Michael Olise, born in White City, west London, and a chess enthusiast who grew up loving cricket, was the standout performer in France's star-studded midfield against Senegal. The 26-year-old Bayern Munich playmaker, who racked up 26 assists last season, transformed France's game from a drab slog to an impressive victory after shifting into a more central role.
Olise's Unique Background
Olise's father was British-Nigerian and his mother French-Algerian. He started his career at Hayes & Yeading before breaking through at Reading, with stints in the academies of Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City. Unlike many French players, he plays with a sense of freedom and joy, not yet fully submitted to Didier Deschamps's tactical yoke. This makes him an anomaly in a side known for its defensive pragmatism.
Historical Context: The Faultline in French Football
French football has long oscillated between attacking flair and defensive efficiency. The 1982 World Cup semi-final against West Germany, known as the Seville myth, epitomized French 'gloire' despite a 3-1 extra-time loss. The 'carré magique' of Michel Platini, Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse, and Bernard Genghini played with panache. But defensive lapses led to a shift towards 'football labeur' under Georges Boulogne in the late 1960s, which proved unsuccessful.
Michel Hidalgo restored attacking style in the late 1970s, winning Euro 1984, but the 1986 semi-final loss to West Germany confirmed France as glorious losers. The public accepted this, as philosopher Raymond Aron noted in the documentary Le siècle des intellectuels: France was less interested in winning than in doing things well.
The Pragmatic Turn: Houllier to Deschamps
Gérard Houllier overhauled the academy system in 1988, paving the way for future success despite his own failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. Aimé Jacquet replaced him, prioritizing safety-first tactics. His 1998 World Cup-winning squad, loaded with talent like Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry, played cautious football. The French found they enjoyed boring winning more than heroic defeat.
Deschamps, Jacquet's captain, has continued this approach for 12 years, often criticized for restraining attacking talent. After a 1-0 win against Belgium in the 2018 semi-final, Eden Hazard said he would rather lose than win playing like that. France's recent tournament performances have been forgettable, with no open-play goals in the last Euros until the semi-final.
Current Team: A Potential 'Magic Square'
France now boasts a potentially great attacking quartet: Ousmane Dembélé, Kylian Mbappé, Désiré Doué, and Olise. Dembélé won the Ballon d'Or, Doué was man of the match in the Champions League final, and Mbappé was La Liga's top scorer. Yet Olise is causing the most excitement, charged with restoring 'la gloire' to France. He represents a key faultline in French football history: the tension between creative freedom and tactical discipline.
