As Paris 2024 Olympic hosts, the French men and women’s water polo teams got an automatic spot into the Games. Here’s why the French see this as their big turning point of momentum for their programmes if they want to be major players in water polo, both at the Paris Olympics – and beyond.
It’s obvious – the men’s team are getting better. To hear France’s Florian Bruzzo and Vjekoslav Kobescak talk about it this is no miracle, only hard work.
Les Bleus wanted to start the year with a better result at the European Championship in Croatia: ninth at the Euros was not their ultimate goal. Less than six months away from the Olympics, but there isn't a day when the French team doesn't think about the Games.
Bruzzo believes they will make their best performance, which leads them until the last day of the tournament.
THE BRUZZO-KOBESCAK DUO
The identity of Les Bleus is shaped by Florian Bruzzo and Vjekoslav Kobescak.
Bruzzo guided the men’s national team at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. He then became the head coach of the women’s national team, but returned to the men team’s bench in 2021.
Since then, the men’s team made a significant breakthrough France placed fourth in the World League in 2022, followed by a sixth in Fukuoka.
Kobescak, officially is the assistant coach of the French men’s national team (in addition to still also holding head coach duties for Jug Dubrovnik) responsible for tactics in the national team. The duo of Bruzzo and Kobescak makes the French team better year-by-year.
Working together in a national team may be a hard topic, but not for the Bruzzo-Kobescak duo. Here's how Kobescak puts it: “We are two very dominant characters, but we managed to be friends. Our relationships are based on friendships and the desire and love of water polo. We communicate daily, even when we are not close to each other. Florian Bruzzo is a very good coach, but he's an excellent manager, too.”
OLYMPICS IN SIGHT | STEPS FORWARD & BACK
After the European Championships, Bruzzo noted that Les Bleus were not in their best shape.
“As coaches we always want more time to practice and to prepare the team. The shape of the team at this moment is not so good. It's not bad, but it's not so good,” Bruzzo said. “We have a long-term vision, at the moment the ‘long-term’ means only six months until the Olympics.”
In order to achieve good results, it is necessary for the team to have a good atmosphere – but how is it working for the French team? Here's Bruzzo: “Outside of the pool, the balance is working very nicely, very good, between the junior and experienced players. We based our project on sharing information. We have an amazing team spirit; the mindset is very good.”
MICHAEL BODEGAS RETURNS TO LES BLEUS
World champion Michael Bodegas – who was playing for Italy between 2015 and 2019 – has returned to the Les Bleus.
Bruzzo underlined the importance of having Bodegas back.
“The most important thing is not that Bodegas came back. Most important is that he fits in the team. We wanted him to be the captain of the French national team,” Bruzzo said. “But we needed to see as he didn't play in a high-level international competition for a long time. We are so very happy to him to be here.”
Do not forget about this: without Bodegas, Le Bleus finished sixth in Fukuoka. With him, they may be better.
WHAT TO EXPECT | PUTTING IT BLUNTLY
Kobescak put it bluntly: “I think we can say that – and the result shows it at the moment – we are not in the top-four at the moment. But I think it’s possible. We believe in this, but we have to be honest. There are teams like Greece, Hungary, Spain, Italy, that lead the world.
“If you predict that they will win a medal, you are right,” added Kobescak. “The team has changed a bit and this is good, but still we are not in this first four.”
'WE WANT TO WIN EVERY SINGLE MATCH'
What’s the French mentality going forward?
“We want to win every single match,” states Bruzzo. “Two years ago, maybe you would laugh if you heard this, but in the last year and at the European Championships we have shown that we are a competitive team. I think our players have this mindset as well. We start the competition to win all the games so we will start with the same mentality, even at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha.”
COUNTDOWN TO THE OLYMPICS | TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE
For the French team there is no day without this advertisement regarding the Olympic Olympics. In December, the national team visited the new Aquatics Centre that’s under construction in Paris for the Games.
“Every day journalists want to see inside our team to get some new information. In one hand it’s good for the water polo, good for the team, because we can benefit from the attention directed at us,” Bruzzo remarked. “On the other hand, we need to take care of our players and their privacy. This is a huge event in France, we want to take advantage of the opportunity.”