Makelele rues France stalemate
Monday, June 9, 2008
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Claude Makelele conceded that France "should have taken the three points" as he took the Carlsberg Man of the Match award after the deadlock with Romania.
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Claude Makelele conceded that France "should have taken the three points" as he took the Carlsberg Man of the Match award following Monday's 0-0 draw with Romania in Zurich.
'Hard to find space'
The 35-year-old defensive midfielder shone on a day notable for fine defending in the Group C opener at the Letzigrund Stadion, but he could not hide his disappointment after Raymond Domenech's side drew a blank. "They are very compact and defensive," he said of Romania. "They defend together as a block and it is hard to find the space between their defenders. We worked all week long on this. It is a pity because we should have taken the three points but it is not over. We need to get the points against the Netherlands and Italy now. It will be very hard but we need to beat them and score goals against those two teams."
'We tried everything'
The 2006 FIFA World Cup runners-up started the game as favourites but Makelele sought to add an upbeat note, saying: "There is no frustration really. We would have liked to have started with a positive result, but it is not negative either. We tried everything - on the wings, through the centre - but we did not have any clear opportunities. We did what we had to do." He continued: "We saw today that the team was solid, we stood together. We talked a lot, but we were up against a Romania team that was very strong at the back. They did not make many mistakes. They got rid of the ball when they were in danger."
Mezey praise
The Chelsea FC player's performance caught the eye of the UEFA EURO 2008™ Technical Team, which chooses the Carlsberg Man of the Match in conjunction with euro2008.com users. Speaking on behalf of the Technical Team at the Letzigrund Stadion, György Mezey praised Makelele's unselfish style on a day when defences ruled. "He played very honestly," said the man who led Hungary to the 1986 FIFA World Cup finals. "He did everything. Always in the right position, he made no mistakes. He was very disciplined and made good deliveries in midfield. It was a very good performance after a hard season."