Emmanuel Petit
Published : Oct 04, 2003 00:00 IST
France midfielder Emmanuel Petit announced the end of his international career, blaming French coach Jacques Santini for a "lack of frankness."
"It was not an easy decision to take. But I made up my mind and this is now irrevocable," the 32-year-old Chelsea player was quoted as saying by the sports daily L'Equipe.
"I feel great physically and I'm certainly back to my best but I don't think the French squad is led by the right man. He (Santini) is lacking frankness."
Since Santini was appointed last year after the debacle of the World Cup campaign, which ended in a first round exit, Petit was only considered as a replacement for his former Arsenal team-mate Patrick Vieira and new Chelsea colleague Claude Makelele.
Petit, who won 63 international caps, last played for France in the 2-0 defeat to the Czech Republic in a friendly in Paris in February. Petit helped France win the 1998 World Cup, scoring in the 3-0 final win over Brazil, and become European champions in 2000.