On Tuesday, facing Real Madrid in the Champions League, Michael Olise shone brightly and reminded everyone who never watches the Bundesliga that he is now one of the best players in the world. Although the Bayern Munich player has chosen to represent the French team, for our greatest pleasure, he could have also chosen Nigeria, his father’s country, England where he was born, or Algeria, since his mother is Franco-Algerian.
The Algerian national team, particularly Adlène Guedioura, would have liked to attract Olise’s services. The former Algerian international with 62 caps, who also played for Belgium and England, revealed that he had tried to convince the winger a few years ago. “I tried to convince him to choose Algeria when he was at Crystal Palace,” explained the former midfielder on Bein Sports’ British platform on Tuesday.
Guedioura was not successful in his attempt, as a few months after leaving London, Olise played his first match wearing the French national team jersey on September 8, 2024, against Italy. “I consider myself lucky to have these four cultures enriching me,” said the Bayern player a year ago. “I’ve built connections with all my countries, always visiting Algeria, Nigeria, and France growing up in London. My choice to represent France was somewhat a natural decision. I always felt the desire to play for France. I also had Patrick Vieira as my coach at Crystal Palace, who had great success with France. I’ve always had good relationships with Thierry Henry, which strengthened my decision. But to be honest, I’ve always dreamed of playing for France.”
It is well known that Algerians like to say that Zidane was taken from them.
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