Paris (AFP)

If she defends herself from any "anti-Corinne Deacon" speech, the international player Gaëtane Thiney (163 selections) invites the coach of the French women's team to "modernize" her management and to "draw inspiration" from Didier Deschamps, a technician who "protects his players, loves them, federates them".

In an interview without "tongue in cheek" granted to AFP, the midfielder of Paris FC (34 years old) believes that "women's football needs to move forward" towards more empowerment of players and better consideration of their "well-being together".

Q: What prompts you to speak, eight months after eliminating the World Cup-2019 against the United States in the quarter-finals (2-1)?

A: "This World Cup was a disappointment. We want to win titles and respond to meetings, and today that is not the case. For the players it is a great frustration since there is a big questioning every day. Each time we fail and we have the impression that the approach remains the same. "

Q: Does the problem come from coach Corinne Deacon?

A: "I am not here to fight against anyone. The fault is mostly shared. It has been eight years since we have been in the semi-finals of a big competition. We are lucky to 'have a Federation with real political will, financial means so that we succeed and it doesn't work. Above all, we must modernize the approach, be more visionary and even more involved in high performance, which is based on three pillars: manager personalities, develop leadership and realize that the players are the depositors of knowledge essential for performance. "

Q: Isn't that the case right now?

A: "When we say that we have a goal from the United States, it is not true, we are years away from it. The performance is based on principles of respect, of + playing well + together, of well-being together, on which we must progress at all costs. We must co-build a project by empowering the players. When we enter the field, we must be galvanized, have a group that develops and matures. "players are not expressing themselves to their full potential."

Q: Because they are slowed down in their expression?

A: "The World Cup, for us, is a waste. We failed to express the potential we had and, beyond, to enhance it by the energy given by the public. C "It is a real frustration. I am a technical advisor to the Federation, a player of the France team, my duty is to do what is best for the team. (...) everyone is questioning themselves, but the coaching cannot make the players bear what we forgot to do together. "

Q: Your comments seem to clearly target the current staff ...

A: "It is difficult to do this interview, the line between destroying and building is very fragile. And my will is real to build. I cannot bequeath to the new generation a system, an approach, without saying that it It is my duty. We are lucky to be in a Federation that succeeds with boys. Didier Deschamps is above all a leader who knows how to manage personalities, develop leadership. Obviously sometimes he must there are hiccups, but we must be inspired by its communication, its management. "

Q: Is the Blues coach the antithesis of Deacon?

A: "What is certain is that he protects his players, he loves them, he takes them away, he federates them. Corinne Deacon or others - my speech is not anti-Corinne Deacon, I see beyond that - must be inspired by this. In any case, women's football needs to advance on these points, otherwise we will never succeed. "

Q: Are you aware that this interview endangers your selection future?

A: "Yes, I have measured the risks, but in life you have to take it, to be committed. We can all make tongue-in-cheek, but it will not progress. Why am I doing it in the media? is often more listened to. It's been four years that I have not expressed myself and I suffer from it. "

Q: Are you prepared for possible hostile reactions in the press or social media?

A: "At the same time, what consequences can it have for expressing my love for the team and for saying that I would just like us to win, that we are even better? methods used in boys, with a Federation mixing political will and financial means so that we succeed? I don't say much bad. "

Interview by Jérémy TALBOT.

© 2020 AFP