The brains behind the French team

Didier Deschamps’ French team are having an impressive World Cup.

With players such as Ousmane Dembélé, last year’s winner of the ‘Ballon d'Or’, and Kylian Mbappé, who has already received eight nominations for the award, it is hardly surprising that ‘Les Bleus’ are dominating the tournament. The team have won all six of their matches so far, scoring 16 goals and conceding just two.

One of the key figures behind this campaign is 24-year-old Michael Olise. Nominated for the Ballon d'Or for the first time last year, the star player has started in all of France’s matches in this World Cup.

Although he has not scored any goals, the Bayern Munich player has already provided five assists and is just one away from equalling the all-time record of six in a single World Cup, set by the legendary Pelé during Brazil’s third World Cup victory in 1970.

This figure highlights just how important Olise is to the French national team. The spotlight naturally falls on Mbappé, who, with eight goals, shares the top scorer spot in this tournament with Lionel Messi and is just one goal away from surpassing the Argentine’s all-time World Cup goalscoring record – the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner. But France’s campaign would hardly be the same without the vision, creativity and control that Olise brings to midfield.

Olise stands out precisely because of what he does without drawing too much attention to himself. He is the one who dictates the team’s tempo and organises the French attack, finding gaps in the opposition’s defence even before they appear. This allows his teammates to make the right moves at the right time.

As a result, France’s dominance on the pitch stems directly from the tactical intelligence and reading of the game that Olise demonstrates in every match.

The statistics help to explain this impact. So far, he has completed 50 passes in the final third and created 12 chances for his teammates. In France’s first two World Cup matches, he was the player who created the most goal-scoring opportunities. In the second match, he also led the way in successful dribbles. In two of the other matches, he had the most touches on the ball. And his work is not limited to attack: the Bayern player has also made 10 defensive actions and 29 ball recoveries.

In other words, practically everything France does best goes through Olise’s feet.

The art of reading the game

These impressive figures come as no surprise to anyone who followed his last season at Bayern, in which his 26 assists put him four clear of any other player across Europe’s top five leagues.

“When Olise gets the ball, he sees things that few others can.” – Thierry Henry

As the legendary French striker Thierry Henry, a nine-time nominee for the Ballon d'Or, put it: “When Olise gets the ball, he sees things that few others can see. He reads the game differently, almost more with his mind than with his eyes. From the moment the ball leaves the goalkeeper’s hands, he’s already trying to predict what might happen. It’s the ability to anticipate the next move.” (GOAL)

This ability to see the game not just with his eyes, but also with his mind – anticipating what might happen even before the move unfolds – is one of Olise’s most striking characteristics. And it may stem from one of his greatest passions off the pitch: chess.

“I like to think through my moves and understand the consequences each move might have.” – Michael Olise

A passion off the pitch

The Frenchman has been playing chess since childhood. As he himself recalls: “My mum taught me the basics. As I got older, I started to take more of an interest in the game and develop my skills on my own. I like to think through my moves and understand the consequences each move might have.” (Bavarian Football Works)

This way of thinking fits perfectly with football. Just as in chess, Olise always seems to be two steps ahead, calculating the implications of every decision even before the move is made.

With a chess rating of around 1400 – a solid level for an ambitious amateur – Olise enjoys playing with various current and former team-mates, such as Eberechi Eze, Jamal Musiala and Kingsley Coman.

Several other football stars have also been cited as chess enthusiasts, including Mohamed Salah, Harry Kane, Bryan Mbeumo, Borna Sosa, Christian Pulisic and Antoine Griezmann.

Real Madrid full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has previously commented on the relationship between the two sports: “Modern football has a lot in common with chess.” (BBC Sport)

The Englishman, who grew up playing chess with his brothers, faced Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in an exhibition match in 2018, but lost quickly.

“Chess stimulates the mind, and the similarities with football are clear.” – Erling Haaland

Carlsen, the most famous name in world chess, describes himself as a huge football fan and even topped the official Fantasy Football rankings in 2020, ahead of more than 7 million others. He also draws parallels between the two sports: “I think that, in both chess and football, the most important thing is to control the middle. If you control the middle, you control the pitch, or the chessboard. Furthermore, in chess, you often start by attacking on one flank; your opponent reinforces that area, and then you shift the attack to the other flank, where you now have the advantage. In this respect, particularly regarding the use of space, the two are very similar.” (Manchester City – YouTube)

Carlsen was recently at the World Cup to support the Norwegian national team. Two of the Norwegian team’s biggest stars, Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard, are also self-confessed chess fans. Earlier this year, Haaland invested in the Norway Chess tournament and also launched Chess Mates, a company dedicated to organising competitive chess events. As the striker explained: “Chess stimulates the mind, and the similarities with football are clear. You need to think quickly, trust your instincts and always be several moves ahead.” (Fortune)

This view is shared by his former manager at Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, who has won six Premier League titles and one Champions League with the club. As the Spaniard put it: “The way you attack depends on your opponent’s movements. That’s why you have to pay attention all the time to what they’re doing and react to every situation. Magnus doesn’t have two hours to make his next move, and we only have half a second to react or make a decision.” (Manchester City – YouTube)

A mind built for competition

Looking at it this way, it makes sense that so many footballers are also passionate about chess. Both sports demand decision-making, emotional control and mental strength.

In Olise’s case, this connection seems even more natural: the Frenchman has an IQ of 127, which is above average. More than just winning, he seems to enjoy outsmarting his opponents as well.

Another common thread is competitiveness. In both football and chess, the motivation is the same: to win, to find better solutions than one’s opponent and to constantly strive to improve.

As Emil Sutovsky, executive director of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), sums it up: “Professional athletes value chess because competitiveness is part of their nature. After all, chess is one of the most competitive sports there is.” (BBC Sport)

This competitive spirit has been with Olise since childhood. In a recent interview, Rachel Anderson, former headteacher at Dr Triplett’s Church of England School in Hayes, where the player studied, recalled how this trait had already stood out: “If his team lost at break time or something went wrong during a match, it was very difficult to get him to refocus. He just wanted to get back into the game and put things right. He was already a perfectionist, someone who got frustrated easily – a future champion.” (O Globo)

A World Cup played like a game of chess

Now, at the age of 24, Olise is already one of the most fascinating players in world football, both for Bayern and the French national team.

One of the key figures behind France’s campaign in this World Cup, he turns every match into a display of intelligence and an understanding of the game. Watching him on the pitch, one gets the impression that Olise sees not just a football pitch, but a huge chessboard, full of possibilities for moving the pieces, creating advantages and, ultimately, outmanoeuvring the opposition.