Fabien Barthez or stepovers. He was also very quick off his line, and often acted as a sweeper-keeper, thus contributing to the evolution of the role. While he received plaudits for his goalkeeping ability in the media, throughout his career Barthez also frequently came under criticism from pundits for his stubbornness, and his aggressive, unorthodox, and eccentric style of play, as well as for taking unnecessary risks, and was also deemed to be inconsistent, unreliable, and prone to errors and lapses in concentration. Through his career, Barthez was known for his active romantic life, and dated Canadian model Linda Evangelista. She became
Fabien Barthez some as a desire to keep the veterans of France's 1998 World Cup victory on the team. "L'Equipe" reported after the World Cup that Barthez would have walked out of the squad had he not been named the starter. France had a slow start in the group stage, drawing their first two games and putting their playoff chances at risk. Fortunately, Barthez's team found their form and won their final round robin match 2–0 to advance to the next stage, where they upset heavily favoured Spain 3–1 in the round of 16. In defeating Brazil, 1–0 on 1 July 2006,