“Don’t talk to me about a scar because for me there is none,” says Nedim Remili

At the House of Handball in Créteil

Listening to your teammates, it appears that this 2025 World Cup could allow you to heal the scar linked to the failure at the Paris 2024 Olympics…
Nedim Remili (He poutes): No, I don’t think so. I believe that we need to look to the future, or at least to the present with this World Cup. There is no scar to heal, but there is work to do, which has already started and which must continue throughout this competition. We are on the right track. We work hard, we work hard. We have established a solid foundation and now we have to make that happen during the matches. So don’t talk to me about a scar because for me there isn’t one.

For this World Cup to be successful, is it necessary to win the title?
No, for it to be successful, we must find cohesion, solidity – whether defensive or offensive -, as well as the foundation that we had put in the last competitions before these famous Olympics. Afterwards, obviously, when you are the French handball team, it’s almost gold or nothing. But here, the most important thing for us is not to look so far ahead, to prepare first for our first three matches against Qatar, Kuwait and Austria. To be honest with you, I don’t even know who we’ll bump into next because I don’t want to think about it right away. I hope first of all that we will build our competition based on the work that was done during the repair and these three matches and then go all the way.

Cohesion is a term that comes up often. Does this mean there is something to put back together?
I tell you not to talk to me about scars and you tell me about things to put back together, you are strong (laughs). More seriously, we talk about cohesion because it is the basis of good competition, of a good trip. We will spend almost 30 days together and if there is no cohesion, it will be complicated to go to the end, or at least to have the necessary resources to finish in style, as was the case exactly one year ago (title during the Euro). So it’s this cohesion that we’re looking for. There is also the fact of having lost players. When I say lost, I’m talking about veterans who stopped their careers, which means that there is a new workforce in a sense. It is in this sense that we speak of cohesion and not of scar (smile).

This cohesion is important. But this word is starting to piss me off as I say it so much…

Nedim Remili

How do we create this cohesion?
We party all night together (laughs). No, more seriously, it involves lots of things, starting with dealing with each person’s characters, knowing that some are more discreet than others. Naturally, everyone ends up in the living room and tries to have a time, even if it’s not easy to have all 20 players together. But for the little anecdote, after the second day of preparation during which the staff physically killed us, all 20 of us found ourselves in the hot baths to recover. I think this has never happened since the creation of this House of Handball. It’s a moment that clearly proves that this group wants to move forward together. Same when we played a game of werewolf (a famous role-playing game). This happens a lot through board games, that’s for sure. The coaches understand that we need our moments as a group, and it really happens naturally. This cohesion is important. But this word is starting to annoy me by saying it so much, we have to find another one (laughs). There is a strong desire to share moments together, off the field. Even during stretching, there are 4-5 of us together and they are never the same groups. However, the people of Nantes could do it because there are a lot of them. But there are a lot of mini-groups that mix together every time, which is very interesting.

Who is the ambiancer?
Honestly, there are a lot. The first is Hugo Descat, but there is also Dylan (Nahi). In his genre, Thibaud Briet is not bad either. And in the end, it’s often Samir Belhacène who does something stupid. There is truly a homogeneous group, and also heterogeneous at the same time.

You say the team has changed. Everyone’s roles too?
It’s complicated… Let’s just say that there are players arriving and they will have to assert themselves more. But again, there’s no pressure on that. I think we have a really united group, with a lot of cohesion (smile). We pretty much all belong to the same generation and we get along very well. You can feel it on the pitch, when we train there is really no player higher or lower than the other. The most important thing is that we are all on the same wavelength because there are so many strong forces in this collective that everyone wants to make their contribution. A world championship is long and everyone will have their role to play. No matter when, you have to be ready.

We want the youngest, one day, to talk about our generation as a great generation of this French team.

Nedim Remili

Do you think that with the departure of the last elders, it is up to your generation to take charge?

I wouldn’t say “take the lead” because I think we’ve been taking it for some time now. But yes, we want to write our story because officially, with the retirement of Niko (Karabatic), the era of Experts is really over. So, here, it’s really a “new generation” French team that’s arriving and we want it to be a great page. I recently saw the Canal+ documentary on the history of the French team and I have just discovered the one from BeIN Sport. We want to be part of these incredible stories, which transmit emotions, which build a bridge from generation to generation. We want the youngest, one day, to talk about our generation as a great generation of this French team.

For some time now, a mental trainer has been working on the French team staff. What do you expect?
So I’m probably not the right person to ask this question because I don’t expect anything special from it. I think that seeing a mental trainer or a psychologist, whatever you call it, comes from a personal intention. I already have someone I work with outside the group and that suits me very well. It depends on the feeling, the moment. Today, I don’t feel the need. However, I felt it after the Olympics, if you want a scar (laughs). But since then, I’ve been doing really well. I feel good in my skin, good in my head. My family is doing well and believe me, that’s what’s most important today.

Were you able to analyze what had not been done at the Paris Games in terms of the game?
Ah, you want to talk about tactics, the game. Are the group questions over? (Smile) It is certain that if you want to talk about the Olympics, we developed a much more sterile, much more static game and that did not allow us to develop the qualities of each other. There, we are obviously trying to add a lot of speed because we have new players on the back base who can give us some, like Aymeric (Minne) or Thibaud (Briet). They have another way of playing, of also understanding handball. We really try to ensure that everyone can contribute as much as they can on the pitch. It’s complicated because there is only one ball and there are a lot of great players who, in their respective clubs, like to carry a lot of balls. But once again, it is this desire to share this ball that will make us win.

Do the Danes still have something more than you?
(Stops) Not.

For what ?
Oh damn, well done, I didn’t have that one (laughs). I think they have their strengths. They are lively, they are strong. They have qualities everywhere. Now we’re trying to develop ours, trying to add more. And I want to tell you: response in February. But they are the reigning world and Olympic champions, which makes them the best team in the world at the moment. We are the best team in Europe, until next year again. So it’s up to us to go for this World Cup.