Absent from Deschamps' lists since the end of the Euro, Olivier Giroud was recalled for the matches against Côte d'Ivoire and South Africa.
The Milanese replaces injured Karim Benzema.
The attacker has a card to play in a system that is not ideal for him.
The walls of Clairefontaine shook Monday morning.
Surprise, the fat and strong laugh of Olivier Giroud resonated throughout the castle when greeting Antoine Griezmann: “How are you, my goat?
“Well brushed teeth and hair, Dior hoodie that fits well, face tinted by the Milanello sun… We didn’t have the smell, but there is no doubt that the AC Milan striker had sprayed himself with his sweet water from Cologne.
It was necessary that to make his comeback with great fanfare in the France team after months of absence.
Confined to the bench of substitutes during the Euro, after the return of Karim Benzema, Olivier Giroud had even disappeared from the lists of Didier Deschamps since the start of the season.
However, the model from the Alpilles lives again in Milan where he has a string of goals, like against Inter or Naples, and is adored by the Rossoneri supporters.
Taking advantage of the absence of Benzema, injured, Giroud was therefore recalled, without more conviction by DD.
But we know the boy: once he has (re) set foot in the door, he never leaves again.
What do we like these images 🤩
→ https://t.co/cfsG3mdlKo#FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/VYy8SltiaX
– French team ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) March 21, 2022
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> Able to be a starter in this France team?
Since the end of the Euro, France vibrates with this 3-4-3 (3-5-2, as you want) installed by Didier Deschamps.
Pistons, movement in front, play, we enjoy ourselves.
So, in the absence of Benzema, can Giroud be in the front trio with Mbappé and Griezmann?
“I am ready to deal with everyone and in all systems.
We are all great professionals, said the interested party in an interview with
L'Equipe
.
I'm like a chameleon, I adapt.
»
But, inevitably, if the former Montpellier player is at the forefront of the Blues attack, the comparison with KB9 will tickle his ears.
“Olivier, he is well in place in the axis, for the centers which will arrive from the pistons, there are no problems, explains Elie Baup, the former coach of the Girondins or OM.
Afterwards, things will have to move well around him, with players who don't necessarily stay on the sides.
It must have proximity, close relays, to combine, create breaches, open up spaces.
He will have to adapt.
»
Alain Perrin is a little more doubtful about the possibility than Giroud of adapting to this system of play. former Trojan coach.
You have to see how it behaves.
But it is not said that Deschamps does not change the system either.
A tactic often adapts to the men one has available.
I am convinced that Didier knows where he is going with Giroud.
»
So you'll have to try hard anyway: Asked about a possible system change to put his former favorite center-forward in the best conditions, the coach mimed surprise: "Oh there, that's giving him a lot of importance ".
What enthusiasm.
> Able to find his place in the group?
If Giroud was no longer called by Deschamps, it was, according to the coach, because of the new status of the striker in selection, no longer really a starter, but not really a substitute either: "When a player has a status, and deserved this status, it is very difficult to live, if not impossible, to come back and have another status by being there, explained DD.
It's human: When you're used to having 100, it's very complicated to have 20, 30, and even 50. Having less [playing time], psychologically, has consequences for himself and the group.
A player with this status needs to have an important role to play, I am convinced of that.
»
It immediately made us think of our friend in 6th grade who, monopolizing the first places in the class, had started to sulk because the teacher had only given him a 14 on a test.
Fortunately, Giroud is not one of them.
We saw him beaming on his arrival at Clairefontaine, notably taking Griezmann in his arms, laughing at the table around Lloris and Lucas Hernandez.
In short, the good life.
"He's a tough guy mentally," says Baup.
He is at the end of his international career, he takes everything there is to take.
He has no moods.
There are plenty of players who love it.
»
The interested party, who had to go through all the verses of the Bible on forgiveness, wants to take advantage of every moment with the Blues and this question of status is to be put away at the bottom of the drawer: "Today, with the maturity and my experience, the coach must know that I come back with great motivation.
He can count on me, whatever role he gives me.
Way to say that the tiny confusion with Mbappé who had animated the editorial staff before the Euro will not happen again.
Moreover, Giroud had not moved an ear during the competition, irreproachable in his behavior until the end.
> Able to compete in the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year?
We would be Olivier Giroud, we would take advantage of this spring rally to show off and slam a quintuple against Côte d'Ivoire.
“Clearly, if Karim is there, Giroud is not called up for selection”, sums up Elie Baup.
But the man with the cap, he wants Giroud to go to the World Cup in Qatar: “It's interesting that the two are there in a team.
Olivier has a different profile which brings something new, which can modify the game system, the general initiatives.
It is important in a competition.
»
Same story with Alain Perrin: “He has his place in this group.
Afterwards, I think Deschamps does not take it just to please him.
He knows what Olivier can bring to a given moment. The important thing is the form of the moment.
And, right now, he's in great shape.
His challenge will be to stay that way.
“And then, keeping Giroud is also an opportunity for him to (finally) overtake Thierry Henry in the ranking of scorers in Blues.
The Milanese is only five units away from the now consultant for Prime Video.
But we won't have to delay, Olivier, because DD doesn't seem to be in the mood for another
date
in the fall: "Olivier was part of this very successful French team, which also been without him.
Of the two, we know the one who won a title that counts, all the same.
Sport
France team: Olivier Giroud should not have too many illusions about his future in Blue
Sport
France team: Olivier Giroud recalled after Karim Benzema's package
Sport
Didier Deschamps
A.C. Milan
Olivier Giroud
France football team
Soccer
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