Did Olivier Giroud play his last match with the Blues on Sunday December 18?
While this final of world Cup Qatar edition shattered the hopes of French supporters – and TF1 audiences – many enthusiasts wondered about the changes made by Didier Deschamps in the 40th minute of the France – Argentina match. Before half-time the score is calamitous for the Blues who are down 2 goals to 0. Angel Di Maria started the game with a bang, causing a penalty converted by Messi in the first half hour before crucifying the Blues himself a few minutes later. In this catastrophic start, Olivier Giroud was non-existent and was even replaced in the 40th minute by Marcus Thuram.
But the striker of the Blues, top scorer in the history of the France team, was he 100% for this final Argentina – France, in Qatar? During the post-defeat press conference, Didier Deschamps justified this double change which occurred just before half-time because the team lacked “freshness”, reported The Phocaean. However, he warned that these substitutions had not taken place “to make Olivier and Ousmane feel guilty who have done a lot in our career” he clarified but preferred to do it before half-time because otherwise the team “wouldn’t wasn’t going to make it.” Another element that would justify this hasty departure, the newspaper L’Équipe indicated that the 36-year-old striker was bothered by knee pain. An embarrassment which would have been confirmed during the warm-up with several images of the striker very cautious in his races, even grimacing.
A World Cup for history
Olivier Giroud entered the Pantheon of French football by becoming the top scorer in the history of the French team during this World Cup. But will this World Cup final against Argentina be the last match where the Blues striker will defend the colors of France? Should we expect, this Sunday, December 18, 2022, the AC Milan player’s last match with the France team? At 36, the question arises legitimately. Yet he never seemed to be so strong. Criticized during the 2018 World Cup for not having scored a single goal during the competition, “Gigi” seemed promised on the bench in Qatar, relegated behind Karim Benzema. The golden ball forfeited, he finally succeeded him perfectly, planting 4 goals in 5 games. So what will Olivier Giroud do? Stop there with the France team, whatever the result, or continue his idyllic adventure with Didier Deschamps and the Tricolores?
Asked at the end of November by The Parisian before the start of the World Cup, Olivier Giroud had been questioned on the subject. Response from the person concerned: “I do not set myself any limits. I said that it could be my last competition, but I do not want to announce anything. I will play until my body tell me stop.” At 36, the desire to continue is therefore still very present in the striker. The verdict should be quick because despite the defeat, the competition continues. Indeed, 2024 will be an opportunity to attend the new edition of the Euro, and France’s first qualifying match will take place on March 24, 2023 against the Netherlands, enough to warm up the fans and see Olivier Giroud again?
A framework, here is in a word how one can summarize the career of Olivier Giroud in the France team. The former Montpellier player was launched with the Blues, when he was already over 25 years old, by a certain Laurent Blanc against the United States, on November 11, 2011 (1-0). But it was only when Didier Deschamps took over and from 2016, especially for Euro 2016 in France, that the striker was the indisputable holder at the forefront of the Blues attack. Often decried, the player lost his starting place in 2021 during the Euro football championship and the return of Karim Benzema to the France team. After the competition, he was no longer called up by coach Didier Deschamps until March 2022 and his big comeback against Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa, punctuated by two new goals.
Born on September 30, 1986 in Chambéry, Olivier Giroud began his professional career in 2005 under the colors of the Grenoble Foot 38 club, where he was trained. Then passed by Istres then by Tours between 2007 and 2010, the tricolor striker discovered Ligue 1 in 2010 after being the top scorer in Ligue 2 that same year. In his new Montpellier jersey, Olivier Giroud continues to perform well, and multiplies the goals. The French won the title of top scorer in 2011-2012.
Having just been crowned French champion with the Montpellier club, Olivier Giroud decided to go to England in the summer of 2012 where he joined the English championship. Under the orders of Arsène Wenger, the striker participated two years later in the victory of Arsenal in the FA Cup. Regularly starting in club, Olivier Giroud undergoes in team of France the competition of Karim Benzema, which is often preferred to him with the post of striker of point. Substitute luxury, Olivier Giroud is nevertheless part of the adventure of the Blues at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In this competition, Olivier Giroud scored the hundredth goal for the French team in the final phase of an international competition. A left foot injury during the resumption of the 2014-2015 English championship keeps the player away from the football fields and the French team for four months.
Once back on his feet, Olivier Giroud continued his professional career with brilliance, with Arsenal FC, winning the Puskàs Prize in 2017, which rewards players who scored the best goal of the season following an acrobatic recovery against Crystal Palace. In 2018, he joined neighboring London club Chelsea FC. He stands out thanks to his 1.93m as an effective scorer in one of the most difficult championships in the world, even if his place as holder is regularly called into question. In 2021, he won the Champions League for the first time with the English.
Since the 2021 season, Olivier Giroud has gone to Italy, to the prestigious AC Milan. If it is always very difficult to win in the Italian club, the Frenchman quickly made his place and greatly contributed to the title of Italian champion of the Italian club in 2021.
When he is not on the lawns of major European stadiums, Olivier Giroud devotes himself to his beautiful family. He has been married since 2011 to Jennifer Giroud, a devoted wife who put her professional career aside to support her husband. Before Olivier became a personality in the world of football, Jennifer Giroud worked in the field of beauty salons. The couple had four children: Jade and Aria, born in June 2013 and November 2020 respectively, but also Evan and Aaron, born in March 2016 and early 2018 respectively. Olivier Giroud, whose family has Italian origins , has a sister and two brothers.