Koundé defends the Blues and Deschamps

In Clairefontaine

Antoine Griezmann said during the Euro that the Blues were sometimes boring to watch, how can you be more beautiful in the game with the French team?
Jules Kounde: This is a question for the coach. Obviously, when you take part in a competition and you don’t win it, you have to question yourself, see what you did well and what you didn’t do so well. We reached the semi-final (lost to Spain 2-1), we tend to trivialise it since the coach (Didier Deschamps, in 2012) has been there. We have to give it more value than we give it. Obviously we can improve, we can be a little more beautiful to watch play, but we all agree that results are important, even if they don’t do everything, of course. We will work to improve and bring home a trophy at the next competition.

Have you felt a change in Didier Deschamps’ management?
No, not particularly. We didn’t do much yesterday (Monday) in training, today it will be quite light. As I said, we have to question ourselves, but I think that the results, we shouldn’t throw everything away and paint a bleak picture, something that we can do when everything doesn’t go as we want. Of course, the French team has room for improvement.

You had a great Euro, after some criticism. Do you think the press was too hard on you?
Beyond being harsh, there was a misunderstanding of what the coach expected and asked of me and of the player I was. I am not a trained right-back and today, we ask a lot of the full-backs. There are very good attacking full-backs and we put them forward, it is a vision of football. I want to improve and be a better player, but above all, I am a defender, I am here to defend, I have always seen my position in this way… It is the most important and it is always what the coach asked of me. I do not know if the press was too harsh, but there was a gap between what you could write and the definition of the position.

Also readFrance rather than England, short answers, “normal person”… The unprecedented press conference of Michael Olise, new nugget of the Blues

In this return of the Blues, the attraction is called Michael Olise, who preceded you in press conference. He appeared very shy and reserved…
He is also a personality, there are people who are more extroverted than others. He will have no problem blending into the group, he knows people who have played in the Olympics, his integration will not be a problem. We must give him time. The player is very unbalanced, hard-hitting, very good left foot, he is a complete winger. He is someone reserved, I am a bit like that. I learned to open up. I let him integrate quietly at his own pace.

Overloaded schedules are often mentioned, especially after a Euro with very tired players, what about the question of psychological fatigue?
It is an important subject, which often takes second place because we focus on physical fatigue which is also important. Mental fatigue inevitably plays a role in view of the many matches that we have to play, in a sport, the most followed in the world, which is subject to a lot of passion, with constraints that we try to assimilate and manage as best as possible. The few moments that we have to disconnect, I take advantage of them, because it allows us to see something else. (On overloaded calendars) It is a subject to discuss and that the people who decide on football are aware of it.

You caused a stir on Monday when you arrived in Clairefontaine in a skirt. How important is fashion in your daily life?
It’s no secret that I like fashion and clothes. I’ve always liked dressing up, looking neat when I leave the house, whether it’s to buy bread or go shopping. It’s a pleasure, it’s an event that many people look forward to. It’s cool, it’s also a little competition between us. I enjoy doing it, I feel good in my clothes. It helps me disconnect.

What is your view of the Girondins de Bordeaux, your training club, now in National 2?
It’s sad. I’m from Bordeaux, I trained at the training center and seeing it disappear saddens me. My thoughts are with the employees who find themselves in a complicated situation. I’m a positive person and I hope the situation improves. Seeing the club go down so low is sad. We have to be focused on getting back up. To blame (someone), I don’t have all the information. I’m not here to judge anyone but the club didn’t go down just because of the sportsman. The first year in Ligue 2, we were so close to getting back up. There are lots of parameters, I understand the supporters’ anger.