Thierry Henry excited by Bayern Munich's Michael Olise: "You ain't seen nothing yet"
Thierry Henry believes there is much more to come from Bayern Munich's Michael Olise with the France Olympic team coach promising, "You ain't seen nothing yet", as Les Bleus prepare for Friday's Gold Medal Match against Spain at the 2024 Paris Games.
Olise has been a central figure in his country's run to the final, starting all but one of the five matches so far - he was rested for the final group-stage game with France already qualified for the knockouts — and has been involved in seven of the eight goals his team have scored when he has been on the pitch.
He has found the net himself twice, including in the 3-1 extra-time semi-final win over Egypt that took Henry's squad, which also includes fellow Bundesliga players Manu Koné (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Castello Lukeba (RB Leipzig), Enzo Millot (Stuttgart) and Kiliann Sildillia (Freiburg), into the Gold Medal Match at Paris Saint-Germain's Parc des Princes home in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
Watch: Michael Olise joins Bayern Munich
His impressive form comes on the back of scoring 10 goals and tallying six assists in just 19 English Premier League games during an injury-hit 2023/24 season with Crystal Palace, eye-catching figures that convinced Bayern they had to move for their man this summer.
According to former FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championships winner Henry, the record German champions have got themselves a 22-year-old talent that is only going to get better.
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"He's got incredible qualities, and you ain't seen nothing yet, it's only the start," said Henry in the build-up to the Olympic title-decider. "It's not often that you get players like that."
While Henry and Bayern can congratulate themselves on being able to benefit from Olise's talent, Algeria, England and Nigeria fans will be left wondering what might have been. Born in London, where he grew up and joined Chelsea's academy, Olise's father is Nigerian while his mother is French-Algerian.
He could have represented four countries at international level, but has only ever wanted one thing: to join his idols, Henry, Zinédine Zidane and Nicolas Anelka, in wearing the blue of France.
"That desire to want to play for France…I got goosebumps when I talked to him about it," said Henry, whose stunning career at Arsenal means he can converse fluently with Olise in English while the youngster works on his French.
"When he showed us that desire, we were in a period where we had a lot of uncertainty [N.B. due to a number of clubs who had refused to allow their players to participate in the Olympics]. But he preferred to play for France rather than England. Why? Because it's his dream and when someone has a dream, you can put anything you like in their way, they're still going to make it come true."
France have previously won the Olympic men's football title once when they triumphed at the Los Angeles Games in 1984. Olise, who has yet to win a senior international cap for France having made seven appearances (1 goal) for the U21s, could write his name in French football history before having a short break and then joining Bayern and new coach Vincent Kompany to boost their challenge for the 2024/25 Bundesliga title.
"Football fans know him, because he's a player who has shone in the Premier League," said Lyon striker and France's Olympic team captain, Alexandre Lacazette. "He's a fantastic player and a very good guy, humble and funny."
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