The French team’s goalkeeper reportedly criticised the collective attitude and in particular the lack of desire of some of his teammates, reports L’Equipe.
A speech worthy of a leader. Once again a starter in goal for the French team this Friday evening against Italy (1-3) in the Nations League, Mike Maignan did not mince his words in the locker room after the (pitiful) defeat of the Blues. The 29-year-old goalkeeper, particularly exasperated, is said to have let out a big “rant” to criticize the lack of desire of some of his teammates, reveals The team this Saturday afternoon.
A speech of almost two minutes
“The tone was not that of a man determined to minimize the significance of this first defeat in the Nations League. Far from it. In his deep and powerful voice, the former Lille player castigated the behavior of starlets, specifies the sports daily. With a clear speech where in substance, he explained that barely two Italian players would currently have their place in the French team but that they had at least shown desire and aggressiveness. At the end of his monologue of almost two minutes, a «silence total» would be “imposed” in the Parc des Princes locker room.
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But was the AC Milan goalkeeper targeted? For The teamhe is “It’s hard not to see a stone in the garden of Mbappe»dont l’attitude “indolent”both in the warm-up and in the second half, would not be “did not go unnoticed internally”. Perhaps he was (also) addressing Antoine Griezmann who did not have “his usual generosity“More generally, the Blues’ goalkeeper”aimed for a collective attitude».
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“We talked in the locker room but it stayed between us.”
This is (probably) why he insisted on appearing in the mixed zone after the match. “We wanted to leave the Euro with a victory, unfortunately we couldn’t do it. It’s clear that I’m taking it badly, the group is taking it badly because we are competitors, we want to win, he told reporters. Afterwards, unfortunately, we didn’t do it and we have a match on Monday (against Belgium), we have to pull ourselves together. We talked in the locker room but it’s between us. We’re going to analyse the match calmly and we’ll discuss it tomorrow. There’s no need to be worried, it’s the competition, that’s how it is, when you lose a match, it’s not the end of the world. We all have a role to play, we know we have to do better because the French team has to win. We’re not going to look for excuses, we’re going to question ourselves.” The French team hosts Belgium this Monday evening (8:45 p.m.) at the Groupama Stadium (Lyon). A great opportunity to bounce back.
