From there, his progression has been steady. Konan made his debut in the French first division in 2016 before being elected best defender of the Starligue in 2019. But his defensive skills are not the only thing that he has in store.
“I’ve been fighting a lot against this tag, that would make me a defensive only player. I can attack too, it’s just that in Aix, there were maybe more talented players in the left back position,” he thinks.
After getting French nationality in 2018 and passing his bachelor’s degree in marketing, Konan was first called up by Guillaume Gille in April 2021, making his national team debut in the EHF EURO 2022 qualifiers against Greece. The impression he gave was a good one, so Gille asked him to come again in November.
And when Luka Karabatic pulled out of the EHF EURO due to an injury, the name of his replacement came up easily.
“That’s a huge job to replace Luka, so it brings some pressure, but good pressure, that will push you further,” explains Konan. He lived up to the pressure, particularly during France’s 27:22 win against Croatia on Thursday.
During that match it seemed that Konan had always belonged on the big stage, even though it was only his fourth ever international game. But the adversity and the context of an arena full of Croatian fans helped him get in the mood.
“That’s not the kind of atmosphere I am used to, but it got me so pumped up, I got extra motivation from that. I am happy about our performance, but there is still progress to make,” the left back says.
There is another reason why Karl Konan is such a happy man at the moment. He became a dad in December, to a little girl named Anna.
“I don’t think she watched the game, I got the news this morning that she slept like a rock,” he laughed on the day after the game against Croatia.
Really, if Karl Konan is not smiling when you meet him, there has to be something wrong.
