Paris 2024 Olympic Games: “We cannot undress to dress the French team”, Florian Maurice very clear regarding the Stade Rennais players for the Olympics

Florian Maurice et le Stade Rennais ont de nombreux joueurs de la potentielle équipe olympique sous contrat. MAXPPP – Philippe RENAULT

After Real Madrid's categorical no, Rennes also expressed strong reluctance to release its players for the Olympic football tournament, between July 24 and August 9, through its sports director , Florian Maurice, this Wednesday.

Adrien Truffert, Désiré Doué and Arnaud Kalimuendo were on coach Thierry Henry's last list, Januël Belocian was called up in November and Benjamin Bourigeaud, for players over 23, could be on the list. federation radar.

But, while coach Julien Stephan was questioned about the possibility of seeing three or four elements summoned for the Olympics, Florian Maurice intervened: "Me I have an answer: no, , he said with a laugh. The former center forward, who played in the competition in 1996 in Atlanta with the Blues, scoring three goals in three matches played, was then more conciliatory, recognizing that it was a matter of ;rsquo;a competition "actually fantastic".

Reluctant, the sports director of Stade Rennais is. However, the objective is not to undermine the Blues, who should have a good card to play at home this summer. "Obviously, we will do the best possible to be able to help the French team, but the interests must be common."he explains, "We can't undress to dress the French team". Refusing to give the exact number of summoned players that he would find acceptable, he admitted that i< em>l "there will have to be discussions, obviously, with the leaders of these French teams".

A truncated preparation period

Same story with the coach of the Bretons, who has just extended until 2026. "There is the dream and then there is the concrete, the pragmatic side also of a club, of defending certain interests", he underlined. He particularly deplored that no one seems to care about the "number of weeks of recovery between the two seasons".

Preparation for the Olympics should begin mid-June, a month after the last day of 2023-2024, while the first day of 2024-2025 is scheduled around August 17, a week after the final of the Olympic tournament. "This would imply reduced vacations and therefore a risk for the months of September, October, November on the health of certain players, so it would perhaps require some adjustments so that they can last through the season", added Stephan.