French Football Archives ⋆ An Old International

The last big Tournament?

With Portugal the winner of the Euro 2016, a short reflection on the state of Europe as it was mirrored in football during the past four weeks. That was that. Portugal stunned France to take home the trophy from Saint Denis in a tepid affair of a final. While the French still had the swagger…

Euro 2016 – Preview

We are now just weeks away from another tournament that will take a strong hold on football fans in Europe and maybe globally: Euro 2016 in France. For the second time the tournament will be hosted by France; the last edition in 1984 saw Michel Platini guide his team to overall victory. On their way…

Quiet, Please!

Football without noise and passionate fans is nothing. This is what the owners of PSG have noticed. In a short statement at the French TV-Channel BFM website a little while ago, the president and owner expressed his surprise about the lack of noisy support of the fans for Zlatan and Company. Surprise? No Surprise! The…

The End of an Era

How to celebrate promotion and leave the fans out of it is what Red Star’s directors thought best at Stade Bauer. Lifeless Football is a funny game. There are days/matches when the better team ends up losing and consequently may blow all chances for success. There are occasions when there simply has to be joy,…

France – Holland Match Report

After 2 weeks of Champions League football, the international break provided some interesting insight in the state of the French and Dutch soccer teams at this early stage of the World Cup year. The insights can be summarized very quickly: France seem to have the core of a team that will surprise some while the…

150-80-50

It seems this year has a special ring to it as 3 of the 5 major soccer leagues in Europe celebrate a particular anniversary in 2013. England: Football 150 This is certainly the biggest date this year for football historians and fans alike. A century and a half a group of enthusiasts codified the rules…

France – Spain World Cup Qualifier Match Report

France hosted Spain last night in a game that Spain needed to win in order to re-assure themselves that their most recent results are no sign of a dip in form. Duly, Spain delivered. With the 1-1 draw in Spain in October, France certainly looked equal to Spain, an immediate improvement from their performance against…

Does bigger mean better?

The Euro 2012 was the last tournament to be played out with 16 teams. In four years time, when the gravy train stops in France there will be 24 teams competing for European football glory. However, Michel Platini seems to go even a step further in 2020. The Euro is growing The obvious point is…

When a draw is like a victory

France scored late but they scored and thus came away with a draw that feels like a victory against Spain in a game that no one gave France a chance. The New Broom: Didier Dechamps Ahead of the game, L’Equipe and other media saw the game as ‘Mission Impossible’ for France. On the day of…

EURO 2012 Group Stage Resumee pt.2

After 12 days of group games in the test day will be a welcome break for the many journalists covering the event live in Poland and the Ukraine. It is time for a resume on the action so far. Who were the biggest surprise in a positive and negative way? Which team played the best…