Before our Champions League match against Paris-Saint-Germain, we spoke with our French playmaker, about his performance in the Summer Olympics, the club’s new setup, our match against PSG on Thursday and much more.
 
Hi Kentin, welcome back!

How do you feel about the Olympics? How would you assess your performance? And how does it feel to be an Olympic Champion?
 
Thank you! It’s an indescribable, unbelievable feeling; a real dream come true. I have been following the Olympic Games for a long time, this has been my dream since I was a child. My father also won an Olympic Medal, a bronze medal in 1992, in Barcelona. We’re a real handball family, this is our life.
Well, what can I say? In Rio, we lost in the final, which was a huge disappoinment, both on a personal and team level. This anger and frustration only kept growing in the last four years. We took this journey step-by-step; qualifying to this year’s Olympics was a huge step, then we completed a really tough preparation, but it all paid out in the end. I am very happy and proud!
Our national team’s technical staff did a very thorough analysis of our games and tactics from the Egyptian World Cup. In the competition, I started in every match and I had a lot of responsibilities on my shoulders. Nikola Karabatic was still injured in that time, so it was a completely different situation than this summer. We didn’t win a medal, we lost in the semi-finals against Sweden. As a consequence, our technical staff implemented a couple of small changes; almost every player played halves. I shared my gametime with Remili and I believe these little changes in our tactics were a really good decision.

 

 
You didn’t have a lot of time to rest after the Olympics, you had to come back to Veszprém almost immediately. Do you feel refreshed?

I will be honest. Nowadays, when a team manages to stay in contest until the very end in a European or World Championship, they would almost have to return to their clubs the very next day. Of course, this isn’t ideal. In the years before, we had a little more time to rest, 4-5 days at times. After this year’s Olympics, we had an entire week. We came back on the next Monday, so we even had time to celebrate with our fans in France, which was beneficial both mentally and physically. I could turn myself off for a couple of days, but I would have liked to have a bit more time. It was a really long season, with the Final4 in winter, the World Cup in Egypt, as well as the long spring season and the Summer Olympics. On the other hand, I was really excited to return to Veszprém, when they call me, I come! There were a lot of changes around the club, both in club politics and the technical staff. There are a lot of young talents in the squad, I am very happy to be working together with Momo, Gulyi and the rest of the staff.
 
How did the rest of the squad receive You after winning the Olympics?

The guys welcomed me with recognition and a lot of respect. Everybody believes that we deserved to win in the end. We had a really good flow and rhythm throughout the entire tournament. I think they were really happy about my/our achievement and they congratulated me. I was beyond proud to return with an Olympic Gold Medal. I was a bit disappointed for Yahia because everybody from the team returned with a medal, except Egypt. It would have been perfect, if he received a medal as well.
 
Some of your French international teammates play in PSG. What are you expecting from tomorrow’s game?

Our goal is clear, we want to win. It will be interesting to see, where we are as a team regarding our preparation. In our last practice match against THW Kiel, we proved to everyone and ourselves, that we can compete on the highest level, against the best. That match was also ours to lose, and I think we should have won. I believe we have an exceptional team, but we have to get a little more familiar with each other to work better together. Everyone has to know their specific role and responsibilities and if we can find this balance within the team, it could be a very successful season.
It’s always a special feeling, playing against PSG, many of my international teammates play there. It will be really nice to see them after our Olympic triumph in the summer. I cannot wait to play in front of a (hopefully) full house in our Arena, on Thursday.
 
Who was your idol growing up?

I never had one or two specific players, rather players with a specific style or charisma, which I tried to imitate. It could any position, playmaker, right/left back, right/left winger or even pivot. Lars Christiansen and Nikola Karabatic were always inspirational for me; but I also loved the playstyles of Kim Anderson and Ivano Balic.
 
Where did your handball career begin and how did you end up in Veszprém?

I was born in Paris, but in the summer of 2000 when I was 9 years old, we moved to Germany. TSW Dormagen is where I signed my first professional contract, at the age of 17, then at the age of 20 I moved to Gummersbach. After that I played in Hamburg for 2 years, Flensburg for 3 years, and then I moved to Veszprém in 2018.

 

 
You’re very active on all social media platforms. Are you managing the content on these profiles or somebody else?

I personally post everything. I could probably hire someone to do this for me, but I want all my fans and followers to see who I really am, not just an image of me.
This is part of our everyday lives. I respect any- and everyone who doesn’t have any social media, but nowadays almost everyone has an online presence on these sites. During the summer, before the Olympics I had a “digital detox” so to speak; I turned off all my electronics for a week. Nobody called me, no WhatsApp or Instagram... I only answered the most important e-mails, so I could focus on my family 100%. It was a fantastic experience.
 
What do you think about the new club and player politics? Momo and Gulyi?

This is a trick question, right? There is only one correct answer... :-)
Jokes aside, I am very glad that Momo and Gulyi got the opportunity from the club. This was the most logical choice. Momo knows this club inside and out. Personally, I think he could still play with us, seeing how fit he is.
He is trying to find the right balance between how he wants our team to play, and what our squad is capable of and what works best for us. Momo’s main goal is to improve our team style and team chemistry. Quoting Momo, he doesn’t necessarily want to improve everyone individually, rather he wants us to function better as team, to be strong and massive, and to form a community within our squad, where everyone loves to play handball and everyone wants to fight for each other, the fans and most importantly to win. He wants us to stick together, to better get through the bad times.
 
What do you think about the team’s Spanish style, which came to Veszprém via Carlos Ortega and it’s still the team’s main playstyle?

I very much enjoy it. I first played in this style under David Davis. If you’re playmaker in this Spanish system, there are a lot of responsibilities that fall on you and there is a lot decision making involved during the game. I have the ball quite a lot during attacks; I really like it; I feel comfortable in it.

 

 
Among Veszprém fans, there is a sort of “special recognition” towards you. They consider you a sympathetic player, who fights until the very end. Where do you think this special affection comes from?

Naturally, I can feel all the love and I am beyond grateful. It’s an amazing feeling. The most important things in handball are the performance, the results, the recognition and winning. Furthermore, entertaining our fans is very important as well. Sport is a great opportunity for people to forget their troubles and let off some steam for a couple of hours. This is a dependent relationship; they come to our matches to support us, and we fight and hustle to make them happy. They spend a lot of money, time and energy on us, not mention emotions, to come and watch and support us in the Veszprém Arena. I believe there is only one correct response to this from our team; we have to do everything to win, for them.
 
Thank you Kentin! Have a good training and good luck on Thursday!