A silver medal for Thierry Henry’s players and a tip of the hat to Tony Estanguet, “man of the year” for Bixente Lizarazu

Every day during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, 1998 football world champion Bixente Lizarazu, an exclusive consultant for franceinfo, gives us his take on the competition.

Beaten in extra time in the final by Spain (5-3) on Friday August 9, the players of the French men’s football team nevertheless had a pleasant and even successful tournament.

franceinfo: What a match last night for this Olympic football final! This defeat for Thierry Henry’s players was tough, of course?

Bixente Lizarazu: Defeat is always hard. Of course, when you’re in France, at the Parc des Princes, with this gold medal in your sights, but very objectively, we’ve always been in the reaction, in this match, we never really set the game, or knew how to set the game like the Spanish were able to do. I still found that the Spanish had more collective control overall, with a form of technical superiority, an ability also to play as a team, with well-established circuits of positions, of passes, very qualitative.

What we didn’t know how to do, neither at the Euro nor in this competition, but the difference in this competition is that Thierry Henry did what he could, because we didn’t give him the best players. So he managed to put together a team that was ultimately solid until the end, without them being used to playing together.

And I think that ultimately, that’s what’s very positive, Thierry Henry’s adventure, it’s a great adventure. He knew how to hold his team together and in the end, football was very well represented during these Olympic Games, even if once again, we have to recognize the technical superiority of Spain, and the technical superiority in football overall of the Spanish, who have returned to their best level.

So no new Olympic title thanks to football for France, we are still at 14 gold medals as we speak. But your champion Bixente, his name is Tony Estanguet…

I would obviously like to congratulate all those who won medals, but I would not like to forget, for me, the man of the year, the man of these Olympic Games, Tony Estanguet. And frankly, I think that since he has been at the head of these Olympic Games, he has embodied the Olympic Games magnificently well. He has done so for nearly 10 years, and also very well during this fortnight. His opening speech was magnificent. He was present everywhere, with an attitude, a smile, a calmness. He is benevolent, he is unifying. He has a fresh speech.

He didn’t get carried away by politics. I think he kept his sporting attitude. And that’s to his credit, because I think it’s not an easy role. He managed to avoid being stabbed in the back. I think he represented us very well, and I wanted to say a big thank you to him. He’s a credit to sport, to French sport, and he’s also our champion, and for me, he’s the man of the year.

One last word because we know that you like team sports, obviously, and there are a number of them to follow today. Lots of finals, volleyball, handball, basketball, how are you going to organize your day?

It’s hard to be on top of everything, but let’s just say that I have high hopes for team sports. Because as you said a little bit at the beginning, what’s happening with athletics? Tomorrow, when we take stock, we’ll have to look at the subject of athletics; we’ve known for a long time that we have the Olympic Games, and we’re in the second week, and we’re being caught up by the English.

I thought that the goal was for us to be the best European team. The English are catching up with us and that annoys me. We have fourteen gold medals, but in terms of total, they have 57, we have 56. So I hope that team sports will bring us medals, and that we will be the best European team. That’s what’s important to me. So we’re counting on you in team sports.