It had been more than a year and a half since Amel Majri had set foot in Clairefontaine, the fault, first, of a rupture of the cruciate ligament of the left knee which kept him away from the field for a long time. But the OL midfielder also took advantage of this long absence to give birth to her first child, a little girl named Maryam who is now nine months old.
And it was accompanied by her baby that Amel Majri (30) made her big comeback to the France team, becoming the first player in the history of Les Bleues to come to a rally with her child. Before the two preparation matches for the World Cup awaiting her, this Friday (9:10 p.m.) against Colombia and Tuesday against Canada, the Lyonnaise has agreed to return for 20 minutes on this unprecedented situation as well as on the many changes that have taken place in the French team in recent weeks.
You caused a sensation when you landed with your little girl in Clairefontaine. How was his visit organised? Did you talk about it with Hervé Renard when you were selected?
When I was selected, I was not notified in advance. I just saw my name on the list, I was so happy, but I expected a journalist to ask the coach about my little girl, it didn’t happen (laughs) . So I didn’t necessarily have any information, I didn’t know how it was going to happen. I know that in the past the question had been raised with Corinne Deacon and she had authorized that the guardian Manon Heil could come accompanied by her son to Clairefontaine. I was told that nothing had changed on that, that I could bring him. I don’t hide from you that it did me a lot of good to hear that because it would take a mental load off me. There is not a part of Amel who is there, focus at Clairefontaine, and another part thinking about something else. I can be 100% focused on the pitch in order to give my best, since behind I know that I will find my daughter and take care of her.
You decided to have a child following a long knee injury, proof that it was not an easy decision to make. We have the impression that mentalities take time to evolve on these questions of maternity in high-level sport, right?
Yes, absolutely. Personally, until my injury, I was afraid that it would be badly perceived, afraid of being put aside or losing my place. That’s why this decision to have a child came at a time when I knew that no matter what, I was going to be unavailable for my team. Afterwards, there is also the question of returning to competition: being absent from a big club like OL for so long and managing to find your place, it was still a huge challenge. I hope today that my example will give ideas to players and I encourage those who wish to become pregnant during their career. But you have to keep in mind that it’s not a simple choice and you have to fight twice as hard to get back to the top level. It’s a real fight. Getting back to your best level at OL, spending nights struggling, it’s not easy (laughs)! I said at one point that if I had to do it again I wouldn’t do it again, but I’ve since changed my mind because it’s so beautiful to live that you shouldn’t deprive yourself of it .
In Lyon, things seem to be going well, your daughter is also following you like during the trip to Turin in mid-December in Champions League or the end-of-year internship in Les Sables-d’Olonne.
Yes, it’s going well even though it was brand new to them. They had the case of Sara Björk Gunnarsdottir but she had never taken her child on the move. So we had to make adjustments, everyone learned on the job in fact. They told me that they were going to accompany me so that things went as well as possible, and I felt the same desire as in the French team to put the athlete in the best possible conditions.
You talk about Sara Björk Gunnarsdotir but, for her part, everything did not necessarily go well. She was not paid for five months and she ended up taking the case to the Fifa before winning. On your side, you have not had the slightest problem?
The problem with Sara was from a financial point of view, she was put on sick leave. I wasn’t really affected by that. In addition, I saw that there was going to be an agreement signed in women’s football in France next season in order to settle this question, so that there is no more imbroglio, that we know exactly how to work in this case. Everything should be put in place so that the players do not lose wages during their pregnancy, I have the impression that it is going in the right direction. It would have been nice if we didn’t have to go through this kind of situation, but let’s hope it serves as an example so that we don’t repeat this again.
And how has it been for Maryam since her arrival at Clairefontaine? Léa Le Garrec told us that she was immediately adopted by the group.
Yes, everything is going great! Léa is my roommate, so she asked me if Maryam was going to sleep well at night and I reassured her on that point. I told her that the girls of OL could attest to that, they who rub shoulders with her every day at the club. Afterwards, it’s a baby, what! If she cries, that’s normal, but honestly she’s good to be around, I’m lucky.
How is it going from an organizational point of view at Clairefontaine?
My nanny follows me everywhere, whether with Lyon or in the France team. Afterwards, there are still a lot of things to plan, to clarify, since everything was done very quickly with the coach. But he made me understand that the goal for the next courses or gatherings was going to be to improve a little more the organization around my daughter, her comfort, as well as that of the nanny. Why not put a nursery in place if ever there were to be other children. These are silly things but ultimately very important. We really feel that the coach wants to do everything to make us feel as good as possible and I couldn’t have hoped for better.
Will she be traveling to Australia this summer?
Yes yes ! Even if the flight will be long, to know that she is in the project is something huge for me.
It can become a kind of mascot, as is the case for the daughter of Alex Morgan in the United States?
Yes, there is a bit of that. A baby in a group, it necessarily brings smiles, curiosity and joy, I’ve been asked a lot since I’ve been here: “where is she? What is she doing ? “. I have visitors in my room all the time, not for me eh, for her, but here I feel that there is something funny going on at the moment. I find that super cool. I share my child with everyone! I have the impression that some are curious, maybe they are preparing! I asked them who was going to be next (laughs). Afterwards, unlike Alex Morgan, who highlights his child enormously, in videos, on social networks, I want to be careful not to fall into this, I want to protect her from too much exposure. .
There are two, three little things that have changed since your last call in blue, the sling of certain players, the departure of Corinne Deacon, the arrival ofHerve Renard. How do you view all that has just happened?
It will be more than a year and a half since I last came to the France team, I found some playing time more than a month ago, so I only had one desire , return to blue. For the rest, I lived the thing from afar, even if I am close to the Lyonnaises of the France team and we necessarily discussed what was going on. But honestly, I was focused on my rehabilitation, my return to the France team. The rest took a bit of a back seat.
Did you agree with the message they conveyed?
I completely understand Wendie and the teammates who wanted to follow her in this withdrawal from the France team. It’s good that she was able to express her discomfort, it still meant that something was wrong, it was a pretty strong alarm signal. Now, here it is, another coach has taken over, we must not look back too much given the very short time that separates us from the World Cup [du 20 juillet au 20 août en Australie et en Nouvelle-Zélande]. We must close the page of the past and write a new one.
The players have been heard, Deacon is gone. Is there any particular pressure on the band’s shoulders now?
The pressure has always existed in selection. And since we still haven’t won any titles, we can say that the pressure is still there. Afterwards, it is sure that when we claim things in public and we obtain them, behind we expose ourselves and, if we miss, we can be tackled. It’s normal. Now it’s up to us to try to achieve a great World Cup this summer.
How would you describe the coach and his new staff?
We are still in the process of discovery, we are getting to know them, they are getting to know us. We are in the exchange and it is already a good first point. They are really into everything that has to do with cohesion, unity, group life. They emphasize the fact that to move forward, we need others. Everyone has to be good around us, because it’s fine to be strong individually, without others we can’t move forward or progress. This is really the message that I get out of the coach’s first speeches. He and his staff are already very demanding but at the same time very human. And then it’s good to see someone who comes to women’s football really believing in this project. In the past, we know that other coaches have been able to come here by default… There, we feel quite the opposite, he lives the thing to the full, he is super involved, and that is essential for the message to pass on to of the group. We want to go to war for him but also to live this World Cup as a great human adventure.