As some of you will know, I was let go from the national team coaching position in 2013, and I probably hit one of my worst lows. But I also knew that it was not because I did not have the level to coach that team. It was more a political affair than anything else.
After that, I moved on to pastures new for three years. I had the ambition to coach a men’s team, but that did not happen — mainly because I did not have the connections in what I call “the other side of handball”.
I also dove deep into the organisation of the 2017 Men’s World Championship, surrounded by young and motivated people that I had never met before, and it gave me a new breath of life.
And then, the phone call came. Could I help the national team qualify for Rio 2016, as they were currently without a coach? Was I ready to dive again, knowing that some of the players had been pushing for me to come back?
I did not hesitate for one second. I felt like my journey with the France national team was not over — that there was still some boundaries to push.
We made it to Rio, winning the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Metz, of all places. Then we went there, won silver and it was the start of the terrific series that the team is still following right now.
And that is the thing that perhaps surprises me the most about my career — the fact that it lasted so long. So many coaches are sacked from one day to the other that I consider myself lucky I was able to coach the national team for 20 years.
It did not go without a hitch. Some choices made were tough on the human side of things, but decisive sports-wise.
There were some girls who felt they deserved more respect for their careers when I told them France did not need them anymore, and they are still resentful for that. But every decision I took, every move I made, was for the national team’s good. Nothing else.
My mother passed away one year after the Rio Olympics, in 2017. I have never been the most sentimental of persons, and doing things to make my parents proud has never been something I think of.
But it happens now, from time to time. I think of them when the team wins a medal and I think they would be proud of what I have achieved.
But most of this story is now finished. I chose to retire from the national team. I am 64 and it is time to pass on the torch.
Will I miss it? Not at all. Going to the EHF EURO in December is not on my schedule at the moment, but I must find the time to go and buy a couple of good bottles of wine so I can watch the games on TV and drink a glass or two with my wife. Because this is what my life is about now.
The circle is complete, and it is time to sit down.
October 2024