There were smiles, overall. On Friday evening, the players of the French team went to collect their silver medal from the Paris Olympics, at the foot of the stands of the Parc des Princes, at the end of a sumptuous but cruel final against Spain (3-5 aet).
They came to win gold, but Thierry Henry’s men have reason to be satisfied with their performance, because the adventure was beautiful, as their coach summed it up. And all those selected will be able to keep memorable memories of it, as well as an Olympic medal. Well, almost all of them.
On the podium where the 22 French players stood, 21 silver medals were distributed. Alexandre Lacazette, Loïc Badé, Jean-Philippe Mateta & Co received the precious object that Michael Olise, disappointed, preferred to put away in the pocket of his tracksuit.
The reserve goalkeeper without a medal
On the right of the photo, however, we see a player without a medal. This is Théo De Percin, the reserve goalkeeper, who was in the group but did not play a single minute, which deprives him of a reward, according to a rule that differs depending on the sport.
The squad consisted of 18 players plus 4 reserves, who the selectors could call upon in case of injury. Three of the reserves played, Johann Lepanant, Andy Diouf and Chrislain Matsima. But not De Percin, who was unable to take advantage of a mishap by Guillaume Restes or his understudy Obed Nkambadio (who played the third group match against New Zealand). It’s unfortunate for him.
