A moment of history at the foot of an emblematic monument with 12,000 people supporting their cause. The Blues of blind football could hardly have dreamed of a better setting to win their first Paralympic title. On Saturday, the French team adorned itself with gold by overcoming Argentina (1-1, 3-2 on penalties) at the end of the suspense thanks to a final goal from its captain Frédéric Villeroux, like a symbol.
The “Messi” of blind football, star of the discipline and historic player of the French national team, has once again delivered a great performance. He opened the scoring in the 12th minute, on a sequence that only he knows the secret of. After managing to seize the ball near the French goal, the 41-year-old striker went all the way up the pitch, wiped out two opponents and crucified German Muleck with a powerful left-footed strike.
A still phenomenal Frédéric Villeroux
It was he, too, who had the enormous responsibility of sending the last penalty kick of the Blues into the bottom of the Argentine top corner, while he had the gold on the tip of his foot. The two teams had succeeded in their first two respective penalties, before Alessandro Bartolomucci made a superb save on that of the third Argentine shooter, Nahuel Heredia.
Which meant that Frédéric Villeroux, the last Frenchman to appear in front of the cages, “only” had to put his own in to send the Blues to the roof of Olympus. And he didn’t tremble: with a superb strike with the flat of his foot, he delivered his entire team and an entire country.
A historic victory to end their sensational run on a high note. In the group stage, Toussaint Akpweh’s men were beaten by the Brazilians (0-3) but defeated the Chinese (1-0), vice-world champions, and Turkey (2-0) to qualify for the last four. There, they created a surprise by getting the better of the Colombians (1-0), already thanks to a goal from Frédéric Villeroux in the last minutes.
A tense final against our worst Argentinian enemies
And they weren’t at the end of their troubles: in the final, they faced Argentina, the world champion, who had beaten the five-time Paralympic champions Brazil in the semi-finals, and whom they had never beaten. A match that always had a special flavor, after the World Cup final lost in 2022 by Didier Deschamps’ players… on penalties, the provocations of Emiliano Martinez then, and the controversy of racist chants against members of the French team, sung by the Albiceleste players recently.
The final was tense for the entire thirty minutes. The match was initially very tight and punctuated by tough encounters, before Frédéric Villeroux gave the French the lead. But it was short-lived. On the next move, the Argentinians equalized with a goal, made possible by a misunderstanding in the blue defense.
The beginning of a long period of suffering for the Blues, who got annoyed before no longer managing to find the solution offensively. Dominated and cornered in their camp, they were saved several times by a very great Alessandro Bartolomucci. Under pressure, they managed to hold on until the breathless penalty shootout, but which ended in the most beautiful way.
For blind football, the magic of the Games has worked
After jumping for joy, Frédéric Villeroux, captain since 2006, fell to the ground, overcome with emotion. Already present in Athens in 2004, this father of three children suffering from a congenital eye disease has experienced everything with the French team, the very lows like the last place at the Tokyo Games, as well as the very highs with the silver medal in London in 2012.
But the Blues had never been crowned Paralympic champions. They had nevertheless won the European title in 2022, suggesting hope for the future of the discipline that was little known to the general public just a few days ago. Except that the magic of the Games has passed through and the French public has quickly been won over by this adaptation of football intended for the visually impaired, who find their way by the sound of the bells in the ball and the instructions of their staff.
The stands of the Tour Eiffel stadium vibrated throughout the competition to the rhythm of the French exploits and the dribbling of its new favorite. To respect the silence necessary during the phases of play but still make their support for the Blues felt, the spectators alternated between loud and silent waves, and continued to raise their voices at each timeout.
A popular craze that obviously did not escape Frédéric Villeroux. “Honestly, the public gave us an extra boost, and that helped us surpass ourselves,” he confided after qualifying for the semi-final, before expressing his gratitude once again after the semi-final: “I think that yes, we did the job on the pitch, but in the stands if they are not there, I think that the matches are not at all the same. I thank all the French people who are in this stadium, in front of the TV.”
As a final symbol, “Freed From Desire”, the anthem of Kylian Mbappé and his team during the 2022 World Cup, resonated after the final whistle. This time, to celebrate a victory. And even more: a moment that will remain in the history of French blind football.
- RMC Sport
