Decidedly, the turmoil after the elimination of the Blues from the preliminary round of the Euro continues to stir the small world of handball. This Friday, during a long interview with AFP, Patrice Canayer, 58, returned at length on this episode. "We underestimated the value of the other teams," he said. French handball must return to a little humility, especially on the estimation of its players. Despite our elimination, we continue to say that we had the best players in the world. An unbearable speech. "
For Canayer, his sport is in great danger: “Success ends up putting vigilance and conscience to sleep. French handball at all levels has been more beautiful than it is. We have to stop thinking that we are the best… We imagined that we were on top of the world and that we were never going to come back down. We all have to roll up our sleeves to get back to work. "
"We cannot resolve ourselves, however, to the thesis of a mishap"
The double European champion does not consider Didier Dinart, the coach, as solely responsible: "He has his share of responsibility, but it is not his failure. We cannot resolve ourselves, however, to the thesis of a mishap. We must learn lessons and bounce back. "
Canayer was contractually bound to Montpellier until 2024, and expressed interest in "managing a project around the France team" if they were asked to do so. “I told Didier Dinart and the Federation that I was at their service to collaborate. My goal is that we are in mutual aid and work to place the French team in the best conditions to qualify for the Olympic Games. "And to continue:" Handball needs a real strategy where the Federation and the League work in a different way. There is a real strategy to put in place through a rapprochement between the Federation, the clubs and the national team. I have had this conviction for a long time. Managing this project may interest me… ”