Raymond Domenech is a man for whom the expression “likes to play his cards close to his chest” was made.
A straightforward question will often illicit a reply that is an answer in name only.
A typical example was his handling of the inquiry before Monday’s Euro 2008 opener with Romania concerning the availability, after a minor injury, of star striker Thierry Henry.
Journalist: “Raymond, will Thierry play in Zurich?”
Domenech: “He might, or he might not.”
Mmmm, thanks a lot, that clears things up nicely.
On Wednesday, however, he lifted his habitual guard with the media, even it seems surprising himself with his frankness, when divulging that he could make as many as four changes to the side that must confront free-scoring Group C leaders the Netherlands in Berne today.
“For once, I will be honest and tell you that I’m hesitating over four positions,” Domenech said.
That inevitably raised a follow up inquiry — namely “is Patrick Vieira in your calculations?”
But by then, the guard was back in place and he playfully scolded the journalist, telling him: “Now you’re going too far.”
Both captain Vieira and Henry saw out Tuesday’s 45 minute game against a local side without mishap, Henry making four decent passes and scoring a goal.
A fully fit Barcelona forward could only be a benefit against the Dutch after Nicolas Anelka and the inexperienced Karim Benzema failed to cut the mustard in the goalless draw against the Romanians.
There’s been a lot of talk around the French camp about whether Domenech will give the in-form Manchester United defender Patrice Evra a chance in place of Eric Abidal.
Whilst acknowledging that some of the reserves may be playing better than the first 11, he stressed that he was reluctant to tinker with a defense that has not leaked a goal in 320 minutes of play.
“It’s especially important to have stability in defense. I rarely make changes there,” Domenench said. “One could consider that in certain positions we have reserve players who, individually, are stronger. But I’ll make the decision I think will strengthen the team collectively.”
On Henry and Vieira’s fitness he was far from forthcoming, only saying: “It’s getting better.”
His biggest headache though remains the goal drought.
“It’s not enough just to play well. Efficiency is the key and we’re having difficulty in this respect,” he said. “We’ve been playing good football, creating chances, but not finishing the moves off. But we have to believe the goals will come .... Our aim is to remain solid, but be able to score at any moment.”
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite