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'The guillotine is raised' Neighborly rivals Spain, France battle knockout phase
Posted: Saturday June 24, 2000 11:58 AM
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Their Euro 2000 stories couldn't be more different but France and Spain will start all square in what has the makings of a classic quarterfinal clash. France assured it qualification back on June 16 and had the luxury of fielding a reserve team for its final group match against the Netherlands on Wednesday. That same day, Spain needed to beat Yugoslavia to stay in the competition. Heading into injury time, Jose Antonio Camacho's team was 3-2 behind and Spain's headline writers were no doubt preparing a typically vitriolic reception for the players' early return to Madrid. Two injury-time goals put the match into European Championship folklore and now Spain has the momentum to challenge the world champion's attempt for Euro 2000 glory. "After what we suffered in the opening round we're going into this match without a burden and with much less pressure than our opponent," said defender Paco Jemez. The Spanish acknowledge that France will start as slight favorite in Sunday's match in Bruges. But they believe that if they can stop Zidedine Zidane, they'll stop France. "If we manage to stop him and make sure he doesn't get in too many good passes, I reckon we can cut off [Nicolas] Anelka and [Thierry] Henry," said right back Michel Salgado, one of Anelka's teammates at Real Madrid. "They depend a lot on his passes, they always set themselves up to wait for them." France thinks it has spotted Spain's weakness: defense. "The Spanish are great going forward. On the other hand they take a few risks defensively," said Patrick Vieira. "We are favorites for the match. We would have been favorites at the start of the tournament and I don't think our defeat against the Netherlands has changed much." French forward David Trezeguet also thinks the world champion might have too much firepower. "Spain will be very confident and have a team without big weaknesses. They scored four in the last match but conceded three and that shows the Spanish have weaknesses," the Monaco hitman said. France has a great recent record against its southern neighbor, having won five and drawn two of its seven matches over the last 19 years. France won its first major title, the European Championship in 1984, with a 2-0 win over the Spanish at the Parc des Princes. Michel Platini's opening 57th-minute goal, a harmless free kick that somehow slipped under the body of goalkeeper Luis Arconada, still rankles. The two countries drew 1-1 at Euro 96, and Zidane scored the only goal in a 1-0 win in January 1998 at the Stade de France. "We know the Spanish team well. Tactically they are fairly similar to us, but there is a big difference because France often assumes the role of favorite," said Robert Pires, who is currently considering a transfer to Real Madrid. With the likes of Zidane, Henry, Raul Gonzalez and Gaizka Mendieta on view, Sunday's match won't be lacking any talent, but Paco thinks the stakes might make for a tense affair. "Normally quarterfinals are much more closed games, I don't think there will be many goals," he said. "I think it will be a very level game and most likely there won't be as many chances at scoring as in the group phase." The world champion should be at full strength, though Emmanuel Petit faces a late test on a knee injury. Veteran defender Fernando Hierro is a doubtful starter for Spain because of a thigh problem. France hopes to reap the benefits of resting its first team but is wary after Spain's classic match against Yugoslavia, which was also played at Bruges' Jan Breydel stadium. But Spain is on a roll, with wins against Slovenia and Yugoslavia after a defeat against Norway. "Spain is getting more powerful," said French coach Roger Lemerre. "The match against the Netherlands was easier than the one to come against Spain." France, which beat Denmark and the Netherlands to secure a quarterfinal berth, seems to be thriving amid the high expectations of its public. "Being favorite could be dangerous but since the start of this tournament we have handled the pressure of being favorite well," Pires said. "We have got to the moment of truth. The best is yet to come," said defender Bixente Lizarazu. "In ten days we will know if we have been able to pull off a unique exploit, the first World Cup-Euro double." Probable lineups France - Fabien Barthez; Lilian Thuram, Marcel Desailly, Laurent Blanc, Bixente Lizarazu; Didier Deschamps, Patrick Viera, Youri Djorkaeff, Zinedine Zidane; Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka. Spain - Santiago Canizares; Michel Salgado, Paco Jemez, Abelardo Fernandez, Sergi Barjuan; Josep Guardiola, Ivan Helguera, Joseba Etxeberria, Gaizka Mendieta; Raul Gonzalez, Alfonso Perez. Lemerre takes pressure in strideIJMUIDEN, Netherlands -- French coach Roger Lemerre says the expectations of leading the world champions make for agonizing pressure and a feeling that the end could be a few false moves away. "It is the life of a coach," Lemerre said. "The guillotine is raised, there are three steps and you have to climb them. But sometimes you have the chance to come back down." Hopes among French soccer fans have never been higher. France came into Euro 2000 among the favorites, and convincing wins in its opening two matches meant the world champions qualified for this weekend's quarterfinals with a match to spare. Lemerre, who took over the French team immediately after the World Cup, had the luxury of fielding a reserve team in France's third match. He declared himself satisfied with the performance of the second-string team, which lost 3-2 in a close-fought match against tournament favorite the Netherlands. "So far everything is going according to plan," the 59-year-old said. "There is a real effervescence to the French team at the moment." Next up for the French is Spain, and Lemerre is hoping that his team's fresh limbs can overcome Spain's high spirits. The Spanish are on a high having scored two injury-time goals to beat Yugoslavia 4-3 and seal a place in the quarterfinals. While Jose Antonio Camacho's players were going through the full range of emotions on Wednesday, most of the French players were being rested ahead of Sunday's showdown. Assured of advancing even before its 3-2 defeat against the Netherlands, France fielded only one first-team regular, Marcel Desailly, in Amsterdam. The world champion hopes that will mean it has extra bags of energy in Bruges. "Spain didn't get the chance to rotate its team and that is something to take into consideration," said Bordeaux's Christophe Dugarry, who scored against the Netherlands but will probably end back on the substitute's bench against Spain. Dugarry and France know how fatigue can undermine an in-form team at the European Championships. Under Aime Jacquet, France went into Euro 96 with an unbeaten run stretching back more than two and a half years. But the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Bixente Lizarazu and Dugarry, who had all played more than 50 games for Bordeaux that season, looked weary in England. Jacquet's team didn't lost a match, but goalless draws in the quarterfinals and semifinals, when France went out to the Czech Republic on penalties, attested to a side that was talented but searching for inspiration. Lemerre, whose side would need to play its final four games in 13 days to win the tournament, doesn't want the same thing to happen this time. Most first-team players saw their last action against the Czech Republic on June 16, giving them eight days off. By losing against the Netherlands, France faces a tougher-looking team -- Spain rather than Yugoslavia -- but Lemerre makes no apologies for resting his first team in Amsterdam. Didier Deschamps, Thierry Henry, Lilian Thuram and Lizarazu are among the players that will benefit most after a long season at club level. And even though he was sidelined for four months this season with a knee injury, Zidane will also appreciate eight days off. "People are saying that Spain is growing in power and we can ask ourselves if their team is going to be galvanized by the way it qualified at the last moment," Lemerre said. "Will that erase fatigue in the competition and allow them to find the form shown by clubs like Real Madrid and Valencia, who reached the final of the Champions League?" he said. "All we know is that it is absolutely essential for our 22 players to be in the best physical condition as possible."
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