World handball, “Magic Melvyn” hits hard!
The French team, behind the ten-strong Melvyn Richardson, flew to Montenegro with 11 goals, 35/24 advantage in this first match of the main round. Reunionese proved to be better than the substitute. Above all, he won the trust of his coach and teammates.
In rugby terms, Fabien Galthié, the coach uses the word finisher for players who did not start the match. In handball, it’s a little different because rotations are done during the match. Melvin Richardson will have to wait until the 18th minute of this match to show the magical player he can be. Not a finisher, a super deluxe joker, a real impact player.
This is Melvin, not his father Jackson’s style. If we take a closer look at the game with Montenegro, it was even Magic Melvyn.
Our consultant Patrice Annonay was impressed moments after the final whistle:
“Melvyn gave a strong signal, even with Dick Mem’s injury, we can count on him, he’s there. It convinces his teammates and the coach that he’s at this level and at the right time. He’s a humble guy, he’s involved in everything. He’s a team player, a star who pulls other players behind him. “No, he is more of a follower, a man of business and duty. But his speech does not surprise me, he is confident.”
From what we saw in this match, we found Melvy two years ago. He was stratospheric in his final season at Montpellier before moving to Barcelona.
Patrice Annonay, 1st handball consultant
Melvin, who was questioned by our colleagues from French television sports in the mixed zone after the match, did not change his habits. It remains deeply collective and does not want to emphasize its performance. He just remembered Manu Roux scoring ten goals in front of his microphone.
“Really? I didn’t know that I put so much! After the goal, it’s about helping the team as much as possible and I’m happy that I did it. In this big game, we started the match a little tense. The room we discovered in Krakow was cold, so it was difficult to warm up. But we attacked and or we were able to remain serious and diligent in defense.
The entire Reunionese palette passed through it. He was a long-range and close-range shooter, a leader, a decisive pass, a 7-meter shooter, he received spawn from his teammates, like this goal that Elohim Prandini offered him in the second half. He even managed a goal that hit the post before rebounding, a hallmark of great players. And finally, he even failed with the last kick of the match, a 7-yarder that the Montenegrin keeper missed, which would have taken his personal sliding goal tally to 11 goals, giving a little taste of unfinished business.
“What he’s shown, whether it’s up close or long, passing, spinning, timing and tempo changes, is that he’s strong. When he lets his left arm go and he’s free, he’s hard to stop. have”Patrice Anonay notes.
Thus, the French team is joined by Vincent Gérard, another phenomenon in goals, with the striking power of Reunion. The Tricolor keeper let the Blues never doubt a near-perfect start, where he made two successive saves to quell the Montenegrin tendencies. He will return a cap in 45 for his save success, which is phenomenal at this level of competition.
Patrice Annonay therefore agrees with the tricolor description:
“They showed, they showed a complete game, the game against Slovenia gave them a little warning that they could wipe out against Montenegro. The attack was going well, I saw a connector that I didn’t see there two days ago. Then Vincent closed the door very quickly.”
However, our tipster, the selector, points out the points that still need to be worked on or the negatives that, although we are not far from it in the end, could have turned yesterday’s match into a 40-plus goal display.
“The only thing that still doesn’t work much, if I want to be a little critical, is the rotations with some players. You can see that there are several starting sevens with very strong substitutes like Melvyn. Even without Dika Mem, who is still injured, they are armed. We create pressure and We sent a strong signal to other teams, they will have to come and take us.”
Overall, Guillaume Gilles’ group should fight for top spot with Poland’s 27/23 winners Spain. With the prospect of playing either Norway or Germany in the quarter-finals next Wednesday.
“There is also a shared belief in this team that now they have to look their opponents in the eye. Those who play France will have shivers and shivers.”
The shock against Spain on Sunday will allow us to measure ourselves. The World Cup is step by step. On Sunday, Spain will not be the justice of the peace, but it will show where the cursor of the French team is with the goal of becoming world champions.
Patrice Annonay, 1st handball consultant
Melvyn Richardson agrees with Patrice Annonay:
“It’s a good start to the league, we’re ambitious, we don’t want to make any calculations, our goal is to win as many matches as possible and qualify as easily as possible, I’m very satisfied because everyone did what they had to do, myself included.”
Will the game against Iran on Friday be almost formal? Coach Guillaume Gilles talks about a game his team clearly should have won. The only precaution is to always be alert and focused, whatever the enemy.
“Knowing how to maintain morale and level of play will allow for the manpower rotations necessary to manage a well-rounded group mentally and physically if victory is imminent.” our advisor concludes.
