Guillaume Gille: “It is through handball and our connection on the pitch that we will find a positive dynamic”
Is this a new formula starting for the French team?
“It’s a new formula because we have just started a new cycle, it’s a new Olympiad which is opening. It is the end of a last period which was cruel, but which also saw the departure of a large number of veterans who held a very important place within this group. So yes, reconfiguration of a team, the idea of a new season, of a new World Cup which will take place six months later after our failure at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. So it is clearly a new phase, a new dynamic and with this group, we want to have a very good World Championship. »
Are the roles distributed differently between the players now?
“There is indeed in this new configuration, a transfer of captaincy which took place with the redefinition of the statuses within this group. So yes, there is also a new situation at this level. […] In this squad, there are boys who have a role, a mission a little more important than the others to get on board, to unite, to build with us the staff, the contours of this game project that we wish to improve. One of the great lessons of the Paris 2024 Olympics is that we did not know how to find our fuel. We weren't able to find the accuracy in our game and that's what we want to find again. We know that it is through the game, it is through handball and our connection on the pitch that we will find a positive dynamic. »
Who are these players you are talking about?
“It’s Ludovic (Fabregas) as captain, it’s Dika (Mem), it’s Nedim (Remili), it’s Karl (Konan), it’s Luka who, even if he passed on his captain's armband, also remains the big brother today. Already by his age, he remains the oldest who accompanies the group today with his experience and with his knowledge of major international competitions. So these are people who were already in charge with me a few months ago. It's just that today they are more identified and in a balance of forces that has changed. When we lose Nikola Karabatic, Vincent Gérard, Valentin Porte, Timothey N'Guessan, these are boys who weighed in on the life of the team and who today are no longer there. So it's all being reorganized, but it's positive. »
With this change of cycle and the players injured before this World Cup, what are France's objectives for this competition?
“Today, it is true that the context of the squad is very particular and it is certainly a first to find ourselves with so many players who are not yet at 100% of their possibilities. Now our ambition remains the same. It is at the same time to reposition itself in the elite of the dominating nations. We are coming out of a competition where, in terms of play, we gave a bad image to our group and that is what we want to work on. We want, through the game, through our state of mind, to reposition France in its place, to reposition France in the circle of teams that count. »
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