The prospect of Paris 2024: “For all the actors, it will be the competition of their career” (Olivier Krumbholz)
Guillaume Gille (coach of the French men’s team) “The Games at home are a great cocktail, but above all it is very oriented by expectations. Those of the staff, of the players who dream of being there, those of the general public. All the actors who will have the chance to experience this will be privileged. We are going to experience something that no one in the coming decades will have the opportunity to do. The Games, in any country, are already a crazy thing. These events have always marked our handball history. There, you add another layer because it’s at home, in front of your people, with the support of the public.
But in handball, expectations do not change. Whether in France or on the other side of the world, you wait for the two French teams to shine and that’s OK. We want that, we are just aware of the difficulty each time of finding the path to the gold medal. It’s a formidable challenge, in a unique setting. Even if we have a track record as long as an arm, we will all have to find a way in something that is not known. »
Olivier Krumbholz (coach of the French women’s team): “We are starting an exceptional year, that of the Olympics in Paris and this is my last season at the head of the France team. I don’t focus too much on my particular character, I’m focused on preparing the team and everything we can and must do to get to the top next summer. For all the actors it will be the competition of their career, the most memorable. You won’t have to miss the first match, to surf the event at home with a lot of joy and desire, and the support of the public.
This is the first time that we have announced that we are aiming for the gold medal, it clearly demonstrates that for us it is a crucial competition and that we are ready to assume a great responsibility. Even if we know that it may be necessary to reverse at least one balance of power (with Norway). We all love playing at home, the atmosphere, handball at home is so popular that when we play at home, the halls are full, even the preparation matches. Playing such an important competition at home has a double symbolism: that of the Games and playing one at home. It doesn’t add up, it multiplies. »
The intermediate competition: “The Euro is not a preparation course for the Olympics” (Guillaume Gille)
Guillaume Gille: “It’s a Dantean season, an exceptional load for the athletes given the density of club competitions. We are both focused on Paris and its organization, with the need to find performance from January during the European Championship in Germany (January 10-28, 2024), in a competition which, in an Olympic year, has very rarely smiled. The Euro is not a preparation course for the Olympics, we are here to play it at face value. It will be a challenge to challenge the other nations in Germany. It is the cradle of our sport, with a particular fervor. We are going to play the real opening match of this competition, in a football stadium in front of 45,000 to 50,000 people (against North Macedonia, January 10 in Dusseldorf), the decorum will be exceptional. »
Olivier Krumbholz: “The World Cup (November 29-December 17 in Norway, Sweden and Denmark) will be very special. In general, we want to win the pre-Olympic competition and qualify for the Olympics. This time, we will play against opponents who will play for themselves and we will not. It’s up to us to take advantage of a positive path, to play with good pressure, to use the fact of not playing our skin to be brilliant, joyful, opportunistic to achieve a good World Championship. Getting a medal would be good news, I don’t know if we should win. This World Cup is going to be very tough, we will play in the Nordic countries, in the country of handball, with pressure from the public. It’s up to us to show that we are making progress, that the French team is ramping up towards the 2024 Games.”
The reunion between Bleues and Bleus: “Today, we speak as equals and we are very proud of it” (Olivier Krumbholz)
Olivier Krumbholz: “It’s a bit complicated to organize joint gatherings because we are always in a time crunch. We could do lots of things, winger meetings, girls and boys pivots… if we had more time. But things are done in the Olympic village, informally. The pleasure of being together, this pride that we share collectively. It has not always been the case. It hasn’t been that long since the objectives have been identical, for a long time we were less strong. Today, we speak as equals and we are very proud of it. »
Guillaume Gille: “The preparations for the Games are the only times when we meet, we experienced it in Koshu before Tokyo. It puts us in the mood a bit for what life in the Olympic Village is going to be like: it’s not just you, not just your sport, not just the boys. It’s also this idea of belonging to something bigger, the French Olympic team. Our plans are centered on different beliefs and that is normal. The bond between boys and girls is more informal, more marked when you are in the Olympic village, when you are not only focused on your performance. »
Post-2024: “My future, frankly, I don’t care a bit” (Guillaume Gille)
Guillaume Gille: “Frankly, my future today (his current contract lasts until the Olympics), I don’t care a bit. I am so driven by this season and the desire to succeed. But my state of mind is no different from what it was at the start of each season. We know well what the fragility of our profession is, the fragility of performance. Nothing is set in stone. Today we are in a dynamic that is very favorable, but all of this is very fragile, we know that when things go off the rails it can go off the rails badly and it is rarely the project manager who survives the thing. My wish is to continue to live this experience in the most complete way. But I’m in a job where you can’t make plans. We’re always on the go. But it’s OK, I accepted the idea that it was like that. »
Olivier Krumbholz: “I announced that I was stopping after the Paris Olympics because I think it was the best thing for building up afterwards. But if I am needed for Euro 2024 (November 28-December 15 in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland) because the calendar requires us to continue for three-four months, why not? But I don’t think about that at all. In any case, I will certainly not stay for a tiling with my successor. The coach who will arrive, I hope he will not need advice because we will have taken someone very good and very experienced and we will have to leave him alone.
I will be in front of my TV, I will encourage him from afar. It is a new adventure which must be played out with the actors of the new adventure. It’s true that there were a lot of medals and successes during the second part of my mandate. It also has other advantages to be able to set the team on very high objectives. The pressure of history, for both girls and boys, is obvious. Whoever is coming must enjoy it too. Personally, I am not at all shocked, and even rather proud, to hear that the French women’s team is interested in great coaches from men’s handball. »
2023-11-03 17:27:29
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