rejuvenated Blues, with intact ambitions
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Vincent Collet has the art of the formula: “This is not a cabinet reshuffle”, professed in early August the coach of the French men’s basketball team in the first days of preparation. However, two “Ministers of State” are lacking in his troops, who take part, Thursday 1er September at 8:30 p.m., at the European Basketball Championship against the German hosts. Nicolas Batum, captain of Olympic runners-up Tokyo, and Nando De Colo, another Les Bleus executive for more than a decade, have pressed the “pause” button for this European campaign – to recover from their interminable seasons, and hope to extend the adventure until Paris 2024.
“We will have to rethink the team in the way it plays, assumes Vincent Collet. It is up to us to invent this new path, to rewrite our history. » Without laying everything of the foundations, now firmly established, of this team.
Bronze medalists at the World Cup in China (2019) and silver at the Tokyo Games (2021) – having beaten the Americans in both tournaments – the post-generation Tony Parker Blues do not hide their ambition. “The objective is not simple, but it is clear, strikes Rudy Gobert. A lot of very good teams will be there, but, clearly, we are only aiming for the gold medal. » The pivot of the Habs, triple best defender in the NBA, extends: “Personally, I’m tired of bronze and silver medals, so it’s gold. It’s clear ! »
“Everyone wants to ‘hit’ the France team”
Still, it will be necessary to have a fairly solid stomach, the menu promises to be tough. “When you perform, the target behind your back grows. And at the moment, it is huge in that of the Blues, warns former international pivot Frédéric Weis. Everyone wants to “hit” the France team. » Defeats in Bosnia-Herzegovina (90-96, after two extensions) four days before the start of the competition, Evan Fournier’s teammates experienced it.
“We are a leading country. The others see us as favourites, they will all run into us.declared bluntly the rear of the Blues to The Team after the game, calling to take the encounter as a warning. At the start of the preparation, the back of the New York Knicks, who shows off his captain’s stripes during this Euro, estimated France “targeted for a few years, so there is no additional pressure”.
But this French team with great continental aspirations is no longer the one that ended a stone’s throw from the United States, a year ago, in the final of the Olympic Games. In addition to the apologies Batum and De Colo, “the doctor started making the selection”, complained the tricolor coach, after the successive injuries of the great hope Victor Wembanyama, the leaders Frank Ntilikina and Andrew Albicy, as well as the pivot Moustapha Fall. If the last two, sufficiently recovered, were integrated into the group at the last minute, they missed most of the preparation. And the pivot of Olympiakos Piraeus recognized it, “Rhythm-wise, it’s not going to be easy”.
This rejuvenated French team is looking for its new executives, and is still groping. “On the pitch, at times, there is a form of balance, intensity and cohesion, raised Evan Fournier after the defeat in Bosnia. But, to be honest, we don’t have that yet with the major five. »
“There are a lot of new ones, and they really have to integrate that: our trademark is to be a really boring team in defense”, Evan Fournier, captain of the Blues for the Euro
If winger Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot joked at the start of preparation on “the absence of the “two old men””supposed to allow “to play faster, and to be harder in defense”, the France team did not undergo a revolution this summer. At its head, Vincent Collet continues to give the floor to the defense. “With this group, since 2019, our strength begins with our defense”, hammered Evan Fournier after the first warm-up match. It is up to everyone to find their place in this equation, where some must restrain their offensive ardor to blend into the mold of the Blues. “There are a lot of new ones, and they really have to integrate that: our trademark is to be a really boring team in defense. »
Many uncertainties
An identity that France had somewhat misplaced during the last Euro, in 2017, left in the round of 16. Their executioners then? Germany, which the Blues meet on Thursday for the opening match of the competition, in the Cologne arena. Before continuing in the group stage, with in particular meetings against Slovenia – holder of the trophy – and Lithuania. “Having a difficult group can turn into an asset if you approach things in the right waybelieves Vincent Collet. This is an opportunity to build mental toughness. » As long as you don’t stumble at the entrance. “With this renewed group, it must not put us in doubt” and that causes ” a lack of trust “.
Before the start of the competition, Vincent Collet recognized “hopes, a lot of ambition, but also fears”at the time of approaching his twelfth campaign at the helm of the Blues, since 2009. “It’s a bit like a Tour de France rider who is preparing for his side, who is in the middle mountains. But what is going to happen when we attack the non-category passes? For the moment, very sincerely, I do not know. »
Frédéric Weis shares the Norman technician’s analysis. “The truth is that we don’t know where we are at, when it’s time to start this Euroanalyzes the former pivot, now a consultant for BeIN Sports. There are many uncertainties, especially in defense, and I am not completely reassured. The Blues will have to find solutions quickly, because in such a tough competition, there will be no room for adjustments. »
But Rudy Gobert believes in the chances of his team. “We continue to gain experience each year, we have the same staff who supervise us well, and a group of motivated young people”, ensures the future pivot of the Minnesota Timberwolves. After that of 2013, he would be well offered to France basketball a second European coronation.
Germany-France, Thursday 1er September at 8:30 p.m., in Cologne (Canal+ Sport 360, unencrypted).
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