Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines (France) (AFP)

"This season has allowed me to grow", rewinds the world champion Thomas Lemar, recalled in extremis at the Blues before the Euro, in an interview on Saturday with AFP, also evoking his friendship with N'Golo Kanté and his ramp-up at Atlético Madrid.

Q: You arrived at Clairefontaine with a small muscle injury, where are you?

A: "I have good feelings, it bodes well for the future. I hope to resume (collective training) very soon. But I also try to take my time. I know this type of injury that are different from the others. I have a medical entourage who take care of me and I trust them. I prefer to take it slow now and then go full speed ahead. "

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Q: This call comes at the end of a full season with Atlético, crowned champion of Spain.

What did it bring you?

A: "A lot of things. I got back playing time, which I had lost over the past two years. I also got back a volume of play that I had lost, this way of touching the ball. repositioning in the middle has done me good and it has been seen throughout the season: I felt more and more at ease, I took my marks, I enlarged my palette too. allowed me to grow more. "

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Q: Do you find any similarities between the methods of Didier Deschamps in the France team and those of Diego Simeone at Atlético?

A: "These are two coaches who love to win, who have a passion for football, who like to pass on their experiences to us. Both push us upwards, encourage us not to give up, to make efforts for the collective so c 'is something that I find in club and selection. It is sure that you have individualities that will make the difference too, but a team is the key to everything. "

Q: Do France have the best offense in the world, as Kinsgley Coman claimed on Friday?

A: "We have world-class players. With a team like that, we can do great things at the Euro. We have to stay focused on each match because we have very tough opponents to play. does the maximum in the field, I think it can do it. "

Q: See Karim Benzema at Clairefontaine, how do you feel?

A: "It's always good to have players like Karim's type in the France team. He can bring us more as he knows how to do with Real Madrid."

Q: You came back to Les Bleus at the last minute in March.

Was your absence for over a year heartbreaking?

A: "I watched all the matches of the France team. Whether I'm there or not, I will always be the first supporter of the France team. This period was difficult but I took it instead. positively. It allowed me to adapt well to the coach's instructions at Atlético, to focus on the priority: regain playing time and then, perhaps, find the Blues. "

Q: In March, Deschamps started you twice.

Did you still tremble at the time of the list for the Euro?

R: "It is the coach who always has the last word, especially since I had my physical problem. But you still have this small part of confidence in you or you say to yourself: + I still had a good meeting just before +. "

Q: During a preparation, there is a lot of football but also free time.

How do you take care of it?

A: "I'm not too fond of video games, so it's more collective life for me: table tennis, card games ... Kingsley (Coman) showed us a card game he plays in Germany. I prefers a team game than being alone in my room. "

Q: Speaking of cards, do you prefer to play with or against N'Golo Kanté?

A: "I prefer to face him because I know how to piss him off, I know how to upset him (laughs), even if he is going to go above the rules for a while. He is N'Golo, I know him personally. and I know what he is. I prefer to face him, it's our little game. "

Q: Is it better to face him on cards than on a field?

A: "+ NG + it's really a big security that you can have in the midfield. You know he covers all the balls, he brings defensively and offensively, he finds the right passes between the lines. It's a very, very complete player who shows it every season. And he grows from season to season. "

Interview by Jérémy TALBOT, Antoine MAIGNAN and Laurent DI NARDO DI MAIO.

© 2021 AFP