“At a very high level, we win battles with attack, but we win wars with defense. » Since taking office in September, Sébastien Gardillou, the new coach of the French women's handball team, likes to paraphrase Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary coach of the Manchester United football team. The Blues, who have a meeting on Friday at 8:30 p.m. with the Danes, in Vienna (Austria), will have the opportunity to verify this in the semi-finals of the Euro.
This summer, during the Olympic tournament, France finished fourth best defense, with an average of 25.5 goals conceded per match. A good result? “It’s too far from our standards! »considers Mr. Gardillou, who has decided to make it his priority project.
« There is one intangible thing in the way the French team plays: everything starts with an impermeable defense. The goal is to once again become the best defense in the world”he says, echoing the antiphon of his predecessor, Olivier Krumbholz: for two decades, the latter transmitted to Les Bleues his obsession with an iron defense, a mantra which now serves as their foundation.
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