This morning we were present at Alex Morgan's first presentation to the media. The press had moved en masse for this event in which Josephine Henning, a little less "popular" was also present. Kadeisha Buchanan was also selected, but she was retained in Canada to receive her award for Best Academic Player of the Year. That said, Jean-Michel Aulas and Gérard Prêcheur were also acts of presence to answer football questions, and those in the field, about Alex Morgan, among others. Will the American star eclipse her teammates? By its popularity certainly, but for its game, the international will have to prove itself in a style of game very different from the United States.

A small step for OL, a big step for Women's Football

We had assumed the signature of Alex Morgan since last June, when Jean-Michel Aulas started his communication 2.0 on Twitter. The official announcement has undoubtedly marked a turning point in the D1 Feminine, which has just signed the most followed footballer in the world. The President of Olympique Lyonnais starts the conference with the history of the club, recalling that it was the merger with FC Lyon "in June 2006" that the project began. A genesis that quickly bore fruit, as Aulas explains: "the first title came in 2006, ie after two years after the creation of the women's section at the OL". He recalled that "In the first season, we had [the season] 9 players of the American team", "it was an initiative that was the basis of women's football at the beginning of the season. "OL and France." The story is repeated for OL, as stipulated by Aulas, followed by a glowing list of the club, certainly the best in the world. "Our ambition is to prepare the years who come, to ensure that Olympique Lyonnais is a high-performance team, at the highest level, but that it be, that it becomes through our beliefs about women's football, and our investments, our choices , that we become a benchmark for women's football, and to do so, set records and that's what we will do in the years to come. "The President does not hide his enthusiasm, he says to himself" very happy to welcome Alex Morgan, who is the 9th American player coming to Lyon. " Before adding correctly: "We welcome in Lyon, truly a star of women's football, but also simply someone who in terms of communication, on social networks managed to relegate from very far away all footballers who play in France ... "It has" almost 11 million fans, 10.8 million fans on social networks, we are at a level of notoriety monster ". "This reputation obviously comes from its performance, its charisma, since it has a very extraordinary track record." The President of OL also states that it "will join [Orlando] after his stay in Lyon to end the season and I am convinced that through what she has lived in Lyon, she will want to return immediately after returning to Orlando ".

He is ahead of the question that everyone is asking. Why did you want the American International in particular?

"Alex will help us promote Olympique Lyonnais in the US We will set up a web series (20 episodes) to tell the story of Alex Morgan's adventure in France", "we're going to go with Gérard [Preacher] set up an organization that is perfectly adapted because we will have an extremely rich workforce, extremely brilliant but with ambitions just as brilliant. Alex will help us to promote Olympique Lyonnais in the United States so we will work on a number of initiatives and in particular we will develop without hindering training, a web series that will tell the American life of an American in Lyon, it will be about twenty episodes that will work. "This is a way for the club to" internationalize "the Lyon brand, just as it was done with" the announcements in China "Aulas specifies." To have an international image "is the key objective of the Rhone President.

The latter ends his speech with a small tackle at PSG, signaling to the audience present in numbers that OL "was retroactively crowned Autumn Champion due to a penalty that has caused the PSG has lost 4 points for having played, which is absolutely amazing and incredible a player who was not on the score sheet. For him "it represents a fault which is totally incredible at this level there and I do not imagine that the call can succeed since it is a decision which comes from the jurisprudence of the CNOSF so it is a sanction which is final "

Before concluding with his thanks for these two new players "it's a great day as Alex said yesterday and really for the future full of desires, full of performances to come but also full of homework Gerard, because it's true that we can not miss each other [as it was the case at the beginning of the season]. "

The challenge of a player who wants to become the best in the world

What do you do when you have reached all the seemingly unreachable goals, and you still have to reach the peak of your career? "You press the reset button," she told Self Magazine in December 2015. "And you set new goals seemingly inaccessible."

To learn more about the player at this conference, a media launches, "what did you know about Lyon and the French championship before coming to play OL?" A question that will start the interview. To which the player answers: "The club is very well known for its victories, it has already won a lot of championship in the last 10 years, of course the American players also know the club and many would like to come and play there. opportunity this year by cons I do not know the city of Lyon but I hope to discover. "

The player also refers to the proposal made by Jean-Michel Aulas from the twitter network: "I said to myself" who is this crazy man "(laughs). It's really funny actually, we laugh a lot together. But more seriously I feel that being a part of this club is an incredible opportunity and before Jean-Michel Aulas tweets me I knew it was, it's the best club in the world and I wanted to be part of it ". "I came to Lyon to play Football and I'm waiting to evolve as a player and to evolve the women's football in its generality.I want to win the championship by being on the field, become a better player and help the women's football to grow and I think being here puts me under less pressure, because in the United States, there is always pressure, to do better for the League [NWSL], to be good at me, to be always at the top of my abilities at every moment.Here I could play freely and have less pressure than at home. " The player also took the issue of salary: "It will take time but it's my hope." My hope is that all that is professional, as much for men as for women, is in terms of equipment, land, players is equivalent and so I know it will take time but that's what I aspire to. " What will these two players of the day bring to Gérard Prêcheur? "I would say that it was always an opportunity for a coach to be able to benefit from a player with a track record, an experience as was presented earlier, our president, so we needed to strengthen our defensive sector and we can actually see that we have taken a few more goals than the years spent at the same time, so it's good, the arrivals of Josephine and Kadeisha are two good recruits. had the departure of Lotta Schelin in the inter-season and we all know her past and what she brought to Olympique Lyonnais.Today to welcome a player like Alex, is a good opportunity.

In the United States the news has had the effect of a terrible thunderclap for the NWSL, but the player says "that the reactions were positive, my fans, my coaches also because they understood that c is a good training environment and an opportunity to play games at the highest level and, against the best clubs, so for me it was an opportunity to push my game, to progress in my game. Most people have understood, not all ... (laughs) ". The American international also said she wanted to become the best player in the world. A fact that is rather abstract in appearance, since everything is relative. Some say it's Ada Hegerberg, others say it's Marta, Melanie Behringer or Amandine Henry. "I absolutely want to become the best player because I think I can continue to evolve and that, it leads to become the best in the world, certainly by the FIFA award.I feel that I still have a margin of progress to get there. and coming here to Lyon is a part of this progression as a player because I have never played in D1 before.It's a different style and the French championship also compared to the NWSL.So I have to progress and m adapt quickly, it is important for me to evolve and for my partners also to reach the top. "

One thing is certain today, the D1 Feminine will never be the same again.