Leona Lewis

Leona Louise Lewis, (born 3 April 1985) is a British pop and R&B singer–songwriter. Lewis rose to fame in 2006 as the winner of the third series of the British television series The X Factor.
Lewis has become a multi-platinum selling artist and three time Grammy Award nominee. She was proclaimed 'Top New Artist' by Billboard magazine in 2008. Lewis has released two albums to date, Spirit and Echo, in 2007 and 2009 respectively. Spirit became the fastest-selling debut album and the biggest seller of 2007 in both the United Kingdom and Ireland, and made Lewis the first British solo artist to top the Billboard 200 with a debut album. It has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide.
Lewis's debut single "A Moment Like This" became the fastest selling UK single after being downloaded over 50,000 times within thirty minutes of its release. Her second single, "Bleeding Love", reached number one positions in over thirty singles charts around the world. In November 2008 she set a record in the UK for the fastest selling download-only release with her cover version of the Snow Patrol song "Run" which sold 69,244 copies in two days. In November 2009, the first set of dates for her 2010 debut world tour were announced.


Early life

Lewis was born in the London Borough of Islington, to Aural Josiah "Joe" Lewis of Afro-Guyanese descent and Maria Lewis of Welsh descent. Her parents enrolled her at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, and from there she attended the Italia Conti Academy and the BRIT School, where she learned to play instruments such as the guitar and piano, and began to write her own songs in the hope of becoming a singer-songwriter,writing her first full-length song at the age of 12. She initially trained in opera, but went on to singing jazz and blues, eventually leading to popular music, citing Minnie Riperton, Eva Cassidy and Stevie Wonder as her main influences. After leaving the BRIT School at 17,she took a number of jobs to fund studio time, recording a demo album called Twilight. The album, comprised almost exclusively of her own compositions, was recorded under Spiral Music, a production company based in Fulham. "I tried to secure a record deal by doing things my own way. I worked very hard but I never managed to land a contract", said Lewis. Other demos were recorded under licence from UEG Entertainment, later included on an album called Best Kept Secret. However, none of Lewis's demos were released and she considered taking a hiatus from her music career to attend university until her boyfriend persuaded her to enter The X Factor which subsequently severed her connections with UEG.




Music career

2006: The X Factor
The X Factor (UK series 3)


Lewis at the London premiere for Flushed Away, November 2006.
Lewis auditioned for the third series of The X Factor in 2006, singing "Over the Rainbow". She was mentored by Simon Cowell and was announced the winner on 16 December 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract.
Her debut single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", was released on CD on 20 December 2006, and was available as a digital download from midnight on 17 December. It broke a world record after it was downloaded 50,000 times in thirty minutes. On 24 December, "A Moment Like This" was crowned the 2006 UK Christmas number-one single, having sold 571,253 copies, outselling the rest of the Top 40's sales combined.The single became the most downloaded song in 2006; it stayed at number one for four weeks and stayed at the top spot in the Irish Singles Chart for six weeks.



2007–2009: Spirit and international breakthrough
Spirit (Leona Lewis album)
Wikinews has related news: British pop star Leona Lewis breaks US Billboard records
In February 2007, Lewis signed a £5 million ($9.7 million) five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records, and showcased for several American music executives. A press release was sent out revealing that Cowell and Davis would work together in a first-of-its-kind partnership on both the song and producer selection for Lewis's debut album, entitled Spirit.Lewis recorded tracks for the album in London, Miami, Los Angeles, New York City, and Atlanta, where she worked with several songwriters and record producers including Dallas Austin, Walter Afanasieff, Salaam Remi, Steve Mac, Stargateand Ne-Yo. It was released in November 2007 and entered both the Irish Albums Chart and the UK Albums Chart at number one, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in both countries, and the United Kingdom's fourth fastest selling album of all time. It was released in several other nations in January 2008, and went to number one in New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Germany, South Africa and Switzerland.Two further tracks were recorded in 2008 for the US release of the album: "Forgive Me", produced by Akon, and "Misses Glass", produced by Madd Scientist. It was released in the United States in April 2008 and entered the Billboard 200 at number one, making Lewis the first British artist to reach number one with a debut album. A special edition of Spirit was re-released in November 2008 in Europe, including the songs "Forgive Me", "Misses Glass" and a cover of the Snow Patrol song "Run". The album again went to number one in the UK Albums Chart. To date the album has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide and has a 9× platinum certification in the UK.
Lewis's second single, "Bleeding Love", produced by Ryan Tedder and written by Tedder and Jesse McCartney, was released in October 2007 in the UK, where it sold 218,805 copies in its first week, giving it the biggest first-week sales of 2007 to date. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, where it stayed for seven weeks, and in the Irish Singles Chart it remained at number one for eight weeks. It reached number one in the singles charts of New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Austria, Canada and the United States. "Bleeding Love" won The Record of the Year in December 2007. In February 2008, "Bleeding Love" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 85 and then went on to peak at number one for four non-consecutive weeks. The song became the first track by a UK female to reach number one since Kim Wilde's "You Keep Me Hangin' On" in 1987. Lewis's third single, a double A-side featuring "Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand", was released in the United Kingdom in March 2008, in aid of Sport Relief, and she visited South Africa for the charity. The single reached a peak of number two in the UK singles chart selling over 40,000 copies in its first week of physical release. "Better in Time" was released as Lewis's second single in the US, where it peaked at number 11 in the Billboard Hot 100. "Forgive Me" was released as Lewis's fifth single in November 2008; it reached number five in the UK. "Run" was released as a download-only single in the UK, reaching number one, and becoming the UK's fastest-selling download-only single with 69,244 copies sold in two days. Lewis's last single from Spirit, "I Will Be", was released in January 2009, only in North America; it peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In August 2008, she performed "Whole Lotta Love" with guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin at the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing, representing the handover to London as the host of the 2012 Summer Olympics. In September 2008, she joined several female singers to perform a single for the anti-cancer campaign Stand Up to Cancer. The single, titled "Just Stand Up!", was performed live during the one-hour telethon that aired on all major US television networks. Lewis received three nominations for the 51st Grammy Awards in December 2008. "Bleeding Love" was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Spirit was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album. She was nominated for four BRIT Awards, in the categories British Female Solo Artist, British Breakthrough Act, British Album for Spirit, and British Single for "Bleeding Love", but despite being the favourite to win the most awards, she received none. She won two awards at the 2008 MOBO Awards: Best Album for Spirit and Best Video for "Bleeding Love". In December 2008 Lewis was named 'Top New Artist' by Billboard magazine.





2009–present: Echo and world tour
Echo (Leona Lewis album) and The Labyrinth (tour)

Leona Lewis performing in 2009.
Lewis's second album, Echo, was given a worldwide release in November 2009. Production took place throughout 2009, including work with Ryan Tedder, Justin Timberlake,[52] Max Martin, Arnthor Birgisson, Kevin Rudolf, and John Shanks.It was recorded in Los Angeles and took nine months to produce. Lewis described the album as "more guitar-driven" compared to Spirit.One of the albums's songs, "My Hands", appears as the theme song to Final Fantasy XIII's North American and European release. Lewis performed her first full UK show at the Hackney Empire in London on 2 November 2009, performing songs from Spirit and Echo. Echo reached number one in the UK Albums Chart and the top ten of Austria, Ireland and Switzerland.
Despite previous attempts from Lewis's lawyers to ban the release of Best Kept Secret by UEG Music, claiming that the singer had not given her consent, the album was released in January 2009 when the label insisted it owned the rights to the music and Lewis would receive a 50% share of the album's profits. However, a television advert for the album was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority, who said in a statement: "We considered that the claim 'Leona Lewis's new album' misleadingly implied it was the singer's latest recording rather than a new CD of tracks recorded some years ago." The album was released to iTunes in standard and deluxe editions, and two EPs, "Private Party" and "Dip Down"/"Joy", were released in September 2009.
The first single released from Echo was "Happy", which was written by Lewis, Tedder and Evan Bogart and produced by Tedder  The single was released on 15 September 2009, peaking at number two in the UK, and reaching the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Japan and Switzerland.Lewis also recorded the theme song for the 2009 science fiction film Avatar, directed by James Cameron. The song, "I See You (Theme from Avatar)", was written by James Horner and Simon Franglen. It was nominated for Best Original Song at the 67th Golden Globe Awards. In January 2010, Lewis provided vocals on a cover of "Everybody Hurts", released to help raise money for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The second single from Echo, "I Got You", was released in February 2010. In April 2010, she featured on a duet with Italian singer Biagio Antonacci, called "Inaspettata (Unexpected)", from his album Inaspettata.
Lewis plans to start her first world tour, titled The Labyrinth supporting Spirit and Echo in May 2010, which is reported to be lasting 14 months. It is said that Lewis has hired choreographer Travis Payne for the tour, which is reported to have a Labyrinth theme. Her label have apparently said that money is no object. Lewis will tour North America from July to August 2010 supporting Christina Aguilera on her Bionic Tour. In an interview named "Under the skin of Leona Lewis" with 4music, Lewis stated that she will be working on her third album after the tour.
Other activities

In October 2008, The Times reported that Lewis had turned down a $1 million deal with Mohamed Al Fayed to open a Harrods sale. Lewis commented in the press that she turned down the deal on the grounds that Harrods is the only UK department store which continues to stock clothing made from animal fur. She told The Big Issue, "I got a lot of flak for that. There were people who said I should have done it and given the money to charity, but that would have been such a contradiction." She announced in October 2008 that she was in the "bargaining period" of launching her own ethical line of accessories through Topshop,] and that she is in the late stages of releasing her own perfume for Europe.
Lewis signed a book deal in January 2009 to release an illustrated autobiography in October 2009. The book, entitled Dreams, contains mostly pictures taken by photographer Dean Freeman.
In 2010 she joined Cotton's Fabric of Our Lives campaign, recording a song and appearing in a television advert.




Personal life

Lewis lives in Hackney with her boyfriend Lou Al-Chamaa, an electrician, whom she has known since she was approximately ten years old. She has a tattoo of Hebrew letters on her left wrist, symbolising her relationship with Al-Chamaa. A vegetarian since she was 12, Lewis won PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian along with Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis in 2008, and again in 2009 with actor Scott Maslen. She also was named PETA's Person Of The Year for 2008. Lewis is a supporter of the World Society for the Protection of Animals.
Wikinews has related news:
Leona Lewis assaulted at book signing in London, England
Man charged with assaulting British singer Leona Lewis
At a book signing for Dreams on 14 October 2009 at the Piccadilly branch of Waterstone's book store in central London, Lewis received a punch to the head from Peter Kowalczyk, a 29-year-old man from south London. Eyewitnesses say Lewis ran out with her hand covering her face, whilst security wrestled the attacker, who was reportedly laughing, to the floor. The police were called immediately to the scene and Kowalczyk was arrested. Lewis suffered bruising and was taken to a private doctor as a precaution. She cancelled a scheduled appearance on the BBC's The One Show and a two-day promotional trip to Germany. She later released a statement, saying "Thank you so much for your support, it is truly overwhelming. Yesterday was a horrible shock and left me extremely hurt and upset. I'm very sorry to those I wasn't able to meet at the signing. Thank you again for all of the lovely messages. Love you all."Kowalczyk was subsequently sectioned under the Mental Health Act. He was charged with common assault, for which he was due to appear before City of Westminster magistrates on 26 October 2009. The case was adjourned as Kowalczyk was "not fit to attend court". It was reported that he had a history of mental health problems and may have attacked Lewis due to jealousy, as he had attempted to enter The X Factor but was rejected by producers.[96] On 14 December 2009, Kowalczyk admitted common assault and was ordered to remain in hospital for an indeterminate period.
Discography

Leona Lewis discography
Studio albums
Spirit (2007)
Echo (2009)
Tours

2010: The Labyrinth
Source:wikipedia

Bobby Brown

Robert Barisford "Bobby" Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American R&B singer-songwriter, occasional rapper, and dancer. After success in pop group New Edition, Brown began his solo career in 1987 and had a string of Top 10 Billboard hits, culminating in a Grammy Award. He was a pioneer of New Jack Swing music, a fusion of hip hop and R&B. His second album, Don't Be Cruel, included popular songs such as "My Prerogative". Brown is the ex-husband of R&B singer Whitney Houston and starred in the reality show Being Bobby Brown.

Music career

New Edition

Bobby Brown began his music career as a member of the R&B boy band New Edition which he founded along with childhood friend Michael Bivins . He is the youngest member of the group since the inception. The group's hits with Brown included "Candy Girl", "Cool It Now", and "Mr. Telephone Man". Brown was voted out of New Edition in 1986 (similar to The Temptations' David Ruffin in 1968) when the other four members felt that their careers would be jeopardized by Bobby's lewd, line-crossing on-stage antics. Throughout the All for Love tour, he feuded with Ralph Tresvant and cut in on Tresvant's lead vocals. In 1996, Brown rejoined the group for New Edition's comeback album, Home Again. In the middle of the tour, he engaged in further racy on-stage antics. He extended his solo set and cut into Bell Biv Devoe's time. During an interview, he admitted that he was intoxicated during the tour. Once again, he left New Edition. In the fall of 2005, New Edition performed at BET's 25th Anniversary Special. The group performed a medley of its greatest hits, and even brought Bobby Brown on stage for a rendition of "Mr. Telephone Man". It was later announced on BET and Inside Hollywood that Bobby had rejoined the group and would be on the next group album. In January 2006, New Edition announced that the group would launch a new album and tour in 2008. Bobby also appeared at a concert in Columbia, South Carolina that New Edition had filmed for a future dvd release.

Solo career

After leaving New Edition in 1986, Brown released his first solo album, King of Stage, in 1986. This album included "Girlfriend", a minor hit which went to #1 on the Billboard R&B charts and #57 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other than that, King of Stage did not garner much attention. However, Brown's next album, 1988's Don't Be Cruel rocketed him to super stardom. Working with the writing/producing team of L.A. Reid and Babyface, as well as Teddy Riley, Don't Be Cruel spawned five Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 singles: "Don't Be Cruel" (#8), "Every Little Step" (#3), "Rock Wit' Cha" (#7), "My Prerogative" (#1, subsequently covered by Britney Spears in 2004), and "Roni" (#3). The album would eventually be certified 8x platinum (8,000,000 units sold)

In 1989, he contributed two songs (including "On Our Own", which reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100) to the Ghostbusters II soundtrack, in addition to making a cameo in the film. Brown has subsequently dabbled in acting.

In between the "On Our Own" single and the release of Brown's next album, a remix album, Dance! Ya Know It! was released to capitalise on Brown's huge success at the time. A non-album "megamix" single was released to promote the project. The European dance-oriented version (sampling beats by Snap!) was titled "The Freestyle Megamix" and was a hit in the UK, reaching #14 on the Gallup charts. A more R'n'B oriented version called "Every Little Hit Mix" (b/w "Roni) hit the Australian top 10

Brown's third album, Bobby, did not arrive until 1992. It reached #2 on the Billboard album charts and produced the hit singles "Humpin' Around" (#3 on the Billboard Hot 100) and "Good Enough" (#7) as well as a smaller hit in "Get Away" (#14). The album was eventually certified 1x platinum (1,000,000 units sold). However, it did not come close to matching the album sales or singles chart success of its predecessor.

Brown waited until 1997 to release his next (and to date, last) album of original material, Forever. The album was originally titled Bobby II and was supposed to be produced by such luminaries as R.Kelly, Teddy Riley, Sean Combs and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. However, Brown negotiated 100% creative control of the album[citation needed] and decided to write all the songs himself. It only managed to climb to #61 on the Billboard Hot 200 album charts and produced no charting singles. There were hopes for a Brown comeback in 2002 when he appeared on the lead single "Thug Lovin'" from rapper Ja Rule's third studio album The Last Temptation. There were even talks that Brown had signed with Murder, Inc. (now known as The Inc) records. In 2006 Brown appeared on "Beautiful", the third single from Damian Marley's album Welcome to Jamrock.

Heads of State

As of September 27, 2008, Brown began touring with fellow New Edition members Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill in a new group named Heads of State.

[edit]Movies

Brown starred in the 1996 movie, "A Thin Line Between Love and Hate", along with Martin Lawrence and Lynn Whitfield. Brown also was in the 2001 movie, "Two Can Play That Game", along with Vivica A. Fox and Morris Chestnut.

Personal life

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Brown's legal and substance abuse troubles threatened to overshadow his music. In late 2003, Brown was arrested for misdemeanor battery, allegedly for striking Houston while shouting epithets.[2] In February 2004, Brown was arrested and jailed in Georgia on a parole violation related to a previous drunk driving conviction.

Brown married Whitney Houston in July 1992. Together they have one daughter, Bobbi Kristina Houston-Brown, born on March 4, 1993. On September 13, 2006, Houston's publicist announced that after 14 years of marriage, Houston had filed for a legal separation from Brown. One month later, Houston officially filed for a divorce from Brown.[3] It was ruled by a judge on April 4, 2007 that their marriage would be definitively dissolved on April 24, 2007, and that Whitney would receive custody of their then 14-year-old daughter. Bobby now has a new daughter with his new fiance, born shortly after his divorce from Houston.[4]

In June 2007, Brown took part in the ITV television series "24 hours with...", a chat show format as celebrity and interviewer spend an intense 24 hours locked in a room together. The show's host, Jamie Campbell, asked Brown questions about his career and private life, and infamously joked about making "sexual moves" towards the singer. Brown was furious and threatened to beat Campbell up live on air.

On October 9, 2007, he suffered a mild heart attack in Los Angeles, California.[5] Brown complained of severe chest pains the night before and was taken to two different hospitals. Brown later announced that the story was not true and that he was actually in good health.

Brown's eldest son, Landon Brown, appeared on the MTV show Rock the Cradle. On February 3, 2009, it was announced Brown was expecting his fifth child with his girlfriend.[6] His fifth child, a boy named Cassius, was born May 30, 2009.[7]

On August 14, 2009, an arrest warrant was issued for Bobby Brown after he failed to appear in a Massachusetts court on a contempt complaint. Norfolk County Probate and Family Court Judge Christina Harms ordered Brown arrested the next time the singer is in Massachusetts. He failed to appear at a June 29 hearing. The Boston Herald reported that Brown has fallen $45,000 behind in child support payments for the two teenage children he had with former girlfriend Kim Ward.[8]

Most recently he has been appearing on cable-televised reality T.V. shows such as Celebrity Fit Club, Gone Country, and his own show entitled Being Bobby Brown. On April 27, 2010, after a supposed tweet, a rumor mistakenly began that Brown had died, but he confirmed that he is alive, and "doesn't even twitter".

On May 7 2010, Brown proposed to his long time girlfriend[9] while performing at the Funk Fest in Jacksonville, Fla. He asked her to marry him while giving his performance on stage. He got down on one knee and when she joined him on stage along with their child she accepted his proposal.

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications[10]

(sales threshold)

US US R&B UK AUS SWE AUT SWI

1986 King of Stage

Released: December 11, 1986

Label: MCA Records

88 12 40 — — — —

1988 Don't Be Cruel

Released: June 20, 1988

Label: MCA Records

1 1 3 5 20 — —

US: 8× Platinum

UK: 2× Platinum

CAN: 3× Platinum

1992 Bobby

Released: August 25, 1992

Label: MCA Records

2 1 11 2 4 26 18

US: 2× Platinum

CAN: 2× Platinum

1997 Forever

Released: November 4, 1997

Label: MCA Records

61 15 — — — — —

"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Remix albums

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications[10]

(sales threshold)

US US

R&B UK AUS

1989 Dance!...Ya Know It!

Released: 1989

Label: MCA Records

9 7 26 14

US: Platinum

UK: Gold

CAN: Gold

1993 Remixes n the Key of B

Released: 1993

Label: MCA Records

— 72 — —

"—" denotes releases that did not chart

[edit]Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions RIAA[11] Album

US US R&B US Dance US AC UK

1986 "Girlfriend" 57 1 — — — — King of Stage

1987 "Girl Next Door" — 31 — — — —

1988 "Don't Be Cruel" 8 1 — — 42 Gold Don't Be Cruel

"My Prerogative" 1 1 71 — 6 Gold

1989 "Don't Be Cruel" (UK re-release) — — — — 13 —

"Roni" 3 2 1 — 21 Gold

"Every Little Step" 3 1 17 — 6 Gold

"On Our Own" 2 1 15 — 4 Platinum Ghostbusters 2 (soundtrack)

"Rock Wit'cha" 7 3 — 28 33 Gold Don't Be Cruel

1990 "The Freestyle Mega-Mix" — — — — 14 — Non-album song

1992 "Humpin' Around" 3 1 15 — 19 Gold Bobby

"Good Enough" 7 5 — — 41 Gold

1993 "Get Away" 14 3 3 — — —

"That's the Way Love Is" 57 9 31 — 56 —

"Something in Common" (with Whitney Houston) — — — — 16 —

1994 "Two Can Play That Game" — — — — 38 —

1995 "Two Can Play That Game" (remix) — — — — 3 — Remixes n the Key of B

"Humpin' Around" (remix) — — — — 8 — Non-album song

"My Prerogative" (remix) — — — — 17 —

1996 "Every Little Step" (remix) — — — — 25 —

1997 "Feelin' Inside" — 42 — — 40 — Forever

"—" denotes releases that did not chart or not certified

Featured singles

Year Single Artist Peak chart positions Album

US US R&B US Dance UK

1990 "She Ain't Worth It" Glenn Medeiros 1 43 — 12 Glenn Medeiros

2002 "Thug Lovin'" Ja Rule 42 16 10 15 The Last Temptation

2006 "Beautiful" Damian Marley — — — 39 Welcome to Jamrock

"—" denotes releases that did not chart

(source:wikipedia)

Raymond Domenech

Raymond Domenech (born 24 January 1952 in Lyon) is an retired French footballer and the current manager of the French national team. He is of southern Catalan descent

France manager

2006 World Cup

On 12 July 2004, Domenech was a surprise choice to succeed Jacques Santini after the country's disappointing exit from UEFA Euro 2004 by losing in the quarter-final match to the eventual tournament-upset winners Greece. He was given the objective by the FFF to reach "at least" the 2006 FIFA World Cup semi-finals.

Qualifying

France struggled in the qualifiers, even though the team was seeded in a group that included the relatively unheralded teams of Israel and Switzerland. The Republic of Ireland were France's main contenders in the group, and looked like contributing to France's exit until Zinédine Zidane returned to inspire France to a 1-0 win at Landsdowne Road, ultimately ending the hopes of the Irish. Domenech had to force Claude Makélélé, Lilian Thuram and Zidane, members of France's "golden generation," out of international retirement to aid the national team to eventually qualify. The general consensus in France, however, was that France was too dated a side to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup, despite the return of their cherished talisman, Zidane.

Squad selection

Domenech's management style has also raised eyebrows amongst players and fans. A keen amateur dramatist and astrologer, Domenech has admitted to distrusting Scorpios, such as Robert Pirès. This led to the choosing of Vikash Dhorasoo who played an important part in qualifying but not in the finals. He later fell out with Dhorasoo after he made a behind the scenes film called "Substitute" His decision to leave out FC Barcelona star Ludovic Giuly in favour of Franck Ribéry, and subsequent refusal to explain that decision, left many French players and fans mystified. Domenech chose Pascal Chimbonda, a low-profile player with no face or international experience, for the squad. Domenech's selection for the France's World Cup squad was further criticised when he publicly announced that Fabien Barthez would start ahead of Olympique Lyonnais goalkeeper Grégory Coupet. This decision was met with derision in the French press and also led to Coupet walking out of the national squad before the tournament, though he was later to return. His exclusion of Roma back-bone defender Philippe Mexès has also raised a few eyebrows. Mexès, named "Hope of the Year" in 2000 and being a starting defender for Roma since his arrival to the team, still has to participate in a competitive senior tournament under Domenech.

Finals in Germany

His tactical strategies, perceived as "merde" amongst the French press and his team's slow start in the 2006 FIFA World Cup (recording draws against Switzerland and South Korea before finally defeating Togo) had seen him placed under further pressure.

However, France turned the corner after the victory against Togo and started to play the passing possession football in which they were renowned for in their triumphs in 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000. They shone in the knockout round, which included impressive victories over favoured Spain, Brazil, and Portugal. France lost the final to Italy in a penalty shootout following a 1–1 draw after extra time.

France's successful tournament caused the pressure on Domenech to be lifted slightly. Recalled golden generation veterans Zidane and Thuram earned spots on the All-Star Team, with Zidane being awarded the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament. Ribéry's performance made him the potent successor to Zidane as the team's talisman.

Euro 2008

On 27 August 2007, Claude Makélélé's club manager, José Mourinho, stated that Domenech was treating Makélélé "like a monkey," since Domenech had called him up for Euro 2008 qualifiers even though Makélélé had announced his retirement after the 2006 World Cup. Domenech responded, "As long as he is performing, he will play. I have the right to pick him." [5][6] A 3–0 shutout of Georgia and a 3–1 defeat of Italy in the first Euro 2008 qualifiers took France back to the top of the ELO rankings. France ended up last in their UEFA Euro 2008 Group C and failed to advance in the tournament after losing to Italy 0-2.

Career

1969-1977: played for Lyon. Won Coupe de France in 1973.

1977-1981: played for Strasbourg. Won Championnat de France in 1979.

1981-1982: played for Paris Saint-Germain

1982-1984: played for Bordeaux. Won Coupe de France in 1984.

1984: retired at the end of a playing career which saw him earn 8 international caps.

1985-1989: a year after retiring, moved into management of Mulhouse

1989-1993: manager of Lyon

1993-2004: manager of French youth team (les Bleuets)

12 July 2004 - present: manager of the French national team (les Bleus)

Career statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total

Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals

France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Europe Total

1970-71 Lyon Division 1 37 2 -

1971-72 32 1 -

1972-73 38 0 -

1973-74 27 0 3 0

1974-75 35 3 4 3

1975-76 36 0 2 0

1976-77 34 1 -

1977-78 7 0 -

1977-78 Strasbourg Division 1 30 1 -

1978-79 37 2 5 0

1979-80 38 1 6 0

1980-81 23 0 -

1981-82 Paris Saint-Germain Division 1 19 1 -

1982-83 Bordeaux Division 1 18 2 5 0

1983-84 22 1 2 0

Total France 433 15 27 3

Career Total 433 15 27 3

(source:wikipedia)