![]() Few could have predicted how hot that spotlight would become.Ī former junior tennis champion and professional player, Oudéa-Castéra had arrived at the sports ministry from a short stint leading the French tennis federation. France will host the Rugby World Cup later this year, and then step onto the biggest stage in sports in 2024, when it will welcome the world to the Summer Olympics in Paris.Īll of those events had been expected to bring an outsize focus on French sports and by extension on Oudéa-Castéra, an old friend and college contemporary of President Emmanuel Macron who took the job of sports minister last May. The country’s men’s soccer team played in its second straight World Cup final in December, and its women’s squad will be among the favorites in its own championship this summer. These should be heady days for French sports. Unable to reconcile the two conflicting narratives, the news coverage and the denials being offered by Le Graët, Oudéa-Castéra commissioned an independent investigation.īy the time it was underway, the stack of problems on her desk had already grown. ![]() On the appointed day, the two executives sat down at a circular glass table in Oudéa-Castéra’s cavernous sixth-floor office, and she began to ask questions. So Oudéa-Castéra, not yet four months into her post, reached out arranged a meeting. “Before those revelations from the press I personally did not know Noël Le Graët,” Oudéa-Castéra said in an interview last week. PARIS - It was the middle of September and Amélie Oudéa-Castéra needed to know if there was any truth in the lurid headlines she was reading.Īs France’s sports minister, Oudéa-Castéra had the power to summon Noël Le Graët, the octogenarian who has run French soccer for more than a decade, and confront him about the allegations about his behavior: serious accusations of inappropriate comments and text messages to female staff members whispers about heavy lunchtime drinking sessions news reports that the federation had ignored sexual harassment and sexual abuse. "We are present in the game and there is much to learn from the first half we played.UPDATE: The longtime president of the French soccer federation, Noël Le Graët, resigned on Tuesday. So we have achieved a draw in the end and we are there. "We had good ball possession and scored the equaliser. But the second half was really good with more pressure on the ball and creating chances. "We lost second balls and it was a bad first half. In the first half we weren’t in the Champions League mode and weren’t aggressive enough. RB Leipzig coach Marco Rose said: "It was two different halves. With this type of situations, German teams are better than us." "But I felt in this game – and I have been in this country (as Bayern Munich head coach) – that I need this type of control. "Maybe in the second leg I will decide to be crazy and play with nine strikers! "I was really pleased with what I was seeing," said Guardiola. Guardiola chose not to make any substitutions at all, despite admitting that he considered sending on England midfielder Phil Foden during the second half.īut City re-established control after Gvardiol’s equaliser, with Ilkay Gundogan going close to snatching a win before a late penalty appeal for handball was waved away. "We have had injured players and I am so delighted with the game we have played." We have had four games in 10 days and the Arsenal one was really tough. "Why not talk about how good the other one is. Always you (the press) talk about how bad one team is. "But why can’t you think Leipzig is a good team? They beat Real Madrid here, were much, much, much better than (against) Bayern Munich in the second half. ![]() "Normally there is one misconception in football that, after the way we played the first half, people are going to say ‘how bad was the second half?’ He said: "I had the feeling that the game would be decided in the second leg. Guardiola said Leipzig, who had lost once in 20 games, should be respected by the media for their achievements both at home and abroad. ![]() ![]() (If) people don’t like it, it doesn’t matter. "I said ‘get your heads up – it was really good. The second half was a different affair with chances at both ends, and Josko Gvardiol’s header 20 minutes from time restored parity before the second leg at the Etihad Stadium on 14 March.Ĭity manager Guardiola strode on to the pitch at the final whistle and spoke to his players in a huddle, telling reporters later: "Their heads were down. Pep Guardiola told his Manchester City players to hold their heads high after drawing with RB Leipzig in the Champions League.Ĭity had to settle for a 1-1 draw in Germany after dominating the first half, with Riyad Mahrez's 27th-minute strike the sole reward for their total supremacy in the opening period. ![]()
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