Hello, here she is again! Cléopâtre Darleux’s 200th and last selection for the France team dates back to November 2022. It was for the lost small final of a frustrating Euro. Over the past 18 months, the goalkeeper of the Olympic champions in Tokyo has suffered concussions which kept her away from the field for a long time. With Brest, her club, she returned to the game last March after months of doubt and invisible suffering. Here she is now returning to the Games. The 2017 world champion is part of the pre-selection and an expanded list of 21 players who will begin Olympic preparation on June 12 in Capbreton. In the end, only fourteen will remain. Today, there are four preselected goalkeepers: Laura Glauzer (Bucharest); Hatadou Sako (Metz) the two world champions; Floriane André (Nantes) and her. On July 5, only two will remain on the final list. And Cléopâtre Darleux, not retained by Brest and who must also look for a new club or make the decision to end her career, hopes to be one.
How did you find out that you were in the Olympic preselection?
Cleopatra Darleux. I knew this before the list came out. We talk a lot with Olivier (Krumbholz, the coach) and he had already told me some time ago of the possibility of me being there. He confirmed it to me a few days before. So I didn’t learn it by discovering the names.
How did you react to this announcement?
At first, I was pleasantly surprised that he changed his mind because it wasn’t a given. I don’t have a lot of playing time with my club and my presence was not obvious. That’s the first feeling I had. Afterwards, he saw that I was in good shape even without playing much. In the end, I take this preselection with great joy because it was a goal. It’s a first great satisfaction, a small victory for me. But I’m not euphoric either: I continue to work to go further than this list of 21 chosen girls.
During these 18 months of convalescence, had you lost hope of not being preselected?
It was complicated because I realized that the more we advanced, the more the road narrowed. I nevertheless kept my guideline which is summed up by work. Even though I wasn’t playing, which wasn’t easy for a professional athlete, I did what I had to do day after day. I took every training session like it was a match, being on point every day. It was my only weapon and in the end, it paid off.
Do you feel in optimal health conditions to defend your chances of final selection?
I can’t say that I am in this optimal condition since my preparation was not the same as the others. But I make do with what I have. I think that physically I am good, mentally too. Tactically, I didn’t lose anything. I feel good on the pitch, I’m regaining my feelings during matches, it makes me feel good even if I still need more playing time. In any case, I feel ready to attack the preparation. And I’m going to give it my all, it’s the only thing I can do.
Are you afraid, on the field, of a new shock which could lead to a new concussion?
I have no apprehensions, I have never had any in a match. But there are two different things: the fear of the ball on the field and the apprehension of telling myself beforehand “Mr., if I take a ball in the head, it sucks”. In goals, I am not afraid. There is no change in my attitude as a goalkeeper towards the ball and that is good. But I know that for me, as for everyone, it is a risk.
During your absence, a new hierarchy was established with two world champions. How to shake it up to be in the two selected?
There is a word that comes to me: through work. I have to perform in training, be there with the group, recreate bonds and common stories with the girls. I know where I am today. What I especially want to do is focus on myself and give the best of myself. Afterwards, it will be the choice of the coach.
Aren’t Laura Glauzer and Hatadou Sako starting with a huge lead over you?
It is clear that we are not all equally eligible for the position. Laura and Hatadou are ahead of the other two goalkeepers. We have to take this year’s performances into account, that’s normal. The team has been performing well for a year and a half. But I think I have other strengths compared to my past. I’m not going lower than the ground, I don’t think so. I played for 15 years in the French team. I am also a world champion and an Olympic champion. I was good in crucial and high-stakes matches. On my last competition. (Euro 2022), I performed well. These are things that I don’t forget. I have these qualities and they also work in my favor
Brest does not keep you; do you know what will happen next in your career?
I wanted to stay. I have a bit of resentment because I didn’t get an explanation for this decision. But I accept it even if it is difficult. I haven’t yet made a decision for the future, if I continue or if I stop my career. I have possibilities in other clubs but I have no answer. It’s on hold. If I have to stop, it will always end on a better note than if I hadn’t played again at all after the concussions and if I hadn’t been on the roster. But I repeat: no decision has been made.
