FASNY Headmaster Retires - Franco-American School of New York

Sh a r kSp o r t s15EURO 2012: The Best Preview in TownBy Ar m a n d La t r e i l l eThe Monday that follows my French BAC, Iplan to wake up early. Yes, this is unusual. But, I don’tplan on taking out my SAT book and start practicingthat $#@%&*^ Written section, or to start readingCrime and Punishment. No, I will be wearing myfavorite French soccer jersey, a beret, and head off in abar somewhere in Manhattan to watch Les Bleus takeon those pesky Englishmen.This will mark the start of the UEFA Euro2012, the greatest international competition after theWorld Cup. Played in Poland and Ukraine, this competitionfeatures the best European national squads(including Turkey), and is essentially an orgy of prettygood football (we’ll refer “football” as soccer in this article,because it’s the proper way to talk about it) forsomeone like me who has lots of time to waste andyell at a TV screen. This guide is aimed at the casualobserver and the die hard fan, in hope that they find ita useful help to understand what’s happening, or justdiscussion fodder with friends while waiting for thegames to begin.As a sure-fire indicator, we will use the officialbetting odds to win the tournament in parentheses,but I certainly will make a few changes that reflect mypersonal opinion.I The “Even If You’re Not A Soccer Fan There Is NoExcuse Not To Watch Those Teams Play” group:Spain (2.75-1 odds of winning it all), Germany(3-1), Netherlands (6-1)Quite possibly the three best teams in the internationalstage right now, according to the UEFA ranking atleast. Spain is world champion, Netherlands played theFinal, and Germany also scored 3rd place. Of course,the stakes at the Euro are considerably less importantthan the World Cup, and that might reflect on thelevel of play. However, these three teams will aim fornothing less than the final round. Their core nucleusof talented player has not changed since South Africa,and neither have their coaches. They still have theirweaknesses: Spain’s small ball tactic of tiring the opponentwhile controlling the ball is risky against good defenses,Germany relies too strongly on counter-attacks,and Netherlands have a serious problem in getting theball in scoring range. Bold Prediction n. 1: Neither ofthese teams wins the Final.II Les Bleus: France (11-1)I feel like dedicating an entire section to the French nationalteam, just because I can. And, in case you werewondering, France is my pick to win the tournament(only because I’m French), though I do rationally rankEarly Shower!Coach Laveyssieres’ Team Talk, Interrupted!Januar y 2012them after Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands. Theproblem with France is that the entire team is still playingwith a chip on their shoulder regarding the SouthAfrican disaster. “Redemption” is the key word here.This Euro is its only chance to redeem itself, even if thenucleus of the South African team is almost brokenup. I say almost because many important players tookpart in the training boycott: Lloris, Evra, and Ribéryto name a few.Laurent Blanc has done an amazing job in rebuildingthe team, and it has not lost since 19 games.His inclusion of a new, talented, group of players asthe mainframe of the squad worked perfectly. In otherwords, the best thing to happen to the team is that playersno longer looked backwards, but forward: all of themhad nothing to loose (the team’s reputation and level ofplay hit rock-bottom) and everything to win. The objectivewas clear: Euro 2012 or bust. Now, it is fair to saythat the holdovers form South Africa have an irreplaceablerole in the team. On the other hand, many criticshave argued that “bad boys stay bad boys”, and that theantagonisms that wrecked the team apart will eventuallycome back if Laurent Blanc allows holdovers.So far, the level of play has been geared offensively,and it has produced acceptable results: winsagainst Germany and England, for example. I say, let’sstick with the talented youth. They are fun to watch,and deserve their shot. My starting 11: Lloris- Debuchy,Rami, Méxes, Evra- Nasri, M’Vila, Malouda, BenArfa, Benzema, Menez.III The “Teams With History That Have A Role ToPlay If They Don’t Want To Get Assaulted WhenThey Come Back From Poland”: England (10-1),Italy (14-1)Both of those teams have rabid fan bases that willnot hesitate to parade around with the coach and/orplayer’s heads on spikes if they do not have a satisfactoryouting. In England’s case, looking at their roadto the tournament makes me feel good about France’schances against them. In the midst of captain JohnTerry’s troubles because of his Premier League antics,coach Fabio Capello stepped down (or was pushedaway), throwing the national team into disarray. Tomake things worse, eccentric striker Wayne Rooney issuspended for the first two games of the Euro (whichincludes the match against France (!!).As the saying goes, England traditionally doesbetter when its expectations are low (a rare occurrenceamong English fans), so it is half-safe to assume theywill make it out of the group, but my guess it that itsoverall fate hinges on the game against France. BoldPrediction n. 2: France wins against England, thelatter spirals down and lets Sweden take 2nd place.As far as Italy goes, I must refrain myself fromreferring to the scandalous rigged-match scandals thatthreatens to undo the team’s unity and perhaps doomits hopes in going deep this summer. Ooops. I mustalso refrain myself from mentioning their horriblefootball philosophy which consists of leaning on a stellargroup Juventus-bred defenders as well as one of thegreatest goalkeeper of all time to hold the goal, and livein counter-attacks.Finally, I must strive to hold an objective standand overlook the fact that they are poised to meetFrance in the quarterfinals, possibly on their way tothe final. But, I can’t because I hate this team morethan the English, and I hope Spain wrecks them whenthey meet in the first round.IV The Host Teams That Have Little Hope of GoingDeep: Poland (40-1), Ukraine (50-1) These are thetwo host teams. They will benefit from a psychologicaladvantage, because fans will show up en masse. I’m noteven sure I can name one player on each team, but theyhave to be mentioned anyway; that’s it, let’s move on.V The Team with The Best Player of the Tournament:Portugal (18-1)Can we just please all agree on this? Cristiano Ronaldowill be the most talented guy on the field for the durationof the Euro. His stellar season at Madrid might carry overto the Euro, but it’s unlikely you can pretend to a semifinalwith the team Portugal will assemble. Furthermore,Ronaldo is known for not showing up internationally.That makes it unlikely Portugal can go deep.VI The Team with the Best Jersey: FranceI’m not kidding. The home jersey is the best since 2000.VII The Team with the Worst Jersey: IrelandWhat the hell is this green thing?Honorable Mention: Ukraine, with a jersey straightfrom the end of Soviet Union era.VII The Wooden SpoonsNobody cares about them. More bold predictions!Bold Prediction n.3: Greeks bankrupt the tournament.Bold Prediction n.4: European governments receivea mysterious message from an unknown courier thatthreatens to cut off all oil and gas pipelines from Russiaif they win against the Russian national team.Bold Prediction n.5: Cristiano Ronaldo scores 23goals and single-handedly wins the Cup for Portugal.Rational prediction: As the great Gary Lineker oncesaid: “Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ballfor 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win.” Thisyear is no exception. Germany wins the final.Parents, coaches, teachers, staff, and players all scrummed at the annual rugby tournament.Only Mr. Laveyssiere received an early shower.Photos by Mr. Faure