French Football: The End Of The Golden Era

Last night saw France go out in the group stage of EURO 2008 as they lost to Italy 2-0. They finished at the bottom of the group, with just one goal scored.

The golden era of French football is dead.

Some may argue that it was over when Zidane, their greatest player ever, left a dome shaped dent in the chest of Marco Materazzi. They may say that the exact moment France's "golden generation" died was caught on camera and is shown above.

For 10 years they were regarded as a dominant force in World football. French football hasn't seen better days since their triumph in the 1998 World Cup.

Sure, the legacy of Michel Platini's 1984 side remains, but after reaching the semifinals in the 1986 World Cup, they failed to get past the group stages in any major tournament for 12 years.

On the French side, there were a number of stars, Platini the brightest, but not as many as the golden generation.

Fabien Barthez, Laurent Blanc, Frank Lebouef, Lilian Thuram, Bixente Lizarazu, Claude Makelele, Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit, Youri Djorkaeff, Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps, Christophe Dugarry, and Robert Pires were all household names in World football.

Then, of course, there was the man who overtook Platini, Zinedine Zidane, one of the greatest players of all time.

After last night's defeat, Claude Makelele and Lilian Thuram have announced their retirements from international football. This time I am sure they won't come back.

With Patrick Vieira and possibly Thierry Henry also expected to retire in the near future, none of those names listed above will remain.

There are signs of a new generation. The likes of Samir Nasri and Karim Benzema look promising. But, can they live up to the generation before them? I highly doubt it.

The "golden generation" could be to France as the 1970 Brazilians are to Brazil. They had good squads before, good squads after, but it may never get as good as that one period of time.

The days of France as a football superpower are over. The golden era has fallen. What future lies ahead for French football? Will they ever reach the zenith of the football world again? Or will they forever be remembering how good it once was?

We'll just have to wait and see.