Michael Olise and Enzo Millot add French flair to Bayern Munich vs. VfB Stuttgart
Michael Olise and Enzo Millot won silver medals for France at the Paris 2024 Olympic Football Tournament – now they will go head-to-head on Matchday 7 as Bayern Munich host Stuttgart.
bundesliga.com looks at the paths the French pair have taken that lead to the Allianz Arena on Saturday (kick-off: 6.30pm CEST).
Origin stories
The duo have more than one thing in common, but a curious facet is that – even now – they could still walk down the street in France and not be immediately recognised. “Because I left Monaco very young, people didn’t have time to get to know me in France,” said Millot, who joined the principality club’s youth academy in 2017 just as Kylian Mbappé was coming to the fore at the Stade Louis II.
Millot was born and raised in France, unlike Olise. The Bayern man grew up on the other side of the Channel in London with a Nigerian father and Franco-Algerian mother. Despite having four countries he could have represented at international level, he made his mind up early about where his football loyalties lay.
“My mum is from France, I came here as a child,” he explained to media after his first call-up to his country’s senior international squad having played at youth level through to U21 for France. “I had a connection with the French national team, that’s why I play for France.” Their silver-lined summer success in Paris has started to gain both players wider recognition. “I get the feeling that has enabled the French public to get to know me,” said Millot, who is now captain of Les Bleuets, France’s aforementioned U21 team. “Just as it has the whole team.”
Career paths
Millot broke into Monaco’s first team as a teenager, but after just a handful of first-team appearances, headed across the border to Germany. “None,” he replied when asked about whether he had any regrets making the switch in 2021. “People said at the time that it was early to go to Germany, but I took responsibility for my decision. Even if it had gone badly, I wouldn’t have had any regrets.”
Watch: The best of Enzo Millot in 2024/25
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As a key member of a Stuttgart side that finished Bundesliga runners-up last season, Millot can be confident it has been a success, and if Bayern maintain their ferocious pace at the top of the table, Olise will not have any regrets either.
Olise’s talent has long been recognised. In England, he was on the books of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, but it was at second-tier Reading where he finally broke into senior professional football. After three years there and a further three at Crystal Palace, where he scored 14 goals and provided 22 assists in 82 English Premier League games, Olise had developed into enough of a player for Bayern to come calling.
"It's a great challenge, and that's exactly what I was looking for,” said the 22-year-old after signing his four-year deal with the record Bundesliga champions. “I want to prove myself at this level and play my part in ensuring that we win as many titles as possible with our team in the coming years.”
Watch: Olise nominated for September POTM Award
This season
It is fair to say Olise has hit the ground running, mostly leaving defenders trailing as he has cut in devastatingly from the right like his Bayern play-a-like, Arjen Robben. “Michael did well from the start, he couldn’t have started much better,” said coach Vincent Kompany after seeing Olise score twice and set up another two in the 5-0 Matchday 4 mauling of Werder Bremen.
“I don’t get the feeling that he’s the kind of guy who feels a lot of pressure. He enjoys his football and this was, of course, a good game.”
It also was not a one-off. In his five starts this term – he came off the bench and scored in the other league game – Olise has tallied six goal involvements, a total bettered only by Stuttgart’s Omar Marmoush (12) and Bayern teammate Harry Kane (9).
Only the England captain has had more shots than Olise in a Bayern shirt this season, while he shares the highest passes-before-a-shot total with Joshua Kimmich (13). It's hardly surprising that he has earned senior international recognition with France since making his summer switch. Olise also rolls up his sleeves and puts in a shift without the ball, covering on average seven miles per game with 27 sprints, and winning 53 per cent of his duels, a tally matched coincidentally by his compatriot.
Watch: The rise of Michael Olise
Another happy happenstance is Millot’s first masterclass this season came on Matchday 4 too as Stuttgart dismantled Borussia Dortmund 5-1 with their French midfielder scoring once and assisting twice. “The boy is blessed with extraordinary qualities, truly unbelievable,” said coach Sebastian Hoeneß.
"He often goes a little under the radar, but against BVB he deserved the limelight. That was outstanding, a different level. He set a standard that he would be happy to repeat." Fortunately for Stuttgart, he has, and he is currently level with Ermedin Demirović on a team-high five goal involvements. But Millot says Hoeneß should take the credit that Didier Deschamps is now also talking about potentially promoting him to France’s senior squad.
“It’s thanks to the coach at Stuttgart, who gives the whole team confidence,” said Millot, who has one goal from the first two matches of his UEFA Champions League career (Olise, by the way, has two). “He’s a young coach with a young team. We’re discovering the Champions League all together, and we don’t have too much pressure regarding that. We’re loving the music, we’re enjoying it and having fun.” We’re soon to find out who will have most fun at the Allianz Arena.
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