Laporte the quiet genius behind the French revolution

IT was a masterstroke by the French Federation when in November 1999 they appointed Bernard Laporte as coach of the national team.

Affable and courteous in public, he is a strict disciplinarian behind the scenes and his influence has clearly been all-important in making France serious contenders for the World Cup. They were nothing short of magnificent yesterday and hardly gave away a silly penalty.

When a team is as dominant as France were yesterday, the suspicion is that they were made to look good by the shortcomings of the opposition.