This is a particularly powerful tool and not just reserved for the France team. The medical center also receives basketball players and even professional dancers who come for treatment.
The French football team is preparing for its next matches at Clairefontaine for the qualifications for Euro 2024. Les Bleus play Friday March 24 against the Netherlands at 8:45 p.m. at the Stade de France. In the preparation device the medical center plays a very important role. Built in 2006, it has just been renovated and received a visit from Didier Deschamps and his staff on Tuesday.
This is a particularly powerful tool and not just reserved for the France team. The visit begins with Doctor Philippe Maille, director of the medical center: “I invite you to go around like this to see the treatment room”. Doctor Philippe Maille, opens the doors of an independent building, located between the training grounds and the “castle”, there is everything you need to treat high-level players. This center is not exclusively reserved for the Blues, because twenty professional clubs regularly send their players there.
“We are particularly keen on the permanent link with club staff.”
Philippe Maille,director of the Clairefontaine medical center.
In the team, three doctors and six physiotherapists take turns all year round, in an environment dedicated to care, but also to recovery. “Behind you, you have a large cold bath, so a rehabilitation center, a recovery center”, adds the director of the medical center.
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Individualized support
Raphaël Varane left Manchester to come for treatment there for two weeks just before the World Cup. The relationship of trust with the medical team is also essential, explains coach Didier Deschamps.“Its a question of confidence”and this allows “to have the possibility of individualizing the rehabilitation of each one without neglecting the psychological accompaniment”.
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The center has its own medical imaging equipment, but it is also in contact with the nearby Rambouillet hospital. The doctors even collaborate with researchers, including abroad, explains doctor Emmanuel Orhant, medical director of the federation. “As soon as we reach the very high level, the more of us there are, the more we manage to validate things”, he says. The Clairefontaine medical center also treats basketball and handball players, and even professional dancers.