Patrice Evra Evra was named to the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Ligue 2 Team of the Year in the left-back position. Following the season, Evra was recruited by Nice's Derby de la Côte d'Azur rivals Monaco. Despite wanting to play as a left winger again, Evra was advised by manager Didier Deschamps he would only play as a left-back. Evra has since credited Deschamps for allowing him to become a better defender after initially describing the role as being not fun. Evra was inserted into a back four that consisted of centre-backs Rafael Márquez and Sébastien Squillaci and right-back Franck
Patrice Evra resulted in Evra leading a player protest against the decision on 20 June, in which the players refused to train. Prior to leading the revolt, Evra had got into a verbal argument with national team fitness coach Robert Duverne. The strike was denounced by the FFF as well as French government officials. The following day, the players returned to training without incident. As a result of the mutiny, Evra was stripped of the captaincy and benched for the team's final group stage match against hosts South Africa. France lost 2–1 and were eliminated from the competition. Following the competition, former