The mind and the public, the winning assets of the Blues to win Paralympic gold
These are the stories that thrill hearts and highlight all the beauty of sport. On paper, the French team was not the favorite for this Paralympic tournament. The only committed nation still amateur with the Türkiye, few paid dearly for the skin of the Blues before the competition.
And the poster for the final lived up to this gap between the amateur team and the reigning world champion professional team. “We were keen to show that David against Goliath was possible,” reveals Frédéric Villeroux. According to him, two factors in particular made this feat possible: the mentality of the group and the support of the public.
“A group that has always lived well, a group of friends”
“A final is not played, it is won,” he asks. It is with this state of mind that the team, united, entered the field that famous Saturday, September 7.
“Off the field, it’s a group that has always lived well, it’s a group of friends and that’s what made the team strong,” he analyzes. “We knew we could do it, we had to commit 300% again, like all the other matches. »
A collective mentality of steel that allows Tricolors to move mountains and make the adversary tremble. “I think the French team is scarier in terms of mentality and commitment, because we don’t give up until the last second,” he continues. “All countries know this. The Argentinians beat Brazil, I think they came out on top and that was detrimental to them. »
Before adding: “Of course there were the tactical and technical choices of the coach, but I think that it was the understanding of the collective which made it possible to succeed in overcoming complicated moments, and to be solid at the moment when we managed to score. »
Collective qualities which allowed the captain to approach the final calmly.
“When I scored the first goal I told myself that nothing more could happen to us. Even the goal that the Argentinians scored 7 seconds later didn’t bother me, I quickly exchanged with teammates saying ‘don’t worry it’ll do it while we all do our job’, and there we have it. done,” he rejoices.
“The public was 50% of the reason for this medal”
In addition to its mentality, the French team could rely on a major advantage against its opponents: a passionate public completely committed to its cause.
“What struck me the most was the entrance to the first match,” he remembers. “We were told that there was 12,000 people in the stadium, we knew it, we tried to buy tickets for our families but we couldn’t because it was full. But we still remained perplexed, we said to ourselves that it was not possible that 12,000 people would come to see blind football. When we heard everyone shouting, it perked us up. […] It gave us emotions like never before. »
“If we had played the same competition, with the same matches in the same order, I think we wouldn’t even make it through the groups. The public was, at least, 50% the reason for this medal,” he considers.
Nothing seemed to stand in the French way to gold. “It was our tournament. We all talked about it. If we have to rewrite the scenario it’s impossible. Everything that happened, between the red card against the People’s Republic of China, the posts against Türkiye and Colombia, the moments when we score when the other team is dominating… […] It was written. There are no words, it’s the magic of sport,” he says.
