“I love this moment”, relishes Kolo Muani at the Hopes

The Stade Michel d’Ornano in Caen, where the France Espoirs team faces Switzerland this Monday evening (9:00 p.m.), should have been its garden this season. Randal Kolo Muani was very close to joining Stade Malherbe as his sports director Yohan Eudeline told France Bleu: “We have a lot of regrets. He is a striker that we followed all last season at Boulogne- sur-Mer in National where he was loaned. He wanted to come to us. Unfortunately, with the many cases of Covid-19 at FC Nantes, he had his chance and performed very well. So the FCN wanted to keep him. “

At 21, Randal Kolo Muani finally finds himself with eight Ligue 1 games played (out of nine) with FC Nantes and two summons with the France Espoirs team. The striker convinced Christian Gourcuff to give him a chance. After a loan in National, in Boulogne-sur-Mer, the striker now hopes to confirm his successful start to the season. Never called in the youth teams, Randall Kolo Muani now dreams of going to the Hopes.

In two months, you have made a place for yourself in Ligue 1 and in the France Espoirs team, how do you live it?

Very well, of course. I love my moment, I don’t take too much trouble with it. I’m just trying to be myself. It is still a pride to be called up for selection. It’s proof that my work has paid off since the start of the season.

Did you expect to play so much with FC Nantes?

Not especially. I had been well in training since coming back from loan, so I thought I was going to play. But I was leaving more in order to scratch a few minutes, do a few groups and try to get in as much as possible so that I could show that I could aim better.

And finally, Christian Gourcuff did not happen to you until the first day against Bordeaux …

Yes the coach had seen videos of me last year in Boulogne. Then he saw what I could offer in training with a slightly different profile. I am a player, I like to take the depth… When I came back from loan, I told myself that I was here to stay. In my head, there was no question of a departure.

How did this transition go for you?

I can’t say it was easy. But I was aware of my qualities. I know what I am capable of and what I am not capable of. So from there, I’m not going to try things that are impossible in training or in matches.

I take the example of a transverse. I’m not going to have fun doing it if I know it’s not an exercise I’m doing well enough. You have to work it in specific training exercises first. So when I came back to Nantes, I wanted to use my qualities by telling myself that we were all human and that I had my place here.

What does Christian Gourcuff ask of you?

The coach likes my style like I said. He asks me to take the depth, to also come to dezone a little when the team needs it. Afterwards, I have to learn to ask for a little more with the ball in the feet, and especially to be more killer in front of goal. For an attacker, this is very important. But I’m working on this in practice, and I’m sure it will come very quickly.

And Sylvain Ripoll in the France Espoirs team?

When I arrived at the last rally, he spoke to me a bit to tell me that he had watched my games, and that he was happy with my start to the season. He was looking for a striker with a different style of play and that’s what I could bring to the team. It touched me a lot because in training he immediately told me about what I could bring. It’s a way of feeling confident, of feeling important.

Often, players explain that the first training sessions for the French team, whether in U21 or A, are very important for judging oneself. How did it go for you?

I judge myself pretty well. I had positive comments from the staff so that makes me happy. But this is only the beginning, I move slowly. But I must say that this period is doing me good mentally. With the Espoirs, I also see other styles of play than in Nantes, which allows me to discover something else. And I tell myself that I am part of this group with top players around me. It makes me feel comfortable.

Before being loaned to Boulogne last season, you played six times in L1 in 2018-2019, how can you explain that the club did not keep you afterwards?

I can only blame myself. I had a lot of flaws, including nonchalance. I was like that, I have often been criticized. And the people who reproached me for it are people very close to me. After playing in L1, I went back down to CFA and there are efforts that I was not making.

The decision was not easy, but we had to start from this Nantes cocoon to progress. It hurt me to leave. It was harder than leaving the Paris region because when I left the Paris region, it was a success. But I always told myself that I was going to come back stronger.