Montpellier HSC coach Rene Girard has revealed that he was surprised by the decision of Laurent Blanc to leave Yoann Gourcuff out of the France squad for Euro 2012.
Girard, who guided Montpellier to Ligue 1 glory this season, said that he was a little surprised by the omission of his young defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa but was more taken aback by the exclusion of Gourcuff.
"The team that Laurent has chosen seems to be balanced. That said I was still a little surprised by the exclusion of Gourcuff," Girard, 58, told L'Equipe.
"Since he brought him in to the original 26-man squad I thought he might take him until the end. If he had not been in the 26 then I would not have been as surprised."
France face England in their first match of Euro 2012 on Monday, June 11 in Donetsk.
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