tipped to start on the bench, “it’s a bit of the story of my career”, says Olivier Giroud before his last competition in Blue

The top scorer of the France team will play his last tournament with the Blues, and hopes to win one of the rare trophies missing from his record.

Departing for Los Angeles and Major League Soccer this summer, Olivier Giroud is spending his last weeks with the French team. But the top scorer in the history of the Blues will start the Euro with substitute status, even if he intends to reverse the trend during the competition. In a long thirty-minute press conference, Friday June 14, the dean of the Blues, with his 37 years on the clock, appeared relaxed – well helped by Benjamin Pavard who took in turn the role of photographer and spectator – but also lucid about his situation.

In Ouest-France, Kylian Mbappé described you as the “dad of the team”, do you take care of the young people?

Olivier Giroud : The dad yes, so much the better he didn’t say “grandpa”. I have a bit of this role of dad, of big brother to the younger ones. I don’t feel out of step with them, I feel younger than my age. I like the kind of music they put on, I laugh with them. On the pitch, I try to be myself, to talk a lot. I want to make them feel comfortable. I didn’t know Bradley (Barcola), so I tried to talk to him a little, to ask him questions about him, his family, how he felt in Paris. This is one of the things necessary to best welcome new people.

In this competition, you do not necessarily start, this was the case during the World Cup before Karim Benzema’s injury. Are you still able to bounce back?

That’s a bit of the story of my career. It wouldn’t be reasonable to sum up my career like that, but the periods where I was on the bench for a bit at Arsenal and Chelsea, I always knew how to bounce back. The important thing is to always have the right mindset. In 2018, I managed to reverse the trend. At the World Cup, I knew I would have a different role right before the competition. My state of mind remains the same, with the desire to bring something to the team. Everyone knows that I think collectively before myself. Whatever my role, especially because it’s my last international competition, I want to give my best and enjoy every moment.

Do you feel the group is more or less confident than it was before the 2022 World Cup?

In 2022, we had the label of favorite or among the 2-3 favorites. It’s the same for the Euro. Now this status must not torment us, it must give us confidence but not too much either. You always have to keep in mind that you have to be 100%. We saw that when we did a little less in certain matches… The friendly matches were not successful. We can do better, we must do better, we must not be satisfied with these kinds of matches. We are aware of it. We need to correct these little things for the first matches. These are small and minor adjustments. This is not worrying at all. We are alert and we know that the level will go up a notch on Monday.

This Euro will be your last competition with the Blues, does it have a special flavor?

I would just like to say that I was very touched by the reception from the supporters in France for my last match there. Expectations ? I am filled with excitement, nostalgia, desire and the main objective is the collective. Have the best competition possible. We lost at home in 2016 and it remains in the back of my mind. I still dream about it today. I have a lot of hopes. Personal goals come later. I was told about the round number of 60 goals… Why not?

Does the fact of having announced before the competition that it would be your last with the French team give you more lightness?

I did not make a press release. I was just saying that it was probably my last in the sense that I made a choice of life and experience in the United States. I asked myself the question after the 2022 CDM. We must be lucid about the situation. I’m going to be 38 soon. We know that to be called to EDF, you generally have to evolve at the European level. The fact of having announced it does not change my way of being. To me, it makes sense that it would be the latter. It is the logical continuation with the end of the very high level in Europe and with the end of my contract at AC Milan. There will be a lot of nostalgia, memories, but I try not to think about it too much.

In your career, there has always been a lot of rage and envy. But today, we are rather led to draw conclusions. We know that you are not starting, we feel you are a little less combative…

In what sense do you perceive me to be less combative? Obviously I prefer to start the matches, but I respect the coach’s choices. When I return to the field, I will do my best. It doesn’t change my competitive mindset if I don’t start the match. If I can reverse the trend because I feel combative and ready to give my best for the team, I will do it. I’m far from being in a more cool, relaxed and secondary state of mind. I am determined. [Applaudi par Benjamin Pavard]

You were captain against Canada, at the request of the group. What does this mean to you?

It’s great, it’s heartwarming from the guys and the crowd who were chanting my name during the first period. It’s a source of immense pride. I’m not chasing the armband, they insisted. It will go down as a great evening, a great gesture from the guys, that’s also the French team. The respect and kindness that reigns. It’s awesome. I thanked them very much.