In the final of the Paralympic blind football tournament, the French team, led by Frédéric Villeroux, challenges Argentina and dreams of gold.
They dreamed of a medal, here they are in the final. In search of the most beautiful metal. Frédéric Villeroux, captain of the French blind football team since 2004, and his friends are playing in the final of the Paralympic Games tournament this Saturday (8:00 p.m.) against Argentina. A waking dream for these guys.
On Thursday, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, in this majestic stadium hosting the competition, France shone. And that’s no small feat in these Paralympics where team sports have disappointed one after the other (wheelchair rugby, sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball). Facing Colombia in the semi-finals, the Blues struggled for a long time to find the fault in a rough match. But Frédéric Villeroux (41 years old) came through. With just over four minutes left to make the decision, the captain, who has been there for 20 years and is the true guide of this team, unleashed a powerful right-footed shot that hit the target. A sort of unsightly but incredibly effective point.
“This audience brings us that extra something that we don’t know. We want to give everything for this site, for these people.”
Martin Baron, striker of the French blind football team
The only goal of this semi-final. To the great delight of the Blues but also of the 12,000 spectators present in the stadium who are broadcasting “an energy” crazy, according to Martin Baron. In this sport where spectators must be silent as soon as the ball is in play so that the players can hear the bells inside the leather, the French public has found a way around it: it gets as noisy as possible when the clock is stopped. A huge support for the players. The French striker insists on this phenomenon: “This audience brings us that extra something that we don’t know. We want to give everything for this site, for these people. We really feel like we’re in the middle of an arena.” And in the final on Saturday, we will have to give our all to win gold.
Also read“Six meters!”, “Eight meters!”, “Axis!”: the French blind football team prepares for the Paralympic Games
After their qualification, France were waiting for Brazil, who had won in the group stage (3-0) against the Tricolores, but the five-time defending champions – undefeated since the appearance of blind football in 2004 in Athens – fell on penalties to Argentina (0-0, 3-4 pen). It is therefore the Albiceleste who will present themselves against the Blues. A big challenge since the South Americans have not yet conceded a goal in this tournament and above all, they are professional while the Tricolores are simply “a group of amateur friends”, as Villeroux likes to say.
France-Argentina in the final, it’s becoming a classic these days. It will have nothing to do with the final of the 2022 Football World Cup but it will still have a special flavor. Especially if Villeroux, described as “the best player in the world” by his trainer Toussaint Akpweh, and his band is adorned with gold, twelve years after the silver in London.
