Former France (16/1 to win the 2010 World Cup) captain Patrick Vieira has been left disillusioned by his failure to make the World Cup squad.

The 1998 World Cup winner, capped 107 times in an outstanding career, was left off coach Raymond Domenech’s provisional 30-man squad for South Africa.

He was one of three high-profile omissions from the squad, along with Arsenal’s Sami Nasri and Karim Benzema of Real Madrid.

And while he took the decision on the chin, he was not happy about the manner in which it was conducted.

“His (Domenech) choice I do accept,” said Vieira, who won the Euro 2000 title with France and played in the final four years ago which Les Bleus lost to Italy.

“The only problem is with regard to our personal relations. I was expecting more openness, more contact on his behalf.
“With Raymond I enjoyed healthy relations. But to learn of my non-selection like that, well that is lacking intact, class. It saddens me.

“There are coaches who know how to handle these things, and others who don’t.”

Vieira was referring to the fact that Domenech had not telephoned him to inform him of his decision, leaving the player to find out live on TV.

“I have not had him on the phone for the past six months,” said Vieira. “I always had good relations with him even when he was in difficulties. What I really would have appreciated, given the number of caps I won for my country, was that he had called me and said ‘Listen, I believe that you no longer have the necessary qualities for international football.

“I would have understood and accepted that, though I still believe that I am capable of playing at that level.”

Vieira, who moved from Inter Milan to Manchester City in the January transfer window and has played 14 times for the Premier League club, accepts that his international career is now over. But he insists he will continue playing at the top level in his club career.

“It is over. I will not have another chance to play in a big tournament,” said Vieira.
“For me, the French chapter is finished. That does not mean it erases all the great years I spent donning the blue shirt of France.

“On the club side, no is the answer to whether I will retire from that as well. I will, for sure, be carrying on at club level.”

Vieira’s omission from the squad leaves Thierry Henry as the sole survivor of France’s 1998 triumph over Brazil.

Benzema has had an inconsistent season with Madrid, though a pole taken shortly after the squad decision was announced suggested that more fans were upset with him being left out than Vieira’s axing.

Nasri’s Arsenal teammates Gael Clichy, William Gallas, Abou Diaby and Bacary Sagna are included.

Three members of Marseille’s Ligue 1-winning squad – goalkeeper Steve Mandanda and forward Hatem Ben Arfa and Mathieu Valbuena – are named, as are two Chelsea stars, Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda.

France (evens to qualify from Group A) will play in Group A of the tournament, alongside hosts South Africa (6/1), Mexico (3/1) and Uruguay (7/2), who will be their opponents in their first game in Cape Town on June 11.

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