Is Hugo Lloris the Savior for Les Bleus?

Saint Lloris in action.

It is certainly true that things have been…difficult for Les Bleus lately. A national side boasting Titi, Franck Ribery, Yoann Gourcuff, Nicolas Anelka, Lass Diarra and Bacary Sagna (not to mention continually-snubbed Mathieu Flamini and Samir Nasri) should not struggle, but we all know exactly what it took for them to qualify for World Cup 2010 (sorry, Phil!).

Aside from the idiocy of Raymond Domenech, which I have well-documented on UF, this is a team that simply refuses to come together and play as a team.

Yet, while there have been notable individual efforts throughout qualifying matches, very few people had focused on the performance of newly-installed starting GK Hugo Lloris until the playoff tie against Ireland. Unfortunately, his brilliant play of late has lead to increasing pressure on the 23-year-old, with some going so far as to anoint him “Saint Lloris” despite the fact that he remains relatively untested.

So, is it too early to hail him as a savior for Les Bleus?

The standard school of thought is that goalkeepers peak later than outfield players, but are also capable of playing for far longer. One has only to look around most leagues to find that GKs play well into their late-30s, as evidenced by David James and Brad Friedel. In fact, Peter Shilton is considered one of the greatest keepers of all time and he played for Derby County until the age of 43, and played a couple more seasons for Plymouth Argyle beyond that.

Lloris appears to be a different case; it was immediately clear that he was a special talent when he kept a clean sheet in his pro debut at the age of 18, playing for OGC Nice in a Coupe de la Ligue match. After a few years at the southern club he made the move to Lyon for a reported $12m fee amid interest from AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspur. Although the club broke their streak of consecutive Ligue 1 titles, Lloris was named GK of the year at only the age of 22.

During his time at Lyon, he has made 83 total appearances. However, his talent has truly been on display in the current season, where in 28 total appearances he has given up only 28 goals and made 93 saves while keeping 12 clean sheets. This has included several master-class performances in the Champions League against both Liverpool and Real Madrid, driving Lyon into the quarter-finals. In 6 appearances for Les Bleus during qualifying, he has not lost a match and only given up 4 goals while making 16 saves. Most pundits have been astonished at the rapid progression that Lloris has made, convinced that he would have a long time to wait behind Gregory Coupet or Mickael Landreau for a starting spot with the national side.

However, a closer look reveals that while Lloris may be ahead of the curve in general for GKs, he is right on track to measure up with the greatest French GKs of all time.

Fabien Barthez, the bald madman, made his pro debut for Toulouse at the age of 20 but quickly displayed a penchant for spectacular saves that would serve him throughout his career. In his first season with Marseille (1992/1993), he won both the Ligue 1 title and the Champions League title at the age of 22. The 1993 Champions League final against AC Milan is considered to be one of the greatest performances of all time from a GK in European competition. In fact, he remained the youngest GK ever to win the CL title until Iker Casillas took that distinction in 2000.

Barthez received his first international call-up in 1994 at the age of 23, and would cement his status as the #1 option for Les Bleus in 1996 – a position that he would maintain for the next decade, winning a World Cup and Euro title in the process. His record in domestic competition includes Ligue 1 titles with Marseille, Monaco (twice), and Manchester United (twice). In addition, in 17 WC matches he has a 10-5-2 record and only 8 goals against, maintaining 10 clean sheets to tie Peter Shilton for the World Cup record. Barthez is certainly known for some inconsistent play in his time, and his 6-month suspension for spitting on a referee during a friendly against Moroccan club Raja Casablanca was a stain on his already-curious reputation, but his career began quickly and lasted for quite some time.

Perhaps Lloris should look even further back in time for inspiration, to the first memorable man to step in between the posts for Les Bleus (and the first GK to ever make an impression on me). Joel Bats made his pro debut for Sochaux at the age of 17, and at 23 moved on to Auxerre where he would make 184 appearances over the next 6 years. A move to Paris Saint-Germain saw him win the club’s first title in 1986 at the start of a run of 216 appearances that would span 8 years.

Bats made 50 appearances for Les Bleus between 1983 and 1989, notably stopping a PK from Brazilian Socrates in the 1986 WC quarter-finals. Unfortunately for him, he also allowed an absolute howler in the semi-finals against Germany, a match that France lost 2-0.

Where does Joel Bats spend his time today? He’s the GK coach for Lyon, providing the knowledge that has been instrumental in allowing Lloris to blossom so quickly.