Twenty-one years after the Blues, Sydney in the final against the United States: “This is another world”

Thanks to the dictatorial counter of Nicolas Bottomn at the last second in the Slovenian Clemens prefil, the French team will play in the final of the Olympic Games on Saturday. In front of her, American Armada from the NBA. In 2000, the then Blues, led by Laurent Sierra, were a capital shocker, recalling how they challenged the United States before losing ten points (75-85).

Former lead Cyril Julian (135 caps), who was part of this Australian campaign, ended up in the silver medal, underlining how things have changed.

When you look at this French team, what motivates you?

This is a completely different generation from the one we know. This French team is mainly made up of players who play in the NBA and they have strong ambitions in Japan. I hope they perform better than we did twenty years ago.

In the first match of the Olympics, the Blues defeated the United States (83-76). A historic success that set the tone …

For more than ten years, Europe has sent many soldiers to the United States and France is no exception. The gap has narrowed as there are now many in the NBA who have learned to play like them (Last season, eleven players formed the French team, editorial). Some Europeans today are better than Americans. Apparently, between our generation without an NBA player and someone we see in Japan, with 5 out of 12 players playing in the North American Championship, based on the mythical approach of representing the NBA, it has nothing to do yet.

Can the French team now see the Americans “in the eye”?

Moods have changed, even the attitude of the competition. At the time, we didn’t need a complication, but we rubbed shoulders with a different world. They are everyday life. The players they face on Saturday are their teammates or opponents throughout the season. When we encountered Carter, Garnett, etc., they were the guys you only saw on TV.