Michael Olise, France’s World Cup star, is a very different kind of footballer | OneFootball

Michael Olise reaches Dallas on Tuesday as France’s most intriguing World Cup performer, minimalist off it yet decisive on it. His pitch check is fleeting, his boots match his kit, and he always takes kick-off and punts it out.

In September 2024, in his fifth Bayern outing after a £50.8 million move, he starred in a 5-0 win at Werder Bremen with two goals and two assists. He then baulked at the flash interview until Jamal Musiala coaxed him back.

His aversion to the spotlight showed in 2022 after a stoppage-time winner for Palace at West Ham, when his answers were comically terse. He scored 127 in an IQ test in 2024.

At Reading in 2020-21, manager Veljko Paunovic gave him a seven-page plan, urging work on his right foot, heading and penalties. Olise often preferred to create rather than finish.

At Crystal Palace he was sent in from training by Patrick Vieira for repeatedly dribbling instead of recycling. Roy Hodgson later argued coaching mattered less than giving him the right platform, even likening elements to Lionel Messi’s game.

Sean Conlon points to Olise’s chess habit and vision, evident in a disguised pass to Kylian Mbappe for France’s first goal against Senegal. He sprinkled flair against Sweden and Paraguay too, including a volleyed pass that Desire Doue spotted late.

Now Spain await in Dallas tonight, with a first World Cup in reach on Sunday. Do not expect fanfare if France prevail, given he once hid behind the Meisterschale when nudged to lift it.

Source: NY Times