed a drug test or something. im not that familiar with him but apparently he’s very talented. on kawarji.com he was nominated for both player of the year and young player of the year, being only 20 years old.

Posted from United States

By Rami | June 25th, 2008 at 6:42 am

Hey Thamer, I wrote about it a while ago:

http://tunisia.worldcupblog.org/group-h/haggui-ruled-out-of-june-qualifiers-baghouli-faces-6-month-doping-ban.html

Mokhtar Tlili, the CAB coach, has requested that they extend his contract. There were rumors of him moving to EST before the 6 month ban. He didn’t go to jail but I’m pretty sure the ban expires before the start of the next season. So we’ll be seeing more of him. Some other CAB player got a positive test too a little later. Definitely disconcerting. Especially that it’s happening with young players. Hopefully they’ve learned their lesson and aren’t taking anything without consulting the team doctor.

Baghouli Portrait:

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/baghouli/video/x5ec4m_portraitclip-hamza-baghouli_sport

By Rami | June 25th, 2008 at 8:47 am

BTW Tahar, I found this on Tunisie foot. Just went up today. Habib Belaid to Francfurt might be real. Depends how much you believe football365.com

http://www.football365.fr/france/ligue-2/article_246488_Francfort-Bellaid-en-approche.shtml

On the forum they’re saying he picked to play for France though… Another Ben Arfa like Momo said. I really don’t mind, if they feel French (and they have every right to) then they should pick that country. They just should be sure they’re going to get their chance and don’t end up like Lamouchi.

Posted from United States

By Momo | June 25th, 2008 at 9:42 am

Hamza Baghouli is a player I lost all respect I had for when I heard he was using steroids. This will remain engraved in the memory of all people, and I don’t know how he will come out of the hole he dug himself into. We should not ignore this, because it can be a huge problem, and if Baghouli did it I am 99% sure there are other players in the League who are doing this too. I hope other youngsters can learn from this lesson, and NOT USE STEROIDS OR ANYTHING THAT IS ILLEGAL generally speaking.

By Rami | June 25th, 2008 at 4:08 pm

Hey Momo, I agree with you but I didn’t lose all respect for him. I was just very disappointed. It’s funny we’re talking about this because just today on mosaique I heard that out of 200 players tested this year during the season, 7 came back with positive results for steroids. That doesn’t seem like a lot maybe but it actually is. It’s not a good ratio. Imagine the ones not tested… This is an increase from just one player the year before when 168 were tested.

Posted from United States

By Momo | June 25th, 2008 at 6:04 pm

Wow! these are definitely some eyebrow raising facts! so we are talking about a good 4% of players using steroids when we should be having none, and even more concerning is the rising percentage from year to year! The FTF must put in more effort to alert youngsters of the negative consequences the use of such substances can have and how it can ruin their career, like many others. There is zero tolerance policy for performance-enhancing drugs users at FIFA competitions..just imagine if he was caught doing this with the National Team..and if let’s say we won some match with him involved..just think of what the opposing team will be saying! Hats off to the people that caught him with his pants down..

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