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Zwerb: “When you put the medal around your neck, there are chills”

Olympic Champion with the Blues in 1984, Daniel Zwerb remembers this very special moment that is the Olympics.

The moment has finally come, the Olympics begin on Thursday for the French men’s soccer team, which is back to compete for the first time since 1996 in Atlanta. But the most beautiful track in the blues, it was in 1984, already on the side of the United States, and more specifically in Los Angeles.

The holy Olympic champion, the team led by Henri Michel wrote a beautiful page of French football. “When we put the medal around your neck, there was goosebumps, I can tell you we were proud. Listening to Marseillaise, we were so glad we were up to the action,” Daniel Xuereb recalls in an interview with L’Equipe.

The former Lens and Paris Saint-Germain striker also remembers the atmosphere there, especially within the French delegation. “We were booked a building with a lot of French, basketball players, Muriel Hermine (synchronized swim)… It was great, we were very kokuriko and we went to see the French as fast as we could,” he continues. .

“We always expected better from them, we wanted them to get the gold. A great memory is the pole vault with (Pierre) Quinon first and (Thierry) Vigneron third. Joseph Mahmoud (second in the 3000m steeplechase) did a great trick too. A special atmosphere.”

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A complete competition separate from any athlete. “I’m also going to the semi-finals of the 1986 World Cup, which is a great event, but I worried less because I was just a substitute. It’s the games, the communication between the players, and Brazil in the final, which is still more inside me,” continues Xuereb.

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“Recently I saw Dominique Bigott and Albert Rost, and it’s always good to meet his teammates since 1984 because we’ve been through something so strong, while I never imagined playing in the games.

“Now when people get to know me, they immediately tell me about the gold medal, about getting up at 4am to watch the match. We are waiting for the showdown, and I thought this was going to be a good year. But they couldn’t make the best team possible…”