France duo Thierry Henry and Franck Ribery believe Nicolas Anelka's decisive penalty miss for Chelsea in the Champions League final could actually inspire him when he turns out for Les Bleus at Euro 2008.
The 29-year-old missed Chelsea's seventh penalty to hand the European Cup to Manchester United after the forward had come off the bench during extra-time.
Anelka has already bemoaned the decision to introduce him so late in the match, but former Arsenal team-mate Henry, who lost the 2006 Champions League final against his current side Barcelona, believes the European Championships will be the best cure for a dejected Anelka.
"The best thing to do after this is get back into a big competition. That allows you to forget all about it," Henry told French newspaper L'Equipe.
"When you go on holiday, it keeps coming back to you. With the Euros there, you have to blank it out.
"The disappointment lasts one or two days, then it passes, it has to pass."
Bayern Munich playmaker Ribery added: "Anelka was unlucky. He did what he had to do. It's up to us to motivate him so that he has an extraordinary Euro 2008."
Anelka will have to fight for a place in Raymond Domenech's side against Henry and Karim Benzema, who was recently voted Ligue 1 player of the year after winning the league title with Lyon.
0 comments:
Post a Comment