A special return to school.
Appointed at the head of the France team last January, at the end of a catastrophic European Championship where the Blues had been eliminated in the preliminary round, Guillaume Gille took his oral exam this Thursday on the occasion of '' a press conference organized at the Maison du Hand in Créteil.
Deprived of physical contact with his internationals since his appointment due to the health crisis, the two-time Olympic champion sweats with envy before launching the new international season.
A “crazy” season with the qualification tournament for the Tokyo Games (March 12-14 in Montpellier) and the Games in focus.
But before, there will be, from Saturday, the draw for the World Cup in Egypt (from January 13 to 31 in Cairo).
A very special return to school
“We have just lived, and we are still living an incredible period, we have gone through all the states.
It was very difficult to envisage the next sequences.
After the cruel disillusion that we experienced during the last Euro, this deprived us of the possibility of finding ourselves, of getting up, of talking about what has not been.
It resulted in a lot of work, and also a lot of frustration.
"
📰 The French men's team will know their opponents on Saturday evening in the preliminary round of the 2021 World Cup to be held in Egypt from January 13 to 31
➡ https://t.co/LN3UxB6jOi#BleuetFier
- France Hand Teams (@FRAHandball) September 3, 2020
The failure of the Euro and the focus with the players
“We have already worked on the subject since the first virtual gathering (in August) to free the floor and relaunch.
Trust must be restored between the players, between the players and the staff.
Handball is a sport that is lived on the field, it is a sport of changing rooms, where we share things physically.
All the boys are hooked on that.
We did a lot of individual interviews to go in depth, to put in place a suitable strategy to relaunch the machine.
We have identified the state of the group.
The finding was not very positive.
There were a lot of frustrations, communication issues that I didn't suspect.
Things are settled, those who will be there in November will be able to look each other in the eye and draw a line on what we have just experienced together.
"
His self-criticism
“I did not wait for the individual interviews to carry out this painful process of questioning.
The results were difficult.
The individual interviews brought to light many elements that I was not aware of.
I didn't have a good idea of what was going on in the group.
I regret it but today this stage is behind me and I am looking to the future.
There are a lot of big projects but I see them in a positive light.
"
The reunion with the players on November 1
On November 1, the Blues will meet in Chambéry for a preparation course for the qualifying matches for Euro 2022. “This gathering will start the qualifying campaign for the Euro.
We haven't seen each other since January 2020. It's been ages in top-level sport.
The programs are beautiful on paper but they must be carried by the actors, the contribution of the players is first.
"
The sites of the French team
“I am delighted to see some preparation matches and to see the athletes on the field all over Europe again, but this great period of inactivity forces us to reopen the sites.
To create new momentum.
The subject of the captaincy is under study.
The Covid has brought handball to the ground, there are many question marks… We are in a moment of reconstruction.
In January we will be deprived of 11 players
(Editor's note:
present with their clubs for the final 4 of the Champions League)
for a preparation course for the World Cup, so there will be new faces called.
But we also have to rely on people who have known difficulties.
"With the climax of the desire to" get back on the box
(Editor's note: the podium)
during the Tokyo Olympics next summer.
"
The next world
“I am delighted to hear that whatever happens with this crisis, it will take place.
We need this world to be held to finally allow international handball to revive.
It is very important for me.
With this crisis our handball is in danger, the idea is not to whine about the situation but to make sure that our sport is doing better than the others.
Federal elections in November
Appointed by the president of the Federation Joël Delplanque and his team after the failure of the Euro, Guillaume Gille may see his position weakened following the federal elections which will take place on November 28. At 74, Delplanque will not be running again. “When you decide to embrace this kind of responsibility, if you worry about comments, the economic or health context, it is better to stay at home and stop everything. I have no control over the elections, there may be consequences but that doesn't worry me more than that. If I am getting involved in this project (with the French team) it is because I believe in it and that I want to see it succeed. The France team is above everything. "
