“Go get this gold medal”, this is the only objective of the French Olympic Team, coach Thierry Henry once again affirmed at a press conference on Monday, despite the absence of Kylian Mbappé and other players not released by their clubs for the Olympics.
“We set our sights on gold. Of course, at the Olympic Games, the silver and bronze medals are super important, it’s not like when you lose in the World Cup final where you are vice-world champion and they don’t give you anything. You still bring something back for the France team, we agree. But we set the gold for ourselves,” declared Thierry Henry. “It remains a challenge but it’s not done either… It’s something that could be done,” he added.
The pre-list of players retained in the Olympic group was difficult to draw up, due to the refusal of several clubs to release their players for the Olympics.
Mbappé absent despite Henry’s request
Kylian Mbappé has never hidden his desire to play the Games in his native country, but Real Madrid categorically refuses to release its players for the Olympics, as the football tournament is not included in the FIFA dates, they do not ‘have no obligation to do so. “The position of my club (Real Madrid, editor’s note) was very clear. I think I will not participate in the Olympics,” Mbappé, captain and superstar of the Blues, declared on Sunday.
Asked about this, Thierry Henry explained that he “asked” Real Madrid to release Mbappé. “I knew that the Real Madrid players were not going to be able to come. We asked, we tried (…). Well you never know, of course, it can change but personally, I took a sharp no, well brought, very polite, but it was no,” he clarified on this subject.
“There are still quite a few things that can change”
Beyond the case of Mbappé, the French coach was faced with a cascade of other refusals from clubs.
“If there is someone this evening who wants to recall a player, I am obliged to release him,” regretted Henry.
On Sunday, he learned that Maxime Estève, initially retained in the group, would not be released by his club Burnley, and therefore had to replace him Monday morning with Loïc Badé, 24-year-old defender from Sevilla FC.
A headache which prevents him from “thinking about tactics” since he must constantly concentrate on the list, even though the rally began on Sunday in Clairefontaine. “The tricky thing is making the list. If (the phone) doesn’t ring, it will be the same list (for the Olympics), but there are still quite a few things that can change.
