“What is your first reaction after this Challenger Cup victory?
I am thinking of the management of a whole summer, where we were very little at home. It was important to have managed the first two matches well, we didn’t lose a lot of energy, so it’s above all a total management victory.
Is it also validation of the path taken since your arrival in 2018?
I don’t think the method is bad, but you can get high to prepare for a match… You also need a bit of luck, we were lucky to get everyone back (Héléna Cazaute, in particular, didn’t not played the Golden League in June) for the Challenger Cup, we only had ten days (full). We also have the chance that the results enhance the project externally.
Does the France team have a lot of room for improvement?
It’s not linear or exponential. These are steps, small setbacks, advances, etc. I am no longer old enough to be naive, it will happen to us. But yes, there is room for improvement.
I would also like to say that I am very happy for Nina Stojiljkovic. She has always been perceived as an average setter but I find that she is becoming more and more mature, she lets herself be guided and asks intelligent questions. She’s always been a little maligned, and what she does is great. On the other hand, I am disappointed for the substitutes, who had to play a lot during the Golden League, but not at all in the Challenger Cup, the fault of the starting six who played very well (only Juliette Gélin, second libero converted into receiver, entered stakes). It affects me, because these girls barely earn the minimum wage, it’s good to ask them to be motivated, but they also have to be able to play.
How will you approach the League of Nations next year?
The first experience will be to learn to manage twelve matches over a few weeks, travel, defeats, and we will tend, because it’s new, to put too much adrenaline, when we have to manage our energy.
What is your program between now and the Euro (August 15-September 3 in Estonia, Germany, Italy, Belgium)?
We had planned to leave them two days at home, but they knew that if they won they would have three… Great lord! Then we go to Germany for friendly matches, then directly to Estonia (Tallinn) for the Euro. »