THE setting will be poignant. The waves on the Black Sea will be crashing inexorably on the shore, as the dapper little Frenchman with the grey hair and the lavish black eyebrows turns to face his tormenters. So this is au revoir then?
No Raymond, this is adieu.
That Raymond Domenech still has a job as coach of the French national team is something of a testament to the patience and tolerance of the French FA. France's performance in the summer's European Championship finals had
observers idly wondering what the French word for humiliation might be. They conceded six goals, scored just one, gleaned one meagre point and finished bottom of their group. On the night France were eliminated by Italy, Domenech was preoccupied with delivering a live television proposal to his girlfriend. Perhaps he thought that if affection was insufficient motivation for her to say yes, pity might be.
The French FA summoned Domenech to explain himself. He is obviously more persuasive in a meeting room than he is in a dug-out and managed to contrive a stay of execution. The announcement came that he would stay in the job for the time being. A further decision on his future would be taken after three games of the World Cup qualifying campaign. The third game takes place on Saturday, away to Romania in the Black Sea port of Constanta. The indications of a happy outcome for Domenech are not propitious.
The last time France played Romania the match set the pattern for their Euro 2008 debacle. In the groupe de la mort featuring Holland and Italy, Romania seemed the most negotiable fixture, and the opportunity to make a positive start. France were abysmal, arguably playing worse than in the subsequent defeats by the Dutch and Italians.
At least the French had a far easier qualifying group in the World Cup qualifiers, French fans reassured themselves. How difficult could it be starting off against the weak Austrians? Three set-piece Austrian goals later, Domenech's future looked less than rosy.
He was thrown a lifeline in the second qualifier with a nervous 2-1 victory in Paris, against Serbia. The goals came from Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka, a riposte of sorts to those who had suggested that France should have thrown out the old guard after the Euros, and concentrated on building a team from the younger talent.
While Domenech is in the job, that is unlikely to occur with the complete commitment required. A manager living from match to match can be expected to fall back on experience and familiarity rather than take a gamble. It has been frustrating for French fans to realise that while France have arguably the second-best crop of young players in Europe behind Spain, under Domenech the likes of Karim Benzema, Samir Nasri and Hatem Ben Arfa have yet to reproduce their club form. "We must be patient with them," Domenech said about the younger players in the squad, "We know that there will be difficult times and joyful times." The problem is that under Domenech it has been all difficulty and very little joy.
While Domenech pointed out that the relative youth of the squad for the trip to Romania (Nasri is unavailable through injury), the highest-profile inclusion was that of Patrick Vieira. It will be interesting to see Domenech's starting line-up on Saturday, and whether Vieira, Henry and Anelka can rescue him.
Romania, stolid but unimpressive in the summer, have made a poor start to the World Cup qualifiers. A 3-0 loss to Lithuania shook the nation (although the Baltic team played exceptionally well), and scraping a 1-0 win against the Faroe Islands was hardly reassuring. Their two best players, from Serie A, Christian Chivu and Adrian Mutu, missed both those matches though, and will return against the French. A sense of desperation to get their qualifying campaign back on track, and the confidence that comes from their last encounter with France, should make them formidable opposition.
Which might leave Domenech staring out over the Black Sea, and France with all winter to consider who should be their coach for the next qualifier in Lithuania at the end of March. "No matter what happens in Romania, there will be other possibilities, it's not a must-win match," Domenech said. Maybe it's not for France, but it probably is for him.
The full article contains 747 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
