Olivier Krumbholz is one hell of a rascal. The Worlds? “It’s better not to win them”, priority at the Games… We almost believed it, but others, Olivier. After a demonstration against the Norwegian hosts, title holders, and a Pepouze qualification for the semi-final, which takes place this Friday against Sweden, the coach of the France team can no longer hide. The coronation, or nothing. Especially when we count the best in the world at the pivot position: Pauletta Foppa and Sarah Bouktit.
“Two top-notch numbers”, according to Eric Baradat, coach of the France U20 team. The technician knows what he is talking about, having been Olivier Krumbholz’s assistant between 2002 and 2013 and during the 2016 Olympics: “They can claim to play pivot in any club or selection in the world. We have very often been in deficit compared to Norway in this position. They have a tradition of pivot, that they come out one behind the other. Today, not only are we not in deficit, but we dominate them in this position thanks to this pair. »
Difficulties at work for several years
And the domination is not about to end if the Norwegian industry does not manage to release a dominant prototype, such as Erling Haaland, from the floors in the coming years. Because Foppa (23 years old on December 22) and Bouktit (21 years old) are brought to torment the zones for a hell of a good period. The first, among the Blues since the cradle or almost, was joined this winter by Messina, who are playing their first major international competition. Which leaves on the side a player like Béatrice Edwige, interplanetary reference in defense, more in difficulty on the other side of the field.
Bouktit, Foppa, Edwige (without forgetting Oriane Ondono, third pivot during this World Cup, or Adja Ouattara, who is returning from injury)… All after seeing Véronique Pecqueux Rolland, Isabelle Wendling or Nina Kanto have a great time for Les Bleues. Would France have specific know-how in terms of pivoting? Not yet, according to Eric Baradat:
It would be pretentious and misleading to say that France can rely on a school of pivots, because, if that were the case, I could say today that I already know, in the event of an injury to Sarah or Pauletta, the girl who would be likely to take over without too much of a deficit for France, which is not the case. »
Jonathan Mouton, head of the Centre-Val-de-Loire Women’s Hope Center, who trained Foppa and supported Bouktit for two seasons, explains: “Between Pecqueux-Rolland and Foppa, we had some difficulties in this position. It was a lack that we had in France. We had a lot of morphological and athletic potential, but we were lacking in know-how at the pivot position. Things are changing and the pivot position takes a predominant place in the game today, so obviously we are very concerned about it. Before, there was a tendency to put female players in this position by default. »
It benefits Krumbholz
France took advantage of having two players with very high potential to shape them differently, focusing work on gaining position, motor skills specific to the pivot position and technique. Thus, Sarah Bouktit worked a lot “on the availability of the ball, on not lowering her arm before shooting, the duel with her back to the goal, which was not done too much in women’s handball,” explains Jonathan Mouton. And all this benefits Olivier Krumbholz, who relies fully on the pivots today, whereas, for example, during the London Games, he only selected one pivot from the list.
“The game with the pivots is something that Olivier has really developed in recent years,” explains Laurisa Landre, former pivot of the Bleues, vice-Olympic champion in Rio. In Nina Kanto’s time and even before, it was more difficult. When we have players like Estelle Nze Minko or Grace Zaadi, girls who play very easily with the pivots, it makes their work easier and their emphasis. »
Fear among adversaries
“What characterizes Olivier is pragmatism,” adds Eric Baradat. It’s a cook who will bring out a dish with the ingredients he has in the fridge. There, he has two very good pivots, he will build a more adapted game around that. The game with and around the pivot has transformed into the French team. The energy spent to counter these profiles is enormous, and this frees up the rear. This is one of the major challenges for the future, without a pivot, the rear base is much less efficient. »
Beyond their undermining work in front of the zone and in defense Pauletta Foppa and Sarah Bouktit are weapons in the wide space during counter-attacks and rapid engagements, despite their fairly heavy size. “In my position, always being the one who makes the commitments, I must be able to score from midfield,” explained Bouktit after scoring three goals in this way against Austria in the first round. “When we see them play today, the opposing teams are crazy afraid of our pivots,” laughs Laurisa Landre. It’s magnificent to see, I love it. » Sweden is not really of the same opinion.