Appointed captain of the France team by Didier Deschamps, Kylian Mbappé revealed during this March rally what type of leader he could be over time.
This is called a successful start to a term. For his first two games as captain of the France team, Kylian Mbappé won twice with his teammates. Her first, the Parisian illuminated her with her talent against the Netherlands (4-0). The second was much more complicated for him and the Blues, but they still won in Ireland (1-0).
During this first gathering of the France team of the year 2023, the captaincy of Mbappé has already changed some aspects of the daily life of the tricolor selection. But also the behavior of the attacker, who quickly adapted to his new responsibilities.
Communication, the big change
During his two appearances at the press conference, Thursday and Sunday before the matches against the Netherlands and Ireland, Mbappé made the show. In the exercise, the Parisian is excellent whereas his word was until then very rare. With her new responsibilities, she should become more regular. But no less valuable. The new captain still made it clear that he would not participate in each of these press briefings.
“I think everyone should be able to express themselves“, affirmed Mbappé last Thursday. While he was not necessarily expected before the match against Ireland, he nevertheless presented himself to the media.”The coach wanted me to come today, so I’m here. It’s part of my responsibility as captain.”, he explained on Sunday. After dozens and dozens of monotonous press conferences by Hugo Lloris, journalists feast on Mbappé’s speeches.
The latter is able to spit out the elements of language of Didier Deschamps, like Lloris before him, but also has a freedom of tone which differentiates him from his former captain. Mbappé can create amazement at any time in his audience, such as when he claimed that Michel Platini was his “next target to shoot” in the ranking of scorers for the France team. The relaxation of the former Bondy when pronouncing these transgressive remarks provoked bursts of laughter. And that’s just the beginning.
In the field, a smoother behavior
From the outset, during his first press conference, Mbappé had announced the color of his way of being within the group: “It will change the way I behave because I will be even more focused on others“. In some aspects, Mbappé has not moved. In training, he remains the last to start during exercises, when Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann lead the dance.
If he has recovered the armband, Mbappé does not seem to want to make it a formal charge. In the warm-up at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Monday, Griezmann and Giroud were still at the top of each line of players. The second turned to his captain to offer him to go ahead, but Mbappé responded negatively by waving his hand. On the other hand, the Parisian is more vocal and spoke in the dressing room against the Netherlands, before and after the match.
“The captain must be team-oriented, able to be a unifier, unifier“, described Mbappé on Thursday. An image marked the spirits: at the end of the match against the Netherlands, Khephren Thuram missed a shot when he could have served Mbappé, already author of a double. number 10 of the Blues turned to his teammate to give him a thumbs up, an attitude that contrasts with that sometimes observed in previous years.
The symbol of a new generation in power
The captaincy of Mbappé ratifies above all a passing of the baton. If Deschamps did not wish to entrust the captain’s armband to Antoine Griezmann, it is partly because the Parisian embodies more the new generation of the France team. With the various retirements, the average age of the Blues has dropped and only four players on this gathering were over 30 (Aréola, Veretout, Griezmann, Giroud).
Who better than Mbappé to take this promising “next gen” in his wake? The Bondy prodigy is only 24 years old but is already unanimous with his teammates and you only have to see the bronca reserved for him in Dublin to understand that the opponents fear him above all else.
“My generation is carefree, does not realize what is at stake each time, which allows it to play high-pressure matches as if they were ordinary matches. The identity of this generation is this desire for greatness, to aim for the heights“, he explained on Sunday. The captaincy of Mbappé is therefore that: an ambition without limits.