The last time Kylian Mbappé met journalists in the colors of the French football team, he crossed the mixed zone of the Lusail stadium (Qatar) without saying a word or trying to hide his pain: the Blues had just losing at the end of an incredible scenario in the final of the World Cup against Argentina. Thursday March 23, the mine of the kid from Bondy (Seine-Saint-Denis) was much more radiant. It was with a broad smile that he showed off his new stripes for his first press conference as captain, on the eve of facing the Netherlands for qualifying for Euro 2024.
“It’s above all a kif! I am captain of my country, it is a new responsibility”, rejoiced the Paris-Saint-Germain striker, appointed earlier this week by coach Didier Deschamps as successor to Hugo Lloris. “I’m going to assume it naturally, it’s not going to change the way I play. I’m not going to transform. » Claiming to have never thought of the armband before the start of the rally on Monday, the 24-year-old did not hesitate before accepting this new role. “When the coach comes to see you, your mouth says ‘yes’ right away. »
An incredible soloist, capable of making the difference on his own on the pitch, Kylian Mbappé will have to take on a new mission, that of leader of a group beyond the lawn. “He has this ability, he was already doing it, insisted Didier Deschamps, Thursday. It’s not a choice to please him, I’m convinced he has all the qualities to do so. »
For this ” Back to School ” of the Blues – an expression validated by the coach -, the number 7 of the PSG landed in “unifier”. At the time of starting this new era, without veterans Hugo Lloris, Raphaël Varane and Steve Mandanda, newly retired, Captain Mbappé approaches qualifying for Euro 2024 with ambition.
“I know that my words make a big noise”
He knows that he will no longer be able to pass a competition without speaking, as was the case in Qatar. But the player, whose “DD” said of him, Monday, that“He is very good and skillful in his communication”insisted on making room for the team. “I must not monopolize all the media space. I know the resonance it can have. »
The striker also repeated it on Thursday, he does not intend to change the person he is: the one who takes a stand on social issues and whose ambition goes far beyond the rectangular contours of football pitches. Besides, he wondered, who decreed that the role of captain should be similar to that of a hushed diplomat? – what was Hugo Lloris, who insisted on ” stay in [son] framework, that of football”.
“I don’t think Didier Deschamps made me captain because he thought I would do exactly the same as Hugo. Everyone is a captain according to their personality, and I’m not like Hugo.”warned the person concerned, aware of his power.
Early January, his tweet of support To ” the legend “ Zinedine Zidane after the inappropriate remarks of Noël Le Graët had precipitated the fall of the one who was then president of the French Football Federation (FFF). “That my words make a big noise, I know it”smiled the player, closing without dwelling on the chapter of Guingampais, who resigned at the end of February after a chaotic end to his reign. “We have to thank Noël Le Graët, because he didn’t just do negative things. But he is no longer part of the news of the France team. »
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The news, for number 10 of the Blues, was the management of his first “crisis” as captain, a situation directly linked to his appointment: the moods of Antoine Griezmann. Finally appointed vice-captain, the Atletico Madrid player, Didier Deschamps’ handyman, had not concealed his disappointment at not recovering the armband.
“I spoke with Antoine, he was disappointed and that’s understandable. I told him that I would have had the same reaction, he is perhaps the most important player of the Deschamps era.stated Mbappé, insisting that their new roles within the group did not make him “hierarchical superior” from the Maconnais.
“We will be hand in hand him and I to try to make this French team reign at the world level. » Facing the Netherlands on Friday (8:45 p.m.), the new captain has the opportunity to launch his term in style.