But the most surprising fact is that he easily made the transition between Ligue 2 and the World Cup ! OM might want to keep him in the squad for this season… Or capitalize on his good World Cup and sell him at a good price.

As far as Ziani is concerned, he had a tough season in Bundesliga. I don’t know if he is good enough to play for a top club, he wasn’t really consistent during his time at OM. But he’s got quality, he was great when he played for Sochaux. I really wanted OL to sign him at that time.

I’m still surprised by Le Guen’s decision to play Mbia as a RB. He’s very powerful and good on 1-on-1s, so he brings more impact as a CB or a defensive midfielder than on the side, where his limited speed can hurt the team.

First, welcome to blogging- I’m really glad to see more sites featuring Ligue 1 – though it has been called a “feeder” league for the EPL and La Liga to recruit from, the past few years have been really exciting! And with 2 Ligue 1 teams featuring in the Champions League quarters, I hope Ligue 1 begins to get the respect it deserves.

Now, on to your list…

I would normally complain its a little Lyon-heavy for my taste- but several of the OL players have been impressive this tournament. Particularly Bastos for Brazil and Toulalan for France. In my opinion, Toulalan was France’s best player this Cup….and its hard to fault Lloris for some of the defensive errors.

Though Cameroon were not successful, I found Mbia to be a bright spot (particuarly game 1 with that power shot that hit the cross bar). Taiwo was very impressive for Nigeria in the first two games, both defending well and pushing the ball forward. I hope to see him do that at OM more next year (though I wont hold my breath as it sounds like hes out the door). I just hope neither of them are too damaged from their experience (neither the Cameroon or Nigeria camps are known for their calm environments).

I guess I should congratulate Heinze for being OM’s first goal scorer in the tournament, but I just cant bring myself to do that. Argh- especially when his presence is pushing Taiwo out the door!

And, am I the only one hoping that Ziani makes it back to L1? He was Algeria’s man of the tournament, no question!

Is there nothing that this guy can’t do!