“For the youngest, Mbappe-Olise-Dembele is already equivalent to Ronaldo-Ronaldinho-Rivaldo 2002”
Video credit: Eurosport
From our special correspondent in New York:
If you walk around Manhattan, you’re sure to come across a speaker blaring the hit song of two robots. Until Tuesday, the French who rocked New York were called Daft Punk. Then Dembélé, Olise, Mbappe and Barcola, the four gangsters who picked Sweden’s pockets, turned the day in New Jersey into a dance floor. To the point that, 5,000 kilometers away, Rio Ferdinand, collapsing on a sofa in the middle of a London night, blurted out a comparison that never happens by accident: “France is the new Brazil“.
“They have too much depth, too much quality, too many threats, too many players who want to kill you.“, lists the former central defender. Twice in less than a week, informed observers called the Seleção to talk about the Blues. On Thursday, Swedish television linked the French national team with Brazil in 2002. Is the comparison justified?
Brazil has seen some of the greatest attacking talents of their generation pass through its ranks: Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo. France wins the Ballon d’Or, the second highest scorer in World Cup history and one who still looks like the new sensation of world football.
Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho at the 2002 World Cup.
Photo: Getty Images
Nothing can happen to us
On the bench are the European champions, as you call them, and the leader of Manchester City. There is nothing to complain about about the depth and radiance. There are only two teams in the history of the World Cup that have fielded a trio in which each member has at least five decisive performances (goal plus assist): Brazil Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho and the 2026 Blues. Watching them on the bench, Malo Gusto says to himself that “he can’t do anything (happens to them)” and on the land of Aurélien Chuamni “enjoy watching them playIt’s as if this fiery attack managed to escape the match and its context in sheer joy.
So pedigree matters. Moreover, all this is covered with infectious joy and pleasure, if not happiness very Brazilian. This always happens when a team wins, it’s true. But still. We don’t sense any competition or fight to overwhelm each other between these four.
Michael Olise, Kylian Mbappe
Photo: Getty Images
Even the star Mbappe is not untouchable and you need to listen to how Ousmane Dembele shoots.”Mobut(editor’s note: for Mobutu, the nickname given to Mbappe by some malicious minds on the networks) to understand that everything is flowing in this group. In training, we push forward and gain greater brotherly masculinity.
Olise, manager of unexpected happiness
Michael Olise, for his part, gradually becomes the mascot of the group, who poses on the return plane with a hood on his head and sunglasses, imitating the unique behavior of the genius from Munich. And on earth this is even more obvious:Michael does a little bit of everything on the field.– Bradley Barkola rejoiced after the slap. Defensively he is very good and with the ball he manages to switch, find great passes and create a lot of dangers, so he is a pleasure to play with.“Who would have thought, but Olise, a painfully shy person, becomes the manager of the happiness of all these wonderful people on and off the field.
“For the first time in 14 years, there is unanimity around Deschamps”
Video credit: Eurosport
If at Euro 2021 Paul Pogba sought to establish a connection between the groups of Antoine Griezmann and Karim Benzema, here, from what little we are given to see, it is another collective dynamic that cements the whole. At the origin of all this are two men.
Of course, Didier Deschamps, whose talent for creating alchemy has long been no mystery. And Kylian Mbappe, the absolute captain, capable of defending the widow and the orphan in front of microphones, and especially Ousmane Dembélé, handing out decisive passes in matches, defending or at least pretending like a handsome devil, and running to his grieving coach for a celebration at 26 years old.
“Kylian’s gesture touched us very much. He’s our captain. He leads by example from day one. The group was united“, admitted the coach, who should not be dissatisfied with this turn of events.. Comparisons have their limits, and trophies will have the final say. But for the first time in a long time, we’re no longer just watching the Blues to see if they win, but to see what they come up with.