WORLD CUP 2010 Faroe Islands v France: Venue: Tórsvøllur Stadium, Torshavn Kick-off: 4pm: BRIAN KERR and France. Together again. We tested the Faroe Islands coach's research skills yesterday by asking him to pick the French team that will take the field at the Tórsvøllur Stadium in Torshavn this evening. Easy.
“The front three will be a choice from Benzema, Ribéry, Anelka and Malouda. Henry has not come and I hear there some doubts about Ribery but they’ll hardly be stuck!”
The fog came in just after the French arrived. The Gallic sulk will be in full view if they, like the Republic of Ireland once upon a time, are denied a speedy exit by adverse conditions.
“The weather can change here quickly but it was beautiful all morning, then the fog came in.”
A somewhat uncomfortable experience is promised for the superstars. For one, both teams stay in the same hotel. France did leave Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira at home, while coach Raymond Domenench has confirmed Franck Ribéry will not start.
“The media interest is not that intense up here,” said the relaxed local manager, “but some French have arrived and there are a fair few Irish people around the hotel as well.”
How many of them do you know?
“There is a direct flight coming in today from Dublin. Some of them are friends of mine, yeah. There were a few interested heads at the training this morning which was nice.”
How does Mr Kerr get inside the heads of these semi-professional players to prepare them for the frantic pace of world-class opposition?
“You have to treat them with the same respect, the same approach as you would any other players. This is a great chance to make a name for themselves against some of the best players in the world.
“Treat them like professionals by preparing them like professionals. Give them the information they need but also give them some confidence that they can do things.
“They have played Italy and Germany and France in the past as they are always in a group where they are the lowest team.
“They know they are not going to have too much possession and are going to have to work extremely hard to stay in the game to match the skill, speed and passing tempo of such opposition. But it is still always a surprise in the first 15, 20 minutes because they are not playing at that level on a regular basis.”
Thanks Brian, I’ll call in 48 hours to speak about the greatest result in Faroe Islands’ history.
“That would be nice. That’s what we are trying to do, get one of those results at some stage. For France it is a crucial match as they need to get every point in their remaining games after losing to Austria and drawing in Romania. They still have to go to Serbia.
“So, there is no danger of them being nonchalant. They need the points badly.”
Might leave that call for another day so. Still, a big night for the former Irish gaffer.
