NEVER a man to pass up an opportunity to embroider a reputation for being contrary, the French coach, Aime Jacquet, yesterday expounded the remarkable theory that his players may this afternoon encounter a Czech Republic side strengthened rather than weakened by suspension.
The French are such overwhelming favourites in today's Old Trafford semi final that Jacquet was clearly trying to reunite with terra firma. Like every concerned manager he perceives overconfidence as the enemy within.
The Czechs have lost four players to yellow card fever, including their influential defender, Radoslav Latal, and their forward, Pavel Kuka.
"I should like to think that I know a little bit about their team and how they like to play their football," Jacquet said. "We must neither overestimate them nor underestimate them. They can be a strange and difficult team to play against because they hang back and then suddenly explode forwards.
"Because of these suspensions they will have new men in their starting line up fresh and fit new men. That factor may make them even more unpredictable and even more explosive. This game could represent something of a trap for us we must be wary."
Jacquet himself has selection problems having lost Christophe Dugarry to injury and Christian Karembeu to suspension.
If France win four of Jacquet's more accomplished players, Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps, Eric Di Meco and Youri Djorkaeff, would miss Sunday's final were they to be cautioned today.
It is at a time like this that you need a mixture of dynamism and cool," Jacquet said. "This is one of the problems of being involved in a competition that boasts much commitment it is an inevitable problem."
In Karembeu's absence Jacquet may well decide to call upon Jocelyn Angloma, who has recently moved between Torino and Inter Milan, or he may push Desailly forwards from central defence to the midfield role he fills so elegantly at AC Milan.
Jacquet diplomatically insists there can be no favourites today despite his country's magnificent sequence of 27 unbeaten games.
