Coupet spits dummy at Domenech

Goalkeepers who have some bad luck can go down two paths…Path 1: Get on with the job at hand. Path 2: Spit the dummy at the establishment whilst whiling your way on the bench. Gregory Coupet recently lashed out at what he feels is a dictatorship under French coach Raymond Domenech.

“The players are not allowed to speak,” Coupet said in an interview published on the Web site of France Football magazine. “I can speak because I got out of there. But it’s a dictatorship that’s in place. The FFF (French Football Federation), the staff, everyone needs to look in the mirror.” (Source: International Herald Tribune; 30/9/2008)

Domenech had a less than glorious spell at the international helm for France, being eliminated in the group stages of Euro 2008. His decision to play Fabien Barthez over Coupet in the 2006 World Cup Finals had not gone down to well by the 35 year old Atletico Madrid shot stopper.

More to the point, Domenech’s squad selection process is the stuff of legend. An aspiring dramatist and amateur astrologer, Domnech has throughout his tenure, caused outrage over his selection of French players for the national squad.

Domenech’s scyring of players has been largely unsuccessful in recent Euro campaigns, and can we assume that Coupet’s outcry against the French manager is in fact justifiable? Goalkeeping success is equivalent to the belief that management has in their stable, is it not?

Goalkeeper’s of Coupet’s ability and tenure have a platform to justify poor management decisions, though Coupet had also been gifted the chance to perform in Euro 2008, and he did not perform to the best of his ability. Coupet conceeded 6 goals in 3 matches during the group stages of competition.

When a goalkeeper of Coupet’s ability does not perform in international competition, and the ensuing rush of criticism toward Domenech’s management style becomes transparent amongst French internationals, it is not hard to see why Coupet is raging against the establishment.

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