Olympic champion in Tokyo in 2021, number one goalkeeper of the French handball team since the international retirement of the Thierry Omeyer monument, Vincent Gérard will not participate in the 2024 European Championship, which takes place in Germany from January 10 to 28. His name does not appear in the list of twenty French players selected for this competition, communicated on Saturday December 23 by coach Guillaume Gille.
This is not a surprise, because, even if Vincent Gérard had been called up for the preparation stadium from December 21 to 24 at the Maison du handball in Créteil (Val-de-Marne), the goalkeeper of the German club from Kiel remains convalescent. He has not yet returned to competition after his pubalgia operation at the end of September. “His lack of competition in recent months encourages me to continue preparation with the three goalkeepers present with us,” noted the coach in a press release.
Aged 37, Vincent Gérard announced on December 20 in an interview with L’Equipe that he would end his career at the end of the season, just like his teammate and friend Nikola Karabatic – who, for his part, will be well present at the Euro.
“I try to move forward step by step without taking any risks with my body. I feel good, I no longer have pain, I am continuing my rehabilitation,” explained Vincent Gérard to Le Monde, Friday December 22. Before adding: “I don’t want to cheat. For the moment, I am not setting myself any goals. The Games are still very far away, and the decisions do not belong to me, it is the coach who decides. I am at the service of the French team. If I’m called upon, I’ll be there. »
Vincent Gérard’s last official competition could therefore be the Paris Games, from July 26 to August 11, 2024. Unless another French goalkeeper asserts himself at the highest level during the Euro. Competition for the goalkeeper position in the run-up to the Olympics looks set to be even tighter as only two goalkeepers will be able to participate (compared to three at the Euro).
Competition to occupy the cages
For the continental competition in Germany, the French goalkeepers selected are Rémi Desbonnet, Charles Bolzinger and Samir Bellahcene. The role of number one seems promised to the first of the three. At 31, the Montpellier goalkeeper established himself this season within the Hérault club against his young teammate Charles Bolzinger (23), a revelation of last season.
Rémi Desbonnet has been running at 34.8% efficiency since the start of the season in the league, a very high level. If he succeeds in his Euro, this atypical goalkeeper – he is “only” 1.82 m tall, something rare among handball goalkeepers – has a great card to play in view of the Games.
Recent revelation of the German championship, Samir Bellahcene (28 years old) also has no shortage of arguments, in a different style and size (1.91 m for 120 kg). Vincent Gérard’s medical joker in Kiel, the former Dunkirk player managed to establish himself in the Hanseatic city, one of the best clubs on the continent. Selected for the first time in the French team in April, he has just extended his contract until 2025 with the German club.
After a break for the end-of-year holidays, the handball players of the French team will meet on January 2 at the XXL hall in Nantes, where they will play two preparation matches (against Tunisia on January 4 and against Brazil on January 6) during the Tournoi de France. Before starting the Euro, their first meeting in 2024 where they will aspire, in the summer, to defend their Olympic title won in Tokyo.