Without him, without his nerve at the very end of the quarter-final of the recent European championship in Berlin, France would undoubtedly have fallen against Italy.
Thomas Heurtel that day put on the nation's savior costume by scoring the last points to push the Blues to extra time.
We know the rest: the miraculous qualification and a royal road to the final.
He must have known it at that time since the negotiations were necessarily in progress, the leader probably played his 97th and last match with the Blues during the final of this Euro against Spain.
Three days later, the former Real Madrid player closed the doors of the France team on his own for quite a while.
Welcome to the squad, Thomas Heurtel đ€đœ
1+1 deal, here's more: https://t.co/OKcB5rQFhq pic.twitter.com/0FKNTzb57g
â Basketball club Zenit (@zenitbasket) September 21, 2022
This Wednesday, September 21, the 2013 European champion with the Tony Parker - Boris Diaw generation (he was the only survivor of this epic in 2022) has indeed committed to Zenit Saint Petersburg.
Thomas Heurtel has signed up for a year, plus another optional one, so theoretically until June 2024, the day before Paris 2024. And that's where there is a problem.
"Players are no longer selectable if they sign with a Russian club"
In August, the French basketball federation was clear: "The players and staff of the French teams will no longer be selectable if they sign a contract with a Russian or Belarusian club, as long as the conflict (in Ukraine) is in Classes.
It is indicated that if this commitment was not respected, the player or staff member would then no longer respect the selection criteria for the next international deadlines, including the 2024 Olympic Games.
Before the start of the European Championship, all the players concerned had signed a "sworn statement" not to join a Russian or Belarusian club.
To go to Germany, Thomas Heurtel had of course signed it.
âWhether or not I understand this injunction, whether or not I am a fan of this decision is not your problem.
You ask if I signed.
I signedâ he told us at the time.
He has since broken the pact and blamed himself.
If he is not ready to return to the blue jersey, it is for at least two reasons.
First, the prohibition measure probably extending until the end of the conflict, it is impossible to know when it will be selectable again.
Then there is the question of the reaction of the Federation.
Contacted, the authority has for the moment refused to speak and has planned to publish a press release within 24 hours, the leaders being currently in Australia for the Women's World Cup.
Vincent Collet, the coach, does not want to speak before his leaders either.
In any case, it is unlikely that the FFBB really appreciated this turn of events and that Heurtel had probably negotiated his arrival in Russia for several days, several weeks or even several months.
Unless she was informed beforehand.
A juicy contract at stake?
The former leader of Pau, Strasbourg, Efes Istanbul or Barca has been without a club since breaking his contract with Real Madrid last spring.
He said at a rally this summer in Nanterre: âMy agents are in contact with clubs.
Russian clubs, in particular, if you want to know.
But also others who play in the Euroleague, in Spain.
We'll see what happens in the future.
»
In April, the Madrid coach announced that he no longer counted on his French leader at all "a final decision" without really explaining the reasons.
We guessed at the time that a sporting explanation was not the only reason.
A complex and enigmatic character, Thomas Heurtel also had problems when he left Barcelona.
In Catalonia, he was also sidelined, with Barca blaming him behind his back for negotiating with arch-enemy Real rather than Turkish club Fenerbahçe, as expected.
It remains to be seen how to explain this decision?
Probably for a juicy contract.
Russian clubs, already extremely wealthy, are pulling out the checkbook to try to bring international players into the championship, despite the current situation.
These clubs being banned from international competitions until further notice, the Olympic vice-champion nevertheless deprives himself of international competition.
However, he will not be the only French player to play in Russia.
Not retained in the final list for the Euro, Louis Labeyrie, bronze medalist with the Blues at the 2019 World Cup has chosen to join UNICS Kazan.
Livio Jean-Charles, double champion of France with Asvel, has joined CSKA Moscow.
Other French sports are facing the same situation, notably ice hockey.
Yohann Auvitu, the defender of the Blues, joined Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk like Stéphane Da Costa who continues his career in Yekaterinburg.
These two internationals are no longer selectable either.
