Olise: The reluctant superstar lighting up the World Cup for France

Michael Olise has become one of the standout performers of the World Cup, yet he remains determined to avoid the spotlight that his displays for France keep dragging him into. According to the BBC, the Bayern Munich forward is now the first player to register five assists at a single World Cup since Germany’s Thomas Hassler managed the feat back in 1994.

The 24-year-old, who came through Reading and Crystal Palace before his move to Bavaria, faces Paraguay in Saturday’s last-16 tie having enjoyed a stunning season for the Bundesliga champions, contributing 25 goals and 28 assists. The BBC reports that Olise has no boot or sportswear sponsorship deals, rarely gives interviews and barely celebrates when he scores or sets up a goal.

A quiet nature spotted early

Born in London to a French-Algerian mother and Nigerian father, Olise showed exceptional talent from a young age at Dr Triplett’s CE Primary School in Hayes. His former sports teacher, Daniel Coker, told BBC Sport that coaches flagged the youngster as special while he was still in year two, and that he went on to excel at every sport he tried.

Coker recalled that even as a boy on Chelsea’s books, Olise never made a fuss of his own performances. “Michael was a quiet and shy boy. He gave so many assists to our team, he’d score loads of goals, but he didn’t used to celebrate, he just used to get back straight in and want to go again,” he said. “He’s not one of those ones to dwell on it and take that moment in. He didn’t like the limelight. So when I see that on camera now, when he doesn’t celebrate or he runs back, it’s just what he’s always done.”

Former headteacher Rachel Anderson remembered a boy who was a perfectionist and “over-analysed everything,” adding that other schools would look “quite depressed” whenever their team included Olise, according to the BBC. She said he was academically bright as well as gifted on the pitch.

Released twice before Reading gamble paid off

Despite the early promise, Olise’s path to the top was far from smooth. Having spent seven years in Chelsea’s academy, he was released at 14, and a subsequent short spell at Manchester City also ended without a contract.

It was Reading, then in the Championship, who took a chance on him as a 16-year-old in the summer of 2018. The club’s head of recruitment, Brendan Flanagan, told the BBC he had to work hard to convince decision-makers to sign a player released by two Premier League academies. “Because of the biases that go on in football, it took me a little bit longer to convince people in the building to bring him in because he was released from Chelsea, released from Man City – some people would see that as this is going to be a big problem,” Flanagan said. “What might have been deemed as Michael being problematic at other clubs, because he’s quiet, he’s shy, he’s reserved, but we can work with those kids because that doesn’t make them a bad kid, it just makes them a little bit different.”

Flanagan also revealed that Olise’s mother asked Reading for time to help rebuild her son’s confidence after the setbacks, working with a mentor before he committed to the club, per the BBC’s report.

France over England, Nigeria or Algeria

Eligible to represent England, Nigeria or Algeria as well as France, Olise showed an affinity for French culture from childhood, according to Coker, who recalled the youngster’s enthusiasm for visiting France and learning the language. He made his senior debut for Reading against Leeds United in the Championship in March 2019, before his career took off at Crystal Palace and then Bayern Munich.

His younger brother Richard, also a professional footballer, was released by Chelsea this summer – just as Michael was a decade earlier. Now, with France pushing deep into the World Cup, Olise’s understated approach faces its sternest test yet as the world starts to take notice.

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