Michael Olise has therefore chosen France. The young winger, Olympic vice-champion with the Bleuets this summer, was not short of opportunities when it came to embracing an international career. The former Crystal Palace player was in fact born in London to a Nigerian father and a Franco-Algerian mother and therefore had the possibility of joining no less than four selections: England, Nigeria, Algeria and therefore France.
Like Antoine Griezmann, Théo Hernandez and Paul Pogba, Michael Olise is preparing to discover Les Bleus without ever having played for a French club. But unlike his new teammates, he has never even lived there. But according to him, he didn’t hesitate much when it came to making his choice, as he explained at a press conference on Tuesday.
And if his French is still hesitant, it is in the language of Molière that Michael Olise answered the journalists’ questions. His mother speaks to him mainly in French and the young winger did not hesitate to take lessons in 2022 either. Above all, he grew up watching the exploits of the Blues of 1998, 2000 or 2006. “My mother comes from France, when I was little I came here, I had the connection to France. It is thanks to that that I chose France”, he explained.
Olise doesn’t forget Henry
When it came to choosing his childhood idol, he didn’t hesitate much. “Zidane of course”, he replied, not forgetting his coach at the U21 level and Didier Deschamps:
“Titi (Thierry Henry, former coach of the French Olympic team) the coach too, and many players in the French team who have qualities. But I like these two players.” Thierry Henry paid him a warm tribute during the Games.
“He could have played the Euro with England, he decided to play the Olympics with France. We talk about football players, their lack of desire, their love of the jersey, the money. His dream is to play with the French team. I have enormous respect for that,” he had explained. The person concerned confirmed this upon his arrival at Clairefontaine. “It’s been my dream since I was little.”
