We’ve all seen the video…you know the one I’m talking about (and if you don’t its below the jump…and it is not a video displaying their awesome football skills).  

Of course I’m referring to this video taken from documentary of Hatem Ben Arfa and Abou Diaby (Arsenal, formerly Auxerre) fighting while training at the Clairefontaine when they were young.

While this video has been discussed on the Offside before by Inara on The Offside-Lyon, I don’t think it has ever been discussed by the people involved (at least that I have read).  Abou recently gave an interview with the Daily Mail where he discussed this fight and his relationship with Hatem.  Here is an excerpt of the article that talks about the video.

His group became the subject of a TV documentary and even now you can watch a 15-year-old Diaby on YouTube trying to tear Hatem Ben Arfa’s head off. ‘We were just kids and it was one of those jokes that backfired,’ he says. ‘But we are great friends now.’

They were even friends back then, and together they watched the Wenger revolution unfold at Arsenal. ‘For all of us that was the dream,’ says Diaby. ‘To be part of a Wenger team, to be part of something this exciting.

I’m not surprised the two are friends now– they were clearly good friends in the documentary.  Glad to know they have kept in touch.

Apparently he is the only one who thinks so!  For those who watched the game this afternoon between OM and Toulouse, you may have noticed a delay that kept HBA from entering the game immediately. When he stripped off his tracksuit to get ready to enter, he revealed the jersey number– 11 with Niang written across the back of the shirt.  Deschamps was apparently not too pleased and assistant coach Guy Stéphan was finally successful in finding the correct jersey.  The press are reporting that during this debacle, Hatem sat on the bench smiling.  I haven’t found a picture or video clip yet– if you have any let me know!

Ugh, he does nothing to help himself sometimes (read:  all the time)!

Gignac has already admitted the game this weekend against Marseille will be a “special” moment.

For those who don’t know anything about Gignac beyond his impressive scoring ability, he was born in Martigues, a town outside of Marseille, which explains why the game has special significance for the guy.

“It’s always been a special match for me,” Gignac told France Football.

“All my friends and family will be there, and the Velodrome has a strange magic.”

For more Gignac sentimentalism (though in French) check out this video on the OM website.

But, don’t expect Gignac to have stars in his eyes or roll over– after all he has a legacy to protect.  He has never lost to OM.  Last year he even managed to score a double and he scored the game winning goal against OM with Lorient three years ago.

But, don’t get too cocky Gignac– lets not pretend that things are the same as last year or three years ago.  This year, OM is fifth in the league (with a game less played) versus Toulouse’s current 11th place in the table.  Gignac, who has been prolific for the France national team, has only managed to score twice in 10 games this season for Toulouse.  He has also been nursing a groin injury this season, which has slowed his scoring.  His injury appears to be healing, and when he described his progress as “on track. Not so long ago I even had trouble walking. Now I have no pain – not when I walk or when I run or when I strike the ball.”

Team Form

Table courtesy of ESPN.com

Toulouse will be looking to extend their two-game winning streak after victories at home to Paris St Germain and at Lens.  Their form has been good recently in the league as they have only lost once in five games.  Ironically, they managed to beat Lyon and PSG, but lost to Lorient.  Though, Lorient have been great thus far this season and PSG, well…do I really need to say?

Marseille return to Ligue 1 action after their previous game with PSG was cancelled because of swine flu.  Before that cancellation, their domestic performance was mixed.  They had a great victory against Nancy and Montpellier, but had struggled against Monaco, Valenciennes and Le Mans.

Table courtesy of ESPN.com

Team News

OM:  Deschamps will have to make due tomorrow without one of his key players, Benoit Cheyrou.  Even though Cheyrou’s injury is not serious, he will probably not want to risk him ahead of the game against Zurich on Tuesday or risk making the injury worse ahead of their congested November schedule.  Julien Rodriguez is still nursing an injury that will most likely take him out of Deschamp’s plans for the next three months because of a knee problem and Cyril Rool is still absent because of ankle damage.  The latter two players– though talented– are less of a worry because we have demonstrated that we can win without them.  Cheyrou, though, is a potentially devastating loss.

Toulouse:  Coach Casanova looks to have a full squad to choose from this weekend– no significant injuries have been mentioned in the press other than Gignac’s which was discussed above.

Expected Lineups

OM: Mandanda,Taiwo, Bonnart, Heinze, Diawara, Mbia, Valbuena, Lucho, Niang, Brandao, Kone

Toulouse: Pele, Nounkeu, Congre, M’Benque, Ebondo, Machado, Sissoko, Capoue, Tabanou, Braathen, Gignac

Prediction:

OM win 2-1.  Having not played last weekend, we have the luxury of being rested (hopefully the players have managed to avoid getting caught up in the drama and are not fatigued).  I don’t think that the weekend off is a decisive advantage, but I think it could play a role.  Sissoko has been extremely impressive this season and I predict the result of this game will hinge on how OM cope with him.  But, even without Cheyrou, I think OM can pull off this win.  Our defense (though admittedly shake at times) is better equipped to cope with Toulouse compared to last year, and having Kone back should really relieve the pressure on Niang to score all the time.

OM-PSG on the Assembly Benches

“Yah!  Always the same ones who are on the bench!”

“On my mother, I am vexed!”

Coming from America, I find it surprising how involved politicians are in sports in France.  In the US, Presidents and politicians may be seen at sporting events and even may comment on their favorite teams, but in general sporting events are not seen as political events.  I’ve learned that this isn’t necessarily the case in France.  This is especially true with the French National team, which has been given the nickname “Black, Blanc, Beur,” and has become a symbol of the new, multicultural France.  Some politicians (Le Pen) even made public speeches on how the the team wasn’t “French enough” after their wins in the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship.

This debate typically flares up whenever France plays a former colony team– such as last year’s match against Tunisia.  At the beginning of the match the Marsellaise (French National Anthem) was booed loudly by sections of the crowd, most of who were French citizens of Magreb descent.  The post-match commentary largely centered not on the win of the French team, but the political implications of the match.  Such booing has come to be used by ethnic-Arab French football fans to protest the racial, social and economic discrimination suffered by those not fortunate enough to be among the stars of Les Bleus. Booing France’s anthem has become a common tactic for drawing attention away from the largely black and Arab faces that defend France’s honor on the soccer field, and back to the communities from which they come in the decrepit housing projects surrounding the Stade de France and other suburbs of Paris.

But the French government pushed back– and hard.  The Minister of Sports (the fact that there is a political office for sports is just incredible to me!) and Sarkozy (French President) were infuriated– and held several crisis meetings about the issue.  Publicly, they were infuriated at the French Football Federation for not shutting down the match immediately.  But Sarkozy was just getting started.  Following the crisis meetings between the President and concerned cabinet members, Health and Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin grimly declared the decision had been taken that “any match during which our national anthem is whistled will be stopped immediately”.

So what does this have to do with OM and this cartoon at Hatem’s expense?

Given how politicized the National team is– I shouldn’t have been surprised when the cancellation of the clash between France’s largest clubs (in terms of fan base) was brought up in the National Assembly this week.  But, given my American tendencies, of course I was.

The questions about the postponement of the OM-PSG match and the fan riots/mayhem were asked by Dominique Tian (representative from Bouches du Rhone, outside of Marseille) to Rama Yade (the Secretary of State for Sport).

Here are the questions:

“- Has the Football League fulfilled its role? The precautionary principle in health as public safety, should it not require the cancellation the match on Friday or no later than Saturday? Is the league’s rule which requires the confirmation of the 3rd player’s diagnosis effective? Is it not, Minister, the responsibility of government to enact a rule common to all sports federations in order to reach an acceptable time frame for cancellation of game? “

The latter responded by stating in part: “Because of the high risk of violence in an event such the OM-PSG game,  the principle of caution should apply. So I asked the sports authorities to be able to identify, anticipate and prevent such situations in the future.  Fans should expect further delays. “

This comic is able to pick at two of the French presses’ favorite targets– the politicians and Hatem Ben Arfa– by mocking the effectiveness and moodiness of both the Assembly members and Hatem….

I tend to be pretty protective of Hatem, but I love these particular artists’ cartoons.  If you have a chance (and you speak a little French), check out their blog here.  They have some other funny ones where Heinze is mocking the threat of Gignac….

Warning:  Any racist comments on this post will be deleted and result in the comments section being locked.  You’ve been warned!

Cheyrou, our most consistent player and general star this season, may not be available for Deschamps to choose this weekend.  He had an ultrasound on his leg on Tuesday after experiecning groin problems.  The ultrasound revealed a slight lesion on his right adductor muscle.

The club is reporting that he should be able to start training with the group on Friday, but it is unclear if he will be able to play this weekend (Toulouse) or next Tuesday (Zurich).

The LFP Office announced today that the Classico will be played on Friday, November 20th. The original Ligue 1 game that weekend against Sochaux has been pushed back until Wednesday, 12/2. If necessary, OM can request that the Sochaux match be rescheduled for a later date (since they will be preparing to play Real).

Updated Schedule

Here is the new schedule for OM (taken from the official OM website):

Saturday, October 31: OM – Toulouse (L1 – Matchday 12)
Tuesday, November 3: OM – Zurich (Champions League – M4)
Sunday, November 8: Lyon – OM (L1 – Matchday 13)
International: Ireland – France (November 14) and France – Ireland (November 18)
Friday, November 20th: OM – PSG (L1 – Matchday 10)
Wednesday, November 25: AC Milan – OM (Champions League – J5)
Saturday, November 28: Lens – OM (L1 – Matchday 15)
Wednesday, December 2: OM – Sochaux (L1 – Matchday 14)
Saturday, December 5: Nice – OM (L1 – Matchday 16)
Tuesday, December 8: OM – Real Madrid (Champions League – J6)
Saturday, December 12: OM – Boulogne (L1 – Matchday 17)
Wednesday, December 16: Lorient – OM (L1 – Matchday 11)
Saturday, December 19: St Etienne – OM (L1 – Matchday 18)
Wednesday, December 23: OM – Auxerre (L1 – Matchday 19)

Keeping check back for additional updates and requests from OM to reschedule.

The Backstory and Reactions

To catch up on the build-up to this agreement please refer to our earlier posts here and here. But, the good news is that both teams have been able to agree upon a date that allows a Classico match-up this year! The Ligue has agreed to alter the schedule for the future Matchday 14 games (OM vs. Sochaux and PSG vs. Boulogn) and allow those games to be played on Wednesday, December 2 instead of the regular scheduled weekend of November 21/22. However, Marseille may request the Matchday 14 game to be rescheduled again if their match against Real Madrid shapes up to be a decisive match. On that occassion, OM can petition the league to delay the Sochaux match further in order to support the Ligue’s and OM’s success at the European level.

Given the tension and accusations made by OM in the build-up to this meeting, it has ended pretty amicably. The following statements were made after the meeting by the major players involved:

“This is the first possible date,” a statement from the Ligue de Football Professionel read. “It solves the problem of the deferral of this big Ligue 1 fixture.”

On exiting the meeting, Jean-Claude Dassier, president of les Phoceens simply told the press, “The date suits us.”

Meanwhile, Robin Leproux, president of PSG, didn’t pass comment.

While PSG did not comment about the meeting, I’m willing to cut them slack since their press people have undoubtedly been overwhelmed by the barrage of conspiracy theories and accusations over the past week.

Regardless, I’m just happy that a new date is set so that we can put this drama behind us and focus on beating Toulouse this weekend!

The Classico fixture which was suppose to take place yesterday was postponed due to a Swine Flu Infection that has infected at least 5 members of the PSG team and staff, including Jeremy Clement (left), Ludovic Giuly (centre) and defender Mamadou Sakho (right).  For more information see our earlier coverage here and here.  The match, which was originally given the green light, was called off at the last moment by the French authorities.  Cue, Mayhem.  

Now, the drama continues as the two teams can’t agree on when to play the rescheduled game.  OM want to play the game as soon as possible– Wednesday.  Anigo, OM’s Sporting Director, spoke with OM TV and explained that unless the game is played this week, they will argue that the game shouldn’t be played until February.  The November schedule is too tight already with the European fixtures, the Velodrome is unavailable on the open weekends in December since it is being used for the France-New Zealand game (rugby) and OM’s African players will be away on International duty in January.

To accommodate this request, the Ligue will have to make an exception to their rule which requires that games be made up before the winter break.  Deschamp has been vocal about the Ligue needing to provide greater support for teams competing in Europe– asking Marseille to play the game before the Winter break would force them to play 10 games in 31 days.  In an interview with the press, he has also implied that the cancellation of the game was unfair, hinting at an institutional bias in the French’s Federation for the Parisian club and downplaying the threat of the flu.

PSG have remained firm, insisting that they will not play on Wednesday.  PSG will remain in quarantine for 72 hours and won’t even begin training until Wednesday.  They have argued that asking their players to play so quickly without training and recovering from illness is a serious injury risk.

The date of the match won’t be announced until Thursday– so it looks like OM has lost that fight (not surprising considering the quarantine doesn’t expire until Wednesday).

And how do you think the League will rule?  OM seem to be implying that the league should rule in their favor because it is “not their fault”– but is this really PSG’s fault?  Do you think rushing the make-up fixture fair?  Is Deschamps out of line in downplaying the severity of the illness?

From the PSG perspective, this could be the game to end their horrid slump and put them back in the title race. If you talk to Antoine Kombouare, a win might very well save his job. As if the derby itself wasn’t surrounded with enough drama, word is a case of the swine flu had infected the PSG camp. If this is the case, tomorrow’s game could have even been canceled as literally the entire squad was suspect with the sickness. While the game is still planned to go on, players health remains a priority and I certainly hope that the tests results are negative for PSG. Whatever the case may be I expect morale at the PSG camp to be extremely low. With a coach that may or may not be on his way out, injuries, sickness and having to play away from home will not do well for Kombouare’s men. Ultimately Sundays match may prove to be a disappointment in terms of what we expect from these two teams. Certainly we are in form but what kind of PSG will take to the pitch tomorrow? Obviously we want a win, but games like this are all about a sort of close competitiveness a frenzy that literally draws everyone in. Manchester derby anyone? I just dont think PSG right now is up to playing at our level this could be incredibly one sided for us.

Our possible starting eleven Mandanda; Bonnart, Diawara (all reports say he is fit and should make a return tomorrow), Heinze, Taiwo, Valbuena, Cisse, Lucho, Cheyrou, Niang, and Kone. I expect to see a huge game from Niang (as always) but more specifically Lucho. His pace and calmness in the game against Zurich was like an anchor for an otherwise lost midfield. I think he is finally used to his new team and were going to start reaping in the benefits.

For PSG who knows who will be able to play tomorrow. We know that Ludovic Giuly, Stephane Sessegnon, Jeremy Clement and Mamadou Sakho are supposedly healthy but that’s it. Until the results come in for the flu I’m at a loss for who will actually be playing. So we certainly wish their players the best in a speedy recovery. My advice to coach Kombouare is to verse his players in Michael Jordan’s famous flu game. That might lift some spirits.

In the end I think the game will go on as scheduled and that many across France will ultimately be disappointed with it. PSG certainly isn’t healthy or else the thought of canceling the game would have never been mentioned in the first place. For the players sake I certainly hope that they are not forced to play just to please us fans. We all want a great match tomorrow but not at the expense of the players health. Deschamps knows the pressure is not on downplaying the classic right from the start. I’m glad he’s kept his cool and not bought into the hype and drama of all of this it only will put our players at ease.

Prediction
Marseille 2-0 Paris Saint-Germain