Michael Olise has provided five assists for France during the World Cup, more than anyone else in the tournament. The Bayern Munich playmaker, born in England, is a Ballon d'Or contender and one of the outstanding stars of the competition.
Early Days in Hayes
Olise grew up on a housing estate in Hayes, west London, where he practised football with his brother Richard. Sean Conlon, an early coach at Old Isleworthians, recalled: 'I would go over to his house and he would be practising outside with Richard. That little estate probably really aided him; there weren't a lot of cars but it had quite a lot of concrete open space and then a small green. He'd just be practising out here all the time, obsessed with football.'
Conlon added: 'When I first saw him play for Hayes when he was six what stood out was his physical movement. He glides around the pitch: very graceful, perfect coordination, everything effortless. The way he moves today was how he moved when he was six. That's something he's been born with. People say he's the best player England has ever developed.'
Rejected by Chelsea and Manchester City
Olise joined Chelsea's academy at age nine and later moved to Manchester City, where he was in Cole Palmer's year group and a year behind Phil Foden. However, both clubs released him. At 16, he returned to Conlon's academy, We Make Footballers, desperately seeking a professional club. Brendan Flanagan, an academy scout at Reading, recruited him after a recommendation.
Flanagan noted scepticism from Reading staff: 'There was a lot of scepticism from various members of staff at Reading that he would be a bad egg. [They said]: 'He's been released by Chelsea, by Man City. We shouldn't be bringing him in. He'll be a problem.' I said: 'Look, let's just get the kid in and make our decision.'' Conlon confirmed: 'All the other scouts were: 'He's just come out of Manchester City, he's just come out of Chelsea, why have they not kept him on?' They were half and half. But Reading were the ones that committed.'
Breakthrough at Reading
Olise travelled from London to Reading for training, using a shuttle bus. Flanagan recalled: 'On his first day I got a call from him at the station and he was asking: 'Where do I need to pick the bus up please?' I directed him to the shuttle bus but everything was 'please' and 'thank you' and I thought to myself: 'This ain't a bad kid. He's just a kid who's a bit misunderstood, different.'' Olise quickly progressed to Reading's under-21s, where Flanagan and former Premier League player Hayden Mullins watched him play against Sparta Prague. 'He was absolutely unbelievable that day. Hayden and I shook hands at the end and said: 'This kid will play for the first team by the end of the season,'' Flanagan said.
Soon after, Olise was called up to first-team training and made his debut under manager José Gomes. Flanagan added: 'The manager obviously saw him and thought: 'Oh my God! This kid is unbelievable.''
Choosing France Over England
Despite being born in England and coming through the English system, Olise was not on England's radar as a teenager. Flanagan explained: 'We weren't as attractive a club. It's slightly changed now but back then, for England, generally, you had to come from Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal. France reached out to us and we spoke to Michael. I think they were given information that there was a French connection. They were the first one who selected him [for the under-18s] and, even though England came in for him for the under-20s, he was happy where he was.'
Olise's heritage includes French Algerian from his mother Mina and British Nigerian from his father Vincent. He told Bayern Munich's website: 'I actually come from four countries: France, Algeria, Nigeria and Great Britain. I consider myself very lucky to possess these four parts, which all enrich me.'
World Cup Stardom
Olise has taken his game to another level since joining Bayern Munich from Crystal Palace. With five assists at the World Cup, he leads the tournament. Flanagan reflected: 'Could I see he would reach the levels that he's reached? I don't think anyone could. Some kids do look like they might be a Ballon d'Or contender at 16 and then kind of level out. But Michael was on a trajectory that went up and up and up and he still hasn't levelled off.'
Conlon added: 'It's crazy. With the under-eights, we say to the kids: 'One day you're going to win the World Cup. One day you're going to win the Champions League. This is why you have to have these standards.' You preach it and now we've actually had someone go and do it.'
If England meet France in the final, Flanagan faces a dilemma: 'I'm going to be sat on the fence. Obviously I want Michael to do well. But obviously I want England to win as well. So I probably won't watch the game and stay out of the way.'
