After eliminating Belgium, the France team challenges Germany in the semi-final of the European team championships, this Saturday (1 p.m.). Before this shock, Nathanaël Molin, coach of the Blues, talks about how video analysis helps him to best prepare for meetings.
This is a key moment in preparing for a match: analyzing the opponent. Before the semi-final against Germany, Nathanaël Molin, the coach of the Blues, is responsible for dissecting the opponent team's play. Video, discussions with the players… everything is put in place to best prepare for the meeting. “I do this in the afternoon,” says Nathanaël Molin. At the hotel, in peace, with his staff, the Blues coach carefully scrutinizes, analyzes and deciphers match videos.
>> Follow the clash between France and Germany live
“The video analysis is on a wide range of matches that they have played. On our direct confrontations with them, on what they can do on other players too,” explains Molin. The advantage before this semi-final of the European team championships is that the Blues know the opposing players, almost, by heart. Benedikt Duda, 8th in the world, Dang Qiu, 14th and Patrick Franziska, 15th. “We play them all year round,” smiles the Blues coach.
Three key steps
This is also why, after qualifying for the semi-final, Nathanaël Molin does not stay to watch the meeting of their future opponents. “On the other hand, I will have an eye on it. Maybe I will see key moments again. But I am not going to watch live. For the spectacle side, that is not my role. My role is to be precise, sharp. So, if there are things where I see scores or moments which can be a little pivotal, that I see that they were put in difficulty at given moments, I will go and watch those moments”, explains the coach.
This match preparation is quite a ritual. “It’s still played in three stages as it has been since the start of the competition.” Video in the afternoon, report of the analysis to the players in the evening and finally the last element, just before the match: the opposing composition. “We have the lineup an hour before the game. I tell each player who he is going to play,” concludes Molin.
