Former coaches say Chelsea released Olise because of his unique approach to life and soccer

On May 5th local time, in an interview with The Athletic, Bayern Munich star Olise's youth training coach Sean Conlon and Michael Richards talked about the player's development process. Olise was different from an early age and was abandoned by Chelsea because of this difference.

The following is the interview content

"Watching him play is like watching a skater - the way he glides across the field. It's an effortless feeling, everything seems easy and natural."

Youth training coach Michael Richards recalled coaching the young Michael Olise when he first started at local club Hayes & Yeading in an interview with The Athletic.

"He was an incredible little player from the age of six," Richards said. "His football IQ at that age was probably three, four, or even five years ahead of other kids. The way he played - funny enough, he's still like this now - was like playing in the street."

While attending De ত্রিপলেট Primary School in Hayes, West London, Olise also showed amazing talent on the sports field.

"He still has the same moves now - shaking and then pushing the ball to his left foot, and then hitting the curved ball into the dead corner," his primary school football coach Daniel Cork said. "He's always played like this."

From the park pitches in suburban London to the Allianz Arena, it was this signature Olise-style shot that helped Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid 4-3 at home in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals last month, and advance with a 6-4 aggregate score.

The French international then scored a wonderful individual goal against Paris Saint-Germain last week in a historic semi-final first leg, despite Bayern's 4-5 away defeat. This was Olise's 21st goal in his second season since joining Bayern, and he has also contributed 26 assists.

Ahead of Wednesday's highly anticipated second leg, The Athletic interviewed several people who have coached or played alongside Olise, telling the story of his path to the top.

As his coach at Hayes & Yeading, Richards remembers him as a quiet, humble and polite child, but he would come alive once he stepped onto the pitch.

He recalled that after every game, there would be a row of scouts waiting for him to introduce them to Olise's parents - Mina and Vincent.

Olise was born in White City, West London, and grew up in Hayes, a few miles away near Heathrow Airport. He started playing for Hayes & Yeading at the age of six, where he stayed for about 12 to 18 months, before moving to Chelsea, having also played for another local team, Ealrsmeade Alumni, coached by former Chelsea youth coach Sean Conlon, who was also one of Olise's early mentors.

He was also scouted by scout Miguel Rios and trialed at the Arsenal academy, but he eventually chose a team closer to home.

During his time at Hayes & Yeading, he played against a young Saka, who was playing for Greenford Celtic in the same league.

"Both teams had some very good players, but those two were clearly a cut above," Richards said. "Basically, it was the two of them who controlled the game."

Richards said one of his most vivid memories was Olise scoring a volley from midfield in a summer tournament.

"That kind of goal makes you marvel, 'Oh my god, I'm in my twenties and I can't do that!' He probably has more assists than goals, he's a very team-oriented player."

At De ত্রিপলেট Primary School, Olise excelled in almost every sport - he was the Hillingdon district cross-country champion, a district gold medalist in the 400m, and also an excellent cricketer, and he was also keen on playing chess.

However, it was his football ability that really set him apart. "Back in Year 2, the football coaches knew that Olise was a special talent," Cork said.

Cork also took him to represent Hillingdon at the London Youth Games in July 2013.

"There were six different scouts who came to me during that game and asked me, 'Who is this kid?' I could only tell them, 'Sorry, he's already at Chelsea.' But they saw his talent too."

School principal Rachel Anderson is proud of the progress of her former student. "It is a humbling and privileged thing to play a small part in any child's journey to success," she told The Athletic. Later, Olise attended a Catholic secondary school in nearby Ickenham.

Anderson mentioned that Olise comes from a close-knit and supportive family. She said that his father, Vincent, still uses the school's pitch to organize a church football team in the summer, and his mother, Mina (who is French), has participated in the school's multicultural day activities.

In an interview with Bayern's official website in December 2024, Olise said he has four nationalities: British and Nigerian on his father's side, and French and Algerian on his mother's side. "I have an emotional connection with all four countries," he also said.

He was originally eligible to represent all four countries, but eventually chose the French national team, having previously stated that he has always had an emotional connection with the French team. He was first selected for the French team at the U18 level and participated in the Toulon Tournament in June 2019.

During his time in Chelsea's youth academy, Olise's ability was never questioned - he was talented and often had flashes of brilliance - but he was sometimes difficult for some coaches to deal with.

Some days he would come to training but not want to participate, or he would show resistance if he didn't like the training arrangements at the beginning; sometimes he would even sit on the sidelines and watch.

In terms of matches, he had an obsession with the number 10 jersey and often wore it before the starting lineup was announced. This caused trouble for the coaches, as they could easily fall into an awkward situation - arguing with a child about a jersey number in the locker room.

Chelsea had communicated with people inside and outside the club to better understand his behavior. It wasn't because he was rude or mean, but because he didn't follow the rules like a typical youth player, which made some staff members feel tricky and frustrated.

Others saw this as a positive challenge - a top talented player was "asking" them to find the best way to cultivate him. This may mean adjusting or customizing the training content to better motivate Olise, such as having the coach personally send the ball to him in crossing and shooting training, instead of having other youth players do it.

Other problems can also be solved without conflict, such as putting out the equipment later to avoid confusion surrounding the number 10 jersey, or accepting that he doesn't come to training every day.

Obviously, this is not easy. Olise is "different" - that's the word people often use to describe him - but he's by no means the only talent in Chelsea's youth academy.

There were internal concerns within the club as to whether he could adapt to a full-time development system that included academics, which ultimately led to a difficult decision: he was let go.

When asked why he didn't succeed at Chelsea, Sean Conlon said: "'Complex' may be the right word. He has a very different way of thinking about life and football. That's where his genius lies, and that's what makes him different."

Conlon emphasized that Olise has no resentment towards Chelsea, on the contrary, he is grateful for that experience. He also pointed out that Olise was once close to returning to Chelsea in 2023, later chose to renew his contract with Crystal Palace, and his younger brother Richard is still in the Chelsea youth academy and is well taken care of in terms of health and injury issues.