Source: PA
Anelka wasn't the problem for France - Paclet
Former France team doctor Jean-Pierre Paclet has defended Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka's role in Les Bleus' World Cup meltdown.
Under former coach Raymond Domenech, the team managed just one point and one goal from their three Group A games.
And their campaign descended into total anarchy when the squad refused to train two days before their third match against hosts South Africa, in protest at Anelka's exclusion from the party following a dressing-room bust-up with Domenech.
But Paclet, in extracts from his book L'Implosion reproduced in the Sunday Times, played down the player's perceived disruptive influence and insisted Domenech was aware of the 31-year-old's feelings on his lone striker role, which appears to have been the root cause of the dispute.
"When Domenech went to see Anelka at Chelsea last season, Anelka warned him, let him know that there was no point taking him to South Africa if it was to play him in a position he didn't like," he wrote.
"The problem with the French team wasn't Anelka. You have to understand he is loved within the squad, immensely popular, even if he's introverted."
