It's historic!
Wonderful !
At the end of a finale to the unbreathable, suffocating suspense, the partners of Earvin Ngapeth can let their happiness explode and let tears flow… of joy.
Happiness is total.
Forgotten, erased, the frustration of the premature elimination 5 years ago at the Rio Games due to a strange defeat of Italy against Canada.
As usual, this French team has achieved the improbable, the unthinkable.
🏐🇫🇷 🥇 WHAT EMOTIONS !!
THE BLUES ARE OLYMPIC VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONS!
🥇🇫🇷
They did it, the Russians were back to 2 sets everywhere, the Blues never gave up!
Bravo Gentlemen 🤩
Follow the Olympics live ▶ https://t.co/7m2qNzjpBb pic.twitter.com/9DnUfv50Kn
- francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 7, 2021
While they had never yet reached the quarter-finals of the Games in the history of their discipline, the Blues of volleyball became Olympic champions on Saturday in the Saitana Super Arena, dominating the Russians in five sets (25- 23, 25-17, 21-25, 21-25, 15-12).
A real feat.
One more for this generation which became known to the general public by its escapades and its performances under the name of "Team Yavbou" at the beginning of the 2010s.
On the verge of elimination after two defeats in three group matches, then in the quarter-finals against Poland, where they were led in 2 sets to nothing by the world champions before overthrowing them, the Blues are "survivors" like coach Laurent Tillie repeats it over and over again. Survivors who adorn themselves with gold for eternity. But the fight was hard.
Because the Russian "Golgoths" - "whose game consists of typing, typing high and typing as hard as possible" announced Boris Grebennikov, father of Jenia, the French libero - have held their rank and made lightning speak. With their backs to the wall after the loss of the first two sets, they started to send concrete blocks to the French corps. The French, overwhelmed, thwart. Even Laurent Tillie, the French volleyball Midas, seems helpless on his side. But you should never bury this team of childhood friends, most of whom played, kids on the beaches of the Atlantic coast in summer. Ngapeth, with black eyes, regained his magic at the best moment, in the money-time of the tie-break.
Tillie can therefore leave the selection, after 9 years of magnificent service, with the feeling of duty more than accomplished. His players gave him the most beautiful starting gift: the first gold medal in the history of French volleyball. He deserves it. When he arrived at the head of the Blues, France did not exist on the international scene, it was never invited to the table of the greats of the discipline. Since then, Earvin Ngapeth's partners have filled the trophy cabinet with a European coronation (2015) and two World League titles (2015 and 2017).
1 - The French Volley-Ball team is the 5th French collective sport team to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games, after Rugby Union (1900), Water Polo (1924), Football (1984) and Handball (2008, 2012, 2020).
Reward.
# Tokyo2020 @FFvolley @FranceOlympique pic.twitter.com/RCidDw3qZD
- OptaJean (@OptaJean) August 7, 2021
In a few hours, Tillie, the demiurge, the Midas of French volleyball, will be replaced by the Brazilian Bernardinho, who will take office from September 1 for the Euro (from September 1 to 19).
His mission will be to continue Tillie's work and to keep this gold medal in 3 years in Paris.
But in the meantime, the Blues can savor.
They have just made history.
No one will be able to erase it.
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