They savour the action, parade around the Eiffel Tower stadium with their arms raised in front of the crowd, and carry the hero of this tournament, captain Frédéric Villeroux, in triumph. It is almost 10pm on Saturday 7 September, when the French blind football team has won the final of the Paralympic tournament (1-1, 3-2 on the scoreboard) against the reigning world champion and runner-up at the Tokyo Games. Three years ago, Argentina.
This title allows the French delegation to get closer to the “twenty years” gold medals that Marie-Amélie Le Fur, president of the French Paralympic and Sports Committee, had been hoping for before the start of the competitions. It puts an end to Brazil’s supremacy in this discipline; since entering the Athens Games in 2004, the country had won all the titles.
Above all, it avoids the zero point for the team sports of the Tricolors. Finally, this victory avenges Didier Deschamps’ Blues, defeated by Argentina in 2022 in the World Cup final. On his X account, footballer Antoine Griezmann, who announced each of the medals won by the French delegation during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, greeted this victory with a “Thank you for these amazing guys”.
Toussaint Akpweh, the coach of the Bleus, can finally savour this victory, he who throughout this week had remained closed, rather ” concentrate “, correct. He never gave in to enthusiasm, not even after the semi-final victory against Colombia. “I am proud of my players, but there is still a step to climb”he said. By the end of the meeting on Saturday night, he finally had a smile on his face. “I said I would get it in the end. I am happy for my players, for the team.”
All Blues games were played to sold-out crowds
The French team was not the favourite for this tournament, except perhaps in the minds of these players and even more so in that of Toussaint Akpweh. They performed impeccably, except for the defeat to Brazil (0-3), beating China and Turkey in the group stage and then Colombia in the semi-finals.
Against Argentina, it was once again Frédéric Villeroux, an exceptional player, undoubtedly the best in the world, who gave his team the victory with the last shot on goal. With just under four minutes to go in the first half, it was he who opened the scoring, and with his left foot. “it’s quite strange”admitted in the interview area. “I thought we were going to take the lead. But not really, they showed us that in ten seconds you can score a goal.” The French team and the enthusiastic crowd did not have time to savour this goal; seven seconds later, the Albiceleste players equalised thanks to Maximiliano Espinillo.
You have 57.34% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
