Bayern's newest team has a bad night in the final.
Spanish football is experiencing a special summer: After winning the EM title, the Olympic gold follows. Against hosts France, the Furia Roja had to sweat until extra time. In the end, however, Bayern star Michael Olise and co. had no chance.
The dream of Olympic gold before the Bundesliga start has burst: Michael Olise comes back from a final thriller without a happy ending as the silver medalist for FC Bayern. The 53 million euro purchase of the Munich team lost the football final in the Parisian Prince Park to France with 3:5 (3:3, 1:3) after extra time, despite a spectacular comeback against Spain.
Bayern's sporting director Max Eberl congratulated Olise via X for winning the Olympic silver! Throughout the tournament, he has proven with strong performances that he can also be gold for FC Bayern.
The team of coach Thierry Henry, with four other Bundesliga professionals on the field, turned the first Olympic final for France since gold in 1984 around in the final phase after a clear deficit. Olise, who initially struggled, set up the equalizer. The playmaking Spaniards around European champion Fermin Lopez, who scored twice, repeated the success of 1992, when stars like Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique triumphed in Barcelona. Substitute Sergio Camello secured the victory with a brace in extra time (100./120.+1).
The Stuttgart native Enzo Millot put the hosts ahead early on - with the help of Spain's goalkeeper Arnau Tenas (11.). Lopez equalized after a beautiful combination (18.) and turned the game with a rebound (25.). Alex Baena increased the lead with a direct free-kick (28.).
Lost despite "difference maker"
After the break, Olise and co. took over the initiative again, Mönchengladbach's Manu Kone hit the crossbar with a header (57.). After an Olise assist, substitute Maghnes Akliouche (79.) reduced the deficit, former Mainz player Jean-Philippe Mateta forced extra time with a penalty in added time (90.+2). Besides Millot and Kone, Leipzig's Castello Lukeba and Freiburg's Kiliann Sildillia also represented the Bundesliga.
Olise was the only star in the French team, after there were many cancellations before the Olympic tournament from Kylian Mbappé via Antoine Griezmann or Mathys Tel - and the celebrated hero before the final. "Michael has made the difference again. He does pretty extraordinary things with his foot," former world and European champion Henry had raved after the 3:1 win in extra time in the semi-final against Egypt.
The Munich team had lured the 22-year-old from English Premier League club Crystal Palace. The winger is "a difference maker," emphasized sporting director Max Eberl. He is supposed to give the Bayern new impulses after the disappointing previous season. Olise is expected in Munich in the next few days. He wants no longer break to adapt to Bayern as soon as possible.
The Olympic Games 2024 in Paris now holds an extra level of anticipation for FC Bayern, as they'll aim to turn their silver medal into gold. Regardless of the outcome, Michael Olise's performance in the Olympic tournament has solidified his status as a potential game-changer for the Munich team.
