Hopes
Full of talent but not always crazy in the game, the France Espoirs team can sometimes be frustrating for observers. With the testimony of Pierre Mankowski, former coach of Bleuets, FF tries to explain the reasons for the difficulty in creating a strong collective in the category.
Almost never a selection ofFrance Espoirs team had never seemed so talented on all lines. Jules Koundé, Mattéo Guendouzi, Maxence Caqueret, Amine Gouiri … The names of the players available to Sylvain Ripoll for the November rally make you dream. Especially when we add the packages of Dayot Upamecano, Wesley Fofana, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Jonathan Ikoné and the absence of Houssem Aouar, called in A to compensate for the injury of Nabil Fékir, but who finally had to give up after being touched in the derby against Saint-Etienne. The reservoir is impressive. But this promise is far from being permanently followed by explosiveness. The Bleuets have sometimes accustomed us to the visual result being in dissonance with the expectations that we can hope for. Why such a lag?
A lack of time
First reason put forward by Pierre Mankowski, former coach of the Espoirs from 2014 to 2016, the incessant change imposed by an age category where the room for maneuver is reduced over time. “There is a lack of continuity in the workforce. To build collective strength, it is very delicate. And it’s still a selection, the coach has very little time to set up his way of playing and what he wants to achieve. When the players arrive, they have a scrub, we take care of the injured and they only have one real session before the match. It’s not easy to work with players who, in addition, change quite often. “ Faced with this problem, the coach must adapt. To be efficient and obtain results, the solution is often sought in simplicity: “It’s always easier to set up a defensive system. Behind, the animation is faster to settle. Up front, it takes more time to work on the automatisms ”, Mankowski further details.
Another explanation is the involvement and motivation of the players during certain meetings. “Be careful, we must not forget that the France Espoirs team represents something, it is an honor to wear the Blues jersey for them, warns Mankowski. This is why during major competitions, the players are all 100%. On the other hand, in the qualifications or for other meetings, motivation is more difficult to obtain. The opposition is not the same, the public is not the same. There, you have to hurt yourself to get a result. This is all the inconstancy of this category. ” ATbefore adding: “When there is an average game to play, players who play in Manchester or Barcelona find themselves in a completely different context. They have to readjust and it’s not easy at all. ”
Club competitions implicated
Envy, motivation are points that can question some players evolving in Espoirs after having had the chance to know the France A team. Currently, Mattéo Guendouzi is in this case. “The problem is not with selection A, Mankowski continues. On the contrary, it is an additional motivation for them. They know they are being watched and they are all concerned. The concern is with regard to the clubs. There is often a higher interest in club competitions on the part of the players. It’s tricky to manage. When some arrive, they have instructions, they have to be careful because there is a match afterwards so you must not get injured. It makes it more complicated. ” So how do you manage to create a strong collective with all these variables? Faced with this constantly evolving equation, the coach must rely on the rare stable elements of his workforce according to Mankowski: “There is always a base of players which is the same and it is with them that we must succeed in creating a state of mind. Some are at a good level but far from that of other players who are themselves at the door of the France A team. There is a mass of players for whom the Espoirs selection is a springboard and they must train all of them. the others during matches. ”
Stability, a rare thing in a category in perpetual motion, but on which Sylvain Ripoll must rely. For now, the results are present for the current coach of the Espoirs. Even if observers are not fully satisfied with the quality of play, the former Lorient coach managed to qualify the Bleuets for Euro 2019 and is about to repeat the next one. After all, it’s the result that counts, right?
