Saturday, June 01, 2002
French flop
Djorkaeff proves poor substitute for injured Zidane
By MICHAEL McDONOUGH
Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea — It's not easy filling in for the best player in the world. Youri Djorkaeff didn't come close to succeeding.
Starting for France on Friday instead of Zinedine Zidane, Djorkaeff did little to make up for the absence of the injured star.
The veteran French midfielder repeatedly lost possession with timid passes and wobbly ball control, and before long paved the way for the game's only goal as Senegal upset France 1-0.
Djorkaeff, 34, was intercepted in midfield by defender Omar Daf, who passed to El Hadji Diouf down the left side. Diouf fed a cross that Papa Bouba Diop slipped home on a rebound in the 30th minute.
“They had one counterattack and they scored,” French coach Roger Lemerre said. “It's hard on us, but it's up to us to deal better with that type of situation.”
Djorkaeff has scored 28 goals for France, a record for an active French player, but at Seoul's World Cup Stadium he threatened only once, with a 38th-minute free kick that swerved around a defender. Goalkeeper Tony Sylva stopped it on the line.
His other attempts were easily deflected by the Senegalese defense or flew high over the crossbar.
Lemerre took out Djorkaeff in the 60th minute, replacing him with fellow veteran Christophe Dugarry, who made almost no impact.
Djorkaeff plays for Bolton, a weak English team, and until recently was uncertain of even being picked for France's squad. He filled in for Zidane after the former world player of the year tore a thigh muscle last Sunday.
Djorkaeff wasn't the only weak link in the French lineup.
Defender Frank Leboeuf was comically outrun by Diouf as he stormed down the left side to feed Diop the winning pass. It was perhaps a just reward for Leboeuf, who brought down Diouf repeatedly, often in midfield.
The French fullback was beaten a second time by Khalilou Fadiga in the 65th minute, and was lucky the Senegal midfielder's shot struck the crossbar.
Midfielder Emmanuel Petit shared the blame for Senegal's goal. He failed to clear Diouf's cross and then hit the ball against goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, giving Diop the chance to kick it into the net with his left foot.
Petit also earned a yellow card for bringing down Diouf with a sliding tackle in first-half injury time. With Zidane sidelined by injury, the foul opened the possibility of a hole in the French midfield if Petit is cautioned for a second time against Uruguay.
But the midfield and defensive errors wouldn't have mattered so much if strikers Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet hadn't wasted a string of scoring chances. Trezeguet received a deep pass from Barthez in the 20th minute, but was denied by goalie Tony Sylva. He hit the ball against the Senegal left post three minutes later.
Henry sent two attempts against the crossbar in the second half, and was thwarted by Sylva in the 90th minute.
Fellow forward Sylvain Wiltord was never a serious threat to the Senegalese goal and his 81st-minute replacement, Djibril Cisse, was barely noticeable.
“When a team fails to score in a match like this one it becomes very vulnerable,” Lemerre said. “We have dominated for the most of the game, but apparently it was not enough.”
Veteran defenders Marcel Desailly and Bixente Lizarazu limited damage on their side by repeatedly disarming Diouf. Lilian Thuram appeared overstretched, attempting with Patrick Vieira to make up for the lack of action in midfield.
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French flop
