All you have to do is choose the director, Martin Scorsese or Damien Chazelle if you ask us for our opinion, but the script is ready. And the ending twist, already known. The story of this little guy from the Paris region, called up to the national team at the last minute, who misses the opportunity to give the title of world champion to his country, but who returns four years later to lift the Jules- Rimet after his quadruple in the final. This script is inspired by a true story (yes, yes, you will see), that of Randal Kolo Muani.
His name is, unfortunately, associated with this action in the last minutes of the World Cup final, where after having revived the Blues who had been in intensive care until then, Randal Kolo Muani stumbled on Emiliano Martinez. The rest, everyone knows it: the shots on goal, the defeat, Martinez who is clever, France who cries, Deschamps who is extended, NLG who digs his grave… “ [Cette action], I still have it in my throat and I will have it for life, explained RKM on beIN Sports at the beginning of February. I think that goal that I missed will give me strength. This is what will push me all the time to score and to surpass myself. »
The double double from downtown
And, unlike the political program of France 2 where the two nominal groups were far apart, Kolo Muani made the expression “words and deeds” his own. Since the start of 2023, the Eintracht Frankfurt striker, who faces Napoli in the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday, has scored seven goals and made two assists in seven games. In total, since the start of the season, the former Nantes player has scored ten goals and ten assists. Since the data was collected by Eintracht in 2004-2005, this is the first time that an SGE player has achieved a double double, as they say in basketball. And there is almost half a season left.
“I think Randal is even stronger than before the World Cup, explains Christopher Michel, journalist specializing in Eintracht for the Sport1 site. He scores more goals, he tries his luck more, he has improved from a technical point of view. It’s impressive how he has become a complete player. Before the World Cup, he was a very good Bundesliga player. Now he has become a top international player. »
“One of the best players in the Bundesliga”
So much so that he has become, according to Frankfurt supporters, like Stefan (28) and Oscar (17) “one of the best players in the history of the club and the championship”. “I think his missed opportunity in extra time made him stronger and better in front of goal, says the first, creator of the YouTube channel HSPLP. As when he scores against Darmstadt [en Coupe d’Allemagne], where he shows everything he is capable of. “A deep call from the center line, a quick run, a delay to fix the goalkeeper, an inside of the foot to the Henry, small net.
“I think he learned a lot of things by rubbing shoulders with world class players like Mbappé or Griezmann, continues the journalist. They helped him become a better player. We don’t know what he would have become if he had scored against Argentina, but I think it motivated him even more, that he never wants to find himself in this situation again and suffer the same failure. . “The observation is shared by Pierre Aristouy, coach of the FC Nantes reserve, who trained Kolo Muani:
The World Cup took him a step further. You learn everything in football. All the moments spent on a field serve you, allow you to improve. If he finds himself in such a situation [que celle de la finale du Mondial] in the league, he will surely be much more mentally armed and calm in his head to assess the situation. »
The trainer, who has stars in his eyes when discussing his protege, is not surprised by the dimension taken by the attacker. But more by the speed with which it all happened: “He’s someone who doesn’t really ask questions. The qualities and the potential, he had them. Afterwards, the potential can be spoiled by limiting elements, such as apprehension, stress. But he is free from all that. He always had this personality, this nonchalance which, at the time when he was not playing, could appear as a defect, but which is revealed today as an incredible asset. »
It has become more complete
Like when you have to enter the World Cup final, when a whole people was already starting to put away the champagne and the party favors. Or like when he quietly dribbles Dayot Upamecano to equalize against Bayern. “Of course it would have been great for him to score in the final, but that motivated him to work on himself to become even more complete, assures Christopher Michel. He has made great progress since the final, and it shows his mentality. »
There are still a few small points to improve in order to slam the quadruple in the final of the World Cup in 2026:
- “He has almost no weaknesses, but he still needs to work on his heading game, which is not brilliant, and his technique a bit,” according to Christopher Michel.
- “Sometimes he tends not to know when to shoot or wait for his partners,” Oscar said.
- “Do not add to the field after tackles. Sometimes I feel like he’s trying to imitate Neymar,” Stefan said.
But, unlike the Brazilian from PSG, the Bondynois (yes, he too) is adored by the public at Deutsche Bank Park, and even more so since the World Cup. Randal Kolo Muani even has a dedicated song as soon as he scores. Suffice to say, that at this moment, the air remains well in mind. “But the more goals he scores, the more difficult it will be for Frankfurt to keep him, tempers Christopher Michel. But if a club wants to buy him, Markus Krösche, the sporting director, has set the price at 100 million euros, and I think few clubs are going to be able to pay that amount. It is to forget that Manchester United paid the same price to recruit Antony. And the Brazilian top no longer turns heads at all.