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So the Crazy Ones were unable to emulate the Crazy Gang.
Exactly 36 years since Vinnie Jones, Dave Beasant, Lawrie Sanchez and co ripped up the rulebook to fire Bobby Gould’s Wimbledon to a storied FA Cup triumph, Thierry Henry’s France could not repeat the trick as they fell agonisingly short of grabbing an emotional Olympic gold medal in front of a packed-out Parc des Princes in Paris.
Henry, who coined the nickname the ‘Crazy Ones’ for his young French side because of their fun-loving nature, won virtually everything as a player and despite the stars seemingly aligning for a historic gold on home soil, the Arsenal legend was eclipsed by Santi Denia’s slick Spaniards in a dramatic 5-3 extra-time defeat.
Rayo Vallecano’s Sergio Camello was their unexpected late nemesis, audaciously dinking French goalkeeper Guillaume Restes with 100 minutes on the clock to stun a shell-shocked capacity crowd.
And he produced a virtual carbon copy of that finish with the final kick of the game, rampaging in on goal as the French threw bodies forward to slot past Restes and cruelly deny Henry the most memorable of home triumphs.
It had started so well for the French, roared on by their legion of supporters who unfurled a rousing gold medal tifo before kick-off, when midfielder Enzo Millot’s strike propelled them into an early lead.
After a pre-match schedule that saw Arsene Wenger welcomed onto the pitch, Italian singer Gala perform her recently repopularised football anthem ‘Freed from Desire’ and a rousing rendition of La Marseillaise, the Stuttgart star sent the home crowd into raptures with what was a relatively fortuitous opener.
Spanish goalkeeper Arnau Tenas, playing on his home ground after making six appearances for Paris Saint-Germain last season, made a complete meal of dealing with Millot’s effort as the ball inexplicably slipped through his hands and triggered chaos in the frenzied French end behind the goal.
Freed from Desire? Les Bleus on Fire, more like.
But then it all began to unravel as Henry’s France froze under the big stage lights and let their golden opportunity slip.
First, Fermin Lopez levelled with a tidy low finish when found in far too much space in the box and just seven minutes later the Barcelona star grabbed his second, tapping in at the far post to silence the 50,000-strong crowd and give the hosts an uphill battle.
That soon turned into a mountain to climb when on 25 minutes, Alex Baena’s brilliant free-kick sailed into the top corner and left Restes rooted to the spot.
Henry’s side did respond, however, with former Crystal Palace pairing – until the latter’s move to Bayern Munich this summer – Jean-Philippe Mateta and Michael Olise combining fluently and Mateta, whose double against Egypt on Monday fired the French into the final, forcing a fabulous save from Tenas to maintain his side’s two-goal margin.
France emerged from the interval several minutes before their opponents and looked visibly up for it at the start of the second period.
And they should have reduced the deficit when Manu Kone’s near post header rattled Tenas’ crossbar with the Spanish shot-stopper well-beaten.
France continued to hammer the door down as Mateta, a nuisance all night, was thwarted and the steely Spaniards threw their bodies at everything as though their life depended on it.
And goalkeeper Tenas, so badly at fault for the opening goal, was recovering to produce one of the performances of his life as he brilliantly denied Kone once again with a remarkable reaction save.
It was only a matter of time until the French pulled one back and it eventually happened with just 10 minutes remaining, when Maghnes Akliouche fired in to tee up a heart-thumping grandstand finale in the pouring Parc des Princes rain.
And it firmly delivered as the dying stages beckoned when referee Ramon Abatti was dramatically sent to the VAR monitor for a potential Spanish foul in the box.
Surrounded by an incensed Henry and dozens of members of the Spanish camp, the Brazilian – equipped with a microphone so he could communicate his decision to the crowd – held his nerve and pointed to the spot after he adjudged Benat Turrientes had hauled Arnaud Kalimuendo to the ground.
That set the stage for Mateta, second top scorer at these Games with four goals, to send the game to extra-time and he did so in nerveless fashion by sending Tenas the wrong way to prompt Parisian pandemonium with the full-time whistle looming.
There was nearly enough time for another sting in the tail as down at the other end, Turrientes hit the crossbar and was denied a remarkable redemption by the barest of margins.
But then came Camello to snatch it at the death, unerringly lobbing Restes either side of the extra-time interval to inflict heartbreak on Henry and dash his Crazy Boys’ hopes of emulating those Wimbledon Wembley heroes of 1988.
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