Fabrice Moragado had warned: “We can go for the gold medal with the public and for the public. And to avenge the able-bodied!”, he had added. Was he referring to Thierry Henry’s team that had only won silver in the final of the Olympic football tournament? In any case, the Paralympic footballers did better than the able-bodied! The Blues of blind football won the Olympic title! And in front of an incandescent crowd! A packed stadium and tricolour flags lining the stands.
The feat is all the more commendable since the French coach, Toussaint Akpweh, had underlined the difficulty of facing Argentina in the Final. “They are a tough team, very solid defensively, and have a certain cunning in their way of playing. They know how to get calm players to come into gear.” The French did not fall into the trap.
After beating Brazil in the semi-final, thanks to Frédéric Villeroux’s only goal, Les Bleus could allow themselves to dream. At 41, the captain of Les Bleus is just like his team. A forty-something in the prime of life, like Hakim Arezki, Khalifa Youmé, Tidiane Diakité, all of whom give even the most seasoned players a hard time. Brazil was indeed the undisputed winner of all the Olympic tournaments to date. Argentina, the other strong nation in this Paris 2024 edition, is the reigning world champion. And like Brazil, it has a selection made up of professional players…
- ParisMatch
