“When he was little, he said to my grandmother: ‘When I grow up I want to be like my father, I want to be a veteran in Forges (note: the village where he grew up with his family).’ It was an identification with his father during the formation of a young man. My father was a good footballer, a striker. This shows all the admiration that a little boy could have for his father, who was his idol. He even wore the shirt of the veterans, but quickly (he laughs), because of course he could not be on the field of. Instead he played football with us, in the middle of the older people. His nickname was "Sock”. We have always given names for each other, for some reason… For him it was “Sock” after the young wolf in the movie “Dances with Wolves.” Kevin Costner’s wolf made me think of my brother, so it stuck.
He is a boy that arrived later on. This is when we realized that life is brilliant because we form a happy, united family. When I look at my parents, I am proud of them. My father is a football enthusiast who has had two different stories: one of his second child, myself, and the last child who arrived ten years later, but with the career that we know. I had an experience that enabled us to preserve Olivier from dangers of this environment which is complicated … I took care of my brother since he started to kick the ball and that I understood he liked it. He is my protégé. And that’s what I said to my father: it is great what he is experiencing. The history of the Giroud family is beautiful and we really feel that Oliver, who has been pampered and to whom we taught moral values, was born under a lucky star.”
Romain Giroud, Olivier’s brother [X]
