The Spin: Kentin Mahé on the success of France's "Experts"

"The first time I went there I was maybe 78 kilos playing playmaker back in the days, and having to go one-on-one against Bertrand Gille. I was shaken up; I just remember every training that I couldn't win a one-on-one, it was just impossible," says Mahé.

"He was one of my idols when I was young, and I had to compete against him, and he was just crushing me."

Mahé talks about the depth in the team and how he and other players had to adapt from being the stars in their club squads to playing only a few minutes for France.

"If you are able to accept your role in the French national team, then big things can happen; if you're not accepting them then it can be a big clash," Mahé adds, of the way things worked under under the leadership of coach Claude Onesta. 

Mahé's first major medal was the 2015 IHF Men's World Championship title. In winning it, he followed in the footsteps of his father Pascal, world champion in 1995.

"My father is living a second career through me, it's crazy and I'm loving it. He can barely watch games because he is so stressed," says Mahé. 

"It's a little bit intense sometimes, but it's nice to see."

However, he admits he did not realise the significance of the achievement at the time, as being in the squad was "a little bit of a dream". 

Mahé's successes for France saw him play a key role for the team as many of the original "Experts" retired and lasted through to EHF EURO 2024 gold.

He picks out the Olympic gold medal won in Tokyo in 2021 as a career highlight, saying it was particularly sweet due to the loss in the final at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games five years earlier.

"It was kind of a motor, kind of fuel for the months after and the years after it so it won't happen again," says Mahé. 

However, he puts the EHF EURO 2024 gold at the same level, as it was won in front of family and friends in Germany.

In the podcast, Mahé discusses the pressure currently on the shoulders of the French team as they prepare to defend their EHF EURO title and seek to follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before them.

"When you enter the team, and you start to be part of it for a few times, at some point you think back to these big players who won everything and you start having your own goals. You start to think I want to be as good or even better than the guys who went before," Mahé says.

"It's a big inspiration."

Vilstrup, Tomàs and Kunkel also had a discussion about the French players who in their opinions played big roles in the golden era for "Les Experts", and what it was like coming up against them in big matches.

Watch the latest episode of "The Spin" on YouTube or listen on Spotify.

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