Tokyo (AFP)

A world champion and a proven international to supervise the very heterogeneous French football team at the Tokyo Olympics: Florian Thauvin and André-Pierre Gignac are the leaders of the Blues who start their Olympic tournament Thursday against Mexico (5 p.m. local, 10 a.m. French ), their adopted country.

Between them, they weigh nearly 50 selections in the France A team, when some of their teammates, such as young Ismaël Doukouré or Alexis Beka Beka, have not yet played as many pro matches.

Suffice to say that the role of big brothers has been assigned to them automatically.

"It's great that players who have this career are like kids to come with us, in our dream. We have been our goal for four years and they have included themselves and they are ready for anything + fart +", thus testified the goalkeeper Paul Bernardoni.

Faced with the worst difficulties to build his list, coach Sylvain Ripoll also noted the enthusiasm of the two "Mexicans" Gignac and Thauvin, who play at the Tigres de Monterrey, but also of Téji Savanier, the other player over 23 years old. included in the group.

"For this list, some things took a long time to emerge, but that, really not at all ...", he told AFP.

- Odds and ends -

"Thauvin is very, very efficient. He has the experience of very high level, extraordinary technical qualities, to give the last balls, to keep him under pressure, to bring the game to life", detailed the coach about the champion of the world 2018.

# photo1

As for Gignac, "it's a level of performance which has been at the highest level for years and which he has maintained in Mexico".

“Beyond that, there is his personality. He is a federator, he unites a group, he breathes the joy of living, he is very sunny. And then he is a competitor, he only thinks of win and it is no coincidence that at 35 he is still at this level, "added the former technician from Lorient.

In a group of odds and ends, where some come from L2 and others have never known the selection, the presence of players as experienced as the two ex-Marseillais is also one of the rare guarantees on which Ripoll can lean.

"Dede is a great player. I used to go see him when I was little and he played in Toulouse. On the pitch he impresses me. He always gives good advice, he goes to see everyone" , explains for example the former Lyonnais Lucas Tousart, who grew up in Aveyron.

- "The Aztec land" -

The person, a little behind in the only preparation match played by the Blues on Friday against South Korea in Seoul (2-1), confirms.

"I have experience, the desire to supervise this beautiful world, to be an example. There are little + tips + that I can give them. They will also see my mentality and they have already heard of it. my voice, ”he smiled.

# photo2

As for Thauvin, and undoubtedly even more still, the Mexican meeting of Thursday has anyway for him a flavor of its own.

"I've been living there for six years, I had children who are now Mexicans. It's special," he said Tuesday at a press conference where he also spoke about his passion. for the manga and his tattoo of Son Goku, a character from Dragon Ball.

He also took the opportunity to recall that he had already scored many times against Guillermo Ochoa, the Mexico goalkeeper, who played for three seasons at Ajaccio.

"I played against him with OM and I gave him the best goal of my career in Ligue 1," he said.

© 2021 AFP