Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., June 06, 2008 Sivan 3, 5768 | | Israel Time: 02:57 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Peres Conference Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

France's squad of walking wounded arrives in Switzerland By The Associated Press GENEVA, Switzerland - France arrived in Switzerland for the European Championship yesterday with a squad of walking wounded. The French touched down in Geneva, Switzerland, after their original plans to land in Sion were altered by bad weather. Advertisement Team spokesman Yann Le Guillard said by telephone that there were no further hiccups en route to Switzerland and that everything was fine. However, bad luck seems to be following coach Raymond Domenech's team everywhere at the moment. Patrick Vieira's thigh tear has ruled the midfielder out of the team's opener against Romania on Tuesday, winger Franck Ribery hurt his ankle in Tuesday's 1-0 friendly win over Colombia, defender William Gallas says he's only 70 percent fit, and fullback Willy Sagnol also looks to be out of condition. "You saw the players were not at really at their top level, but there are (several) days left to get there," striker Thierry Henry said after playing Colombia in the last of three warmup matches. Vieira, who limped out of a training session last week, played no part in Tuesday's win, the 0-0 draw with Paraguay three days earlier, or the 2-0 win over Ecuador on May 27. Domenech has until June 8 to decide whether to drop Vieira from the tournament squad and replace him with Mathieu Flamini, who is a backup. "We would like him (Vieira) to stay, obviously," Henry said of the France captain, who has 105 caps and six consecutive major tournaments behind him. Despite these fitness concerns, Henry remains confident Les Bleus have enough strength to win the June 7-29 tournament in Austria and Switzerland. After the Romania match, France plays Netherlands on June 13 and Italy on June 17. "We are prepared for it, otherwise you should stay at home," Henry said. Gallas and Sagnol played the whole match against Colombia at Stade de France, and neither looked comfortable. "Their objective was to go right to the end and to play a full match," Domenech said. "We know everyone can do better, but they already played 90 minutes without a problem. They stood up to a very intense match, that's good." Domenech hopes he has done enough to get his team in shape for Romania. "We gave playing time to a maximum amount of players," he said. "But we know what a major tournament is like. You think you've done all you can, have the best team in the world, but there's only one winner and the rest are crying." The team had a final training match against a team from the French football player's union at Clairefontaine. Domenech's team will then lodge at the Mirador Kempinski in Vevey, near Lausanne - a retreat high up on Mont-Pelerin offering Domenech the seclusion he craves as well as stunning views of Lake Geneva and the Swiss Alps. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Terrorist donuts U.S. Arabs irate over criticism of celebrity cook's kaffiyeh. All the way to hell Rosner's blog: It's Obama's good intentions that pro-Israel activists fear.

Read & React Abbas slams Obama for saying Jerusalem to stay Israel's undivided capital Responses: 213 German neo-Nazis: We're pro-Israel and we condemn anti-Semitism Responses: 114 Olmert: We're close to stopping Iran's nuclear program Responses: 83 U.S. Arabs irate over criticism of celebrity cook's kaffiyeh Responses: 81 Israeli killed in Negev mortar strike; Gazan girl dies in IAF attack Responses: 92 More Headlines 01:36 Olmert hints major Gaza operation is imminent 02:50 PM to Bush, Abbas: I'll weather legal storm, stay in office 20:50 Israeli killed in Negev mortar strike; Gazan girl, 4, dies in IAF attack 21:07 Ex-MK Bishara: Israel is 'foreign entity' on a Crusader-like path 23:45 Turkey: U.S. backs mediation bid for Syrian-Israeli peace 22:24 A rabbi, an imam and a priest discuss their 'painful verses' 20:23 Blair: Use lessons of Northern Ireland to solve Mideast conflict 22:20 AG Mazuz: No legal grounds yet for forcing Olmert to resign 01:48 Congress: Pentagon concealed useful Iranian intel from CIA in 2001 00:50 Israel lags behind Sudan, Pakistan in number of women in legislature 20:38 Vandals deface concentration camp memorial near Berlin 02:06 Obama's pro-Israel speech before AIPAC riles Arab press Previous Editions Select Day 05 jun 04 jun 03 jun 02 jun 01 jun 30 may 29 may 28 may 27 may 26 may 25 may 23 may

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