Month: September 2024

Left off of Watford’s list of players eligible for the Premier League for a second season running, the right back lashed out at his club, and expressed his lack of understanding in an exclusive interview withL’Équipe.

Brice Dja Djédjé left Marseille for Watford just over a year ago. But the right back, who was essential to Bielsa’s system in Marseille, has still not not played the least Premier League game with the Hornets, who spent four million euros to recruit him. Once again excluded from the list of players eligible for the league, the Ivorian international (26 years old) decided to express his frustration on a situation which he can not deal with anymore.

For the second season in a row, your club Watford, did not include you in the list of players eligible for the league. Did you expect it?

Honestly, no. I do not understand it at all. They have made their choice, but it pains me because I can not fulfill my line of work. It is starting to become unbearable.

How did you find out about it?

I met up with the national team towards the end of August. I was in training and, upon my return to the locker room, I saw that my father tried to call me multiple times. Then, I saw a text message from him, which broke the bad news. I was stunned, devastated. But there is one real problem in all of this, and that is that I learned it in the media. It is unbelievable. There are certain boundaries… It gets to a point where you can not keep quiet anymore. I am being treated like an animal!

Was this ever explained?

Not at all. It was the same during the first year. Before signing me, they knew that I had injured my foot with the national team. But Walter Mazzarri, last season’s coach, really wanted me to sign for Watford. He told me about how he wanted the team to play, and how he planned to use me. But most importantly, he knew very well that I was injured because we even spoke about it. The Marseille doctor even gave instructions to the Watford one, but they wanted me to come back earlier, which aggravated my injury.

So the current situation is in relation to an injury.

I have no idea, and I have no idea who took this decision. I am under the impression that certain people are trying to avoid their responsibilities. Is it the coach? Is it from above? I have never let go. I trained everyday with the first team, and I also often came with my personal trainer to be in top shape.

There is no turning back?

No, because the lists were released right after the transfer window! The clubs actually update them halfway through the season. In January, I was already meant to be on it. But the second choice goalkeeper (Costel Pantilimon) injured himself for three weeks and the club decided to promote a fourth goalkeeper instead of me, even though I was fit. It is beyond me!

Did you really not feel this decision coming?

No. I resumed training by myself as early as mid-June to prepare myself, so that I would not miss another year. My career was in the balance. I went to see the sporting director in July so that he could clearly explain things to me, so I asked, “Do you still depend on me? Because otherwise, I have to find a solution.” He responded saying that the coach was satisfied with me, that I was working hard, and that I had come back well. So I joined their summer preparation and played the friendly games, but I could already feel that something was off.

What do you mean?

Small details. You oppose something and you are still considered one of the “others”, one of the substitutes. I had one conversation with the coach Marco Silva. I told him to not treat me like a child. I have been in this line of work for a while now. I know what the signs look like. But he assured me that his decision was final.

Since then, have you tried to meet with the coach?

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In early September, one of the staff members sent me a text message saying that the coach wanted to speak. I responded nicely and politely saying that I wanted to focus on my work to avoid anything getting distorted, especially seeing as English is not my strongest language. Plus, what good would it have served?

How are you dealing with the situation?

I am not happy. Having to train during the week, to just sit on my sofa during the weekend is horrible. It is not because I get a monthly salary that I should just accept this. Otherwise, that would mean that I really do not care. It has been two years since I have been prevented from doing the job that I love, without any explanation. I can not go on like this. Everyone has been asking why I have not played, thinking that it is because of an injury, when in reality, that is completely false.

He has also said that you are not beyond reproach in your implication?

I heard that, yes. Do you really think that a slacker trains two times more than the others every week? That he gets up everyday to train with the reserves while the others are resting? I also went to play games with the youth teams, doing long hours on the road, without ever saying anything. They need to cut the excuses. I am still the player I am from Marseille. And, on the contrary, these experiences have made me stronger.

What are your options then?

I have to leave. Either on loan or permanently. I want to rediscover my hunger for competition. I have been ready since last December, and I can not wait anymore. The craziest in all of this, is that that clubs made offers to Watford to loan me, but the club refused them.

Y.H.

Ex-PSG striker George Weah will today find out if he is successful in the first round of Liberia’s presidential election.

The 51 year old, who has a son who is currently in the PSG youth academy, officially announced his presidential campaign back on August 19th.

Sam Mannah, a member of Weah’s campaign team, had the following to say to Le Parisien on Weah’s chances: “He is feeling very, very good. He is very enthusiastic. Everywhere, people are telling him that they want change. In 2005, when he first stood for president, people were unsure because of his lack of experience. His time as a senator has had an important role.”

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The double blow landed hard on Friday evening, in quick succession too. A day of double jeopardy for Patrice Evra ended with not one, but two painful sanctions which leave his otherwise illustrious career teetering between retirement or one last hurrah far away from French football.

It marks the end of a difficult nine-day spell for Evra, who was summarily dismissed by Olympique Marseille in all but name after the defender’s moment of madness when kicking out at a supporter before the club’s Europa League game at Vitoria Guimaraes.

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It was supposed to be a quite drab affair, a nondescript fixture in between important Ligue 1 fixtures. OM had so far treated the Europa League in that way. Nothing was to suggest a brief sojourn in Portugal would pose the first PR test to OM’s new image under Frank McCourt.

But now we are here. Evra’s nine-month spell at the Vélodrome came to an abrupt end yesterday evening following his UEFA suspension. The club’s vice-captain had committed what some deemed a heinous act – and really, there was no going back, whatever the circumstances.

The dismissal seemed just, given that the relationship between Evra & the fanatic OM support was almost irreparable even before this fixture. The former Manchester United left-back had been a source of heavy criticism for his increasingly lacklustre displays. He was of course, the weakest of links in a relatively average defence which can almost be described as an achievement in itself.

Accompanied by the below-par performances were Evra’s infamous Instagram videos, posted every Monday on the social media site. It may have delighted the neutrals, but it irked many OM fans who felt the player’s ego had swelled considerably.

We may never know exactly what words were said between Evra and the supporter in question. Blame of course does not lie fully with the player. Whereas some feel that supporters should not receive a carte blanche to hurl whatever insults they want at players, others will attest to the fact that because they make the time and financial sacrifice to travel with the team across Europe, they do in fact have that right. However, it should never have gotten personal.

There was no allegation of racism in the exchanges between the two parties in Guimaraes, despite a mystifying thirst by some on social media and in the English & French press to attach it to Evra’s unexpected outburst. This was simply a professional player who snapped when he should have known better.

The OM fans for better or for worse are a vociferous bunch. Conflicts between players are not new. Even the team’s current darling Florian Thauvin was involved in a physical altercation with a supporter in 2015 in the aftermath of a defeat.

For a player of Evra’s stature who has played all over the world in far more trying circumstances than the one that presented itself at Estadio D. Afonso Henriques – he simply should not have done it. He should not have engaged with the supporters during the warm-up. He should not have launched a ball in their direction.

He should not have invited them to a square-up across the barriers. And finally, he should not have engaged in a physical act of violence. And for those four failures, he pays a high price at a very, very late stage of his career.

For what it’s worth, OM made the right decision to part with a player whose relationship with the supporters was now beyond repair. It’s a shame it got to this position for all concerned – (Evra was a key individual in the dressing room, the ‘captain behind the captain’ as it were) – but his senseless actions have left the hierarchy with no choice.

A brief face-saving statement ended his somewhat erratic and short-lived OM career low on memorable quality on the pitch where it really mattered. Sportingly, he won’t be missed by any stretch having long been replaced by Jordan Amavi.

But above all, he is human. We all make mistakes; ones we instantly regret. But we sometimes pay for them too, as he learnt twice in quick succession last night.

For him at Marseille: This game is over.

M.A.

“For us in Montpellier, if you go past Avignon, you’re in the north.” Despite the birthplace of Olivier Messiaen being less than 100 kilometres away from the Stade de la Mosson, there is more than a ring of truth in the words of Montpellier manager Michel Der Zakarian, who has used his resolutely southern identity to make huge gains for a team which has meant so much to him. Taken in isolation, his side’s 2-0 win over Bordeaux last night, in Ligue 1’s final match of the calendar year, means very little. Les Girondins have been France’s worst side of late, earning just five points in their last twelve matches as they have struggled badly in attack. However, given the divergent directions of the two sides at the beginning of the season, that La Paillade would expect victory in a place where they had not won in nearly fifteen years speaks volumes about the team’s resolve and improvement this season under the Armenian.

Bordeaux had impressed last season, qualifying for the Europa League and playing some of France’s most attractive football under Jocelyn Gourvennec. Given the promise of an up-and-coming manager and a young squad, the team invested heavily in the summer, signing Lille’s Nicolas De Préville and the Brazilian duo of Otávio and Jonathan Cafú. Montpellier, by contrast, sold their two most influential attackers, Steve Mounié and Ryad Boudebouz, and the players that they brought in, the likes of Pedro Mendes and Giovanni Sio, seemed more the type to make up the numbers rather than contribute to any significant improvement.

That sort of parsimony has been nothing new for Montpellier, though; even in the wake of the team’s miraculous title six years ago, they spent little ahead of their Champions’ League exploits. Of a bigger concern, however, was how the club would develop under Der Zakarian, with many tipping the southern side for relegation. A former club captain and a long-time assistant following his retirement from playing, the fiery manager had done well with limited means at Nantes, but his hiring this summer, coming after failing to get Reims promotion despite having one of Ligue 2’s biggest budgets, seemed the very definition of unimaginative.

Now six months into his tenure, Der Zakarian has made his doubters look foolish indeed. He has fashioned Ligue 1’s best defence, with only thirteen goals conceded in nineteen matches, and has steered his unfashionable side into seventh place. A frustrating slip-up against Metz at the weekend notwithstanding, Montpellier have approached the season with an unremitting focus that, for Der Zakarian, is in the image of the club’s former owner, the late Louis Nicollin.

“He had deep respect for people who worked hard. “Loulou” transmitted strong values: generosity, hard work, self-sacrifice. That spirit is still there at the club, whether in the office or on the pitch.”

No player perhaps embodies that more than Vitorino Hilton, the side’s captain. Despite turning forty earlier this season, the Brazilian has been hugely impressive at the heart of Der Zakarian’s three-man defence. He missed out yesterday through suspension, but the veteran has thrived with Mendes and youngster Nordi Mukiele next to him. Hilton has long been one of Ligue 1’s better centre backs, but his continued defiance of time has much to do with Der Zakarian’s improving his fellow defenders individually as well as collectively.

Mukiele arrived in January from Stade Lavallois with a decent reputation, but was considered more of a marauding full-back than the solid and versatile presence into which he has evolved. Likewise Mendes, a decent player but one who struggled to get a game at Rennes following the emergence of Joris Gnagnon last season. That Der Zakarian has molded these two into sublime foils for Hilton has been chief among his achievements, but he’s also worked wonders with several other recent acquisitions.

Der Zakarian’s sides have always had a reputation for being solid at the back, but this season he has expanded his repertoire, also improving a cadre of talented young attackers as well. Jonathan Ikoné was on the scoresheet for the first time this season yesterday, a fitting reward for a dynamic, high-energy performance for the youngster. The Paris Saint-Germain loanee has missed the last three months or so with injury, but after an inconsistent spell under Jean-Louis Gasset last season, he looks to have fully invested in Der Zakarian’s aggressive, high pressing system. Likewise Junior Sambia, another youngster on loan, from Niort, who impressed in a more advanced role, and looks an increasingly well-rounded presence in midfield despite having only played a more defensive role in previous seasons.

Montpellier are still alive in both domestic cups, and their promising start could yet be undone by fixture congestion. Player transfers also loom; Mukiele in particular has been linked with several foreign clubs, including Benfica. For now, though, the way that Der Zakarian has evoked the spirit of the combative Nicollin to develop a fighting spirit for the club which has meant so much to him is nothing short of miraculous.

1 | The time has come surely for Jocelyn Gourvennec and Bordeaux to part ways. Having assembled a vibrant and competitive looking squad, Les Girondins were expected to challenge for a top 4 spot this season but the 2-0 home loss to Montpellier was their fifth in a row and tenth in their last 13 meaning they finish the first half of the season in a lowly 15th place. The glorious Malcom aside, Gourvennec has been unable to cajole any fight, fluidity or any semblance of solidarity from his charges since a crushing 6-2 September loss in Paris. Gourvennec seems to have now lost the players along with the fans who continued their demands for his resignation. Gourvennec surely needs a Christmas miracle if he is to start 2018 as Bordeaux’s manager.

2 | Nice had been written off. The 4-0 drubbing of the Champions Monaco aside, Lucien Favre’s admittedly decimated team had struggled to find the irrepressible intensity that made Les Aiglons a title chaser last term as they flirted with the bottom three. Now however, the table and Nice’s form both have a more familiar look. A draw at Lille saw them finish 2017 in the top six after 4 straight wins allowed Nice to leave the throng of squabbling mid table sides behind as Mario Balotelli’s form proved crucial, scoring in all four wins. It has taken Favre a little time but balance has been restored at the Allianz Riviera and the top 4 will be looking nervously over their shoulders as Ligue 1 moves into 2018.

3 | A 3-1 loss at Nice in week 16 had seemingly already ended Metz’s faint survival hopes. The defeat left them with just 5 points, 14 adrift of the safety mark and with a squad that was not able to recover from losing its best players in the summer. Philippe Hinschberger’s inevitable sacking changed nothing as the team continued in their woeful form under new coach Frédéric Hantz. Now however, miraculously Metz have hope. 7 points from their last 9 available has closed the gap to 8 points as a superb 3-0 win over PSG’s conquerors Strasbourg amounted to their first home win and best display of the year so far.

The notoriously wayward forward signings Nolan Roux and Emmanuel Rivière have finally found their feet and the back of the net both with two in their last four while the reintroduction Florent Mollet, one of few midfielders capable of creativity, has complemented previous standouts Mathieu Dossevi and Renaud Cohade. Metz could yet usurp expectations and retain their Ligue 1 status if they can keep this form up.

E.D. with A.W.

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32-year-old left-sided player Vincent Bessat wants to make a move to Turkey, with his agents having offered him to Trabzonspor, according to L’Équipe.

The Turkish side is looking for a left-back, Bessat is waiting to hear their response. If they reply favourably, Bessat will ask Caen to leave the club for free.

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Ligue 1 side St Étienne will sign French winger Paul-Georges Ntep on loan from Wolfsburg until the end of the season without an option to buy, according to various reliable sources.

Ntep had the option of Nice or St Étienne, but chose the latter after discussions with new manager Jean-Louis Gasset. Les Verts also made a big financial effort to cover a higher proportion of player wages than Les Aiglons were offering.

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Ligue 1 side Montpellier are in active pre-contract negotiations with Red Star Belgrade’s 27-year-old attacking midfielder Guelor Kanga, according to RMC.

Initially, MHSC wanted to sign the player this month, but the Serbian club’s demands were adjudged to be egregious.

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L’Équipe report that Turkish side Sivasspor are in negotiations with Newcastle United midfielder Henri Saivet’s entourage about convincing the player to join the club on loan for the rest of the season.

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Montpellier went close to brokering a deal for the player earlier this month, but pulled out at the last minute.

ESTAC Troyes are also monitoring the player’s situation closely, having made an offer.

Speaking to reporters following OGC Nice’s 3-2 loss to Dijon, the south of France side’s club president Jean-Pierre Rivière took aim at recent officiating.

“I am shocked. Enough is enough, for matches in a row we have been playing 12 vs 11. How can the referee not give a penalty on Makengo against Toulouse and another give a penalty tonight because our player puts his hand on the shoulder of an opponent? It was an imaginary penalty! It is saddening, there is no coherence in French football. I invite the commission of referees to re-watch our matches. French refereeing must look at itself!” 

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Montpellier were twenty minutes late. Needing only a draw to secure an astonishing Ligue 1 title in 2012, players of title rivals PSG stood huddled around a television screen in Lorient after a 2-1 win watching the final quarter of the pivotal encounter in Auxerre play out. Although every game in the final round is scheduled simultaneously, Auxerre ultras, infuriated by the financial issues that had already seen their club relegated had staged a protest that saw scores of tennis balls, rotten tomatoes, toilet paper and melons thrown on to the pitch at the Stade de l‘Abbe-Deschamps. “You are the shame of these last 32 years!” read one banner, a sentiment largely directed at club president Gérard Bourgoin but also at their players, including 21-year-old centre back Willy Boly.

Having broken into the first team the previous year, Boly assumed a prominent role in a disastrous season for Auxerre, but the young defender’s individual displays remained admirable, regularly standing out despite poor results. Despite his obvious physical stature, a burgeoning keenness to hit sweeping passes and start attacks, as has been the case with Wolves, was already evident. Boly later explained; “I really like to play this way, where the central ones have to go out to play, where the team likes to have ball. For me, it is not more difficult to play this way. I like and want to have a ball.”

Born in Melun, an hour south of central Paris, Boly’s football education was one of the best French football can provide, training as a teenager at the famous Clairefontaine National Football Institute. Nicolas Anelka, Thierry Henry, Kylian Mbappé, William Gallas and Blaise Matuidi to name a few, are all counted among Clairefontaine’s more illustrious alumni. At the age of 16, Boly was spotted by Auxerre where he was swiftly promoted to the senior side before signing his first professional deal in 2011.

“I’m blossoming well at this club,” said Boly at the time, but his ambitions were clear, “but I aim for another level. It’s a personal project. Because the most important thing is to play in a big club and play big competitions like the Champions’ League.” Impressing at youth levels and throughout his brief Ligue 1 spell, Boly represented France across the junior ranks and was, as then coach Éric Mombaerts said, only kept out of a competitive under 21s side by Raphaël Varane and Eliaquim Mangala.

Eye-catching performances in Ligue 1 and boundless potential led to wide-ranging interest from across the continent as Auxerre dropped into Ligue 2, but the young Boly’s experience descended into attitude issues and poor form. Despite being a prize asset, then manager Bernard Casoni stating he might have to leave to fill the hole in the club’s finances that contributed to their relegation, Boly fell out of favour in January 2013 as negotiations with Parma eventually fell through. Boly then informed Casoni later that year he was not in the right frame of mind to play against Valenciennes, after another failed round of talks with Parma.

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Rumours of numerous possible routes out repeatedly evaporated over Boly’s two seasons in the second division, notably when a €5m agreement with Fiorentina came to nothing, as Bourgoin demanded a higher fee. Meanwhile disciplinary issues resurfaced, as then Auxerre coach Jean-Luc Vannuchi “decided to exclude him until further notice” after he arrived late for training and did not follow his coach’s instructions before a supposed refusal to play for the reserve side saw miss out on the first team squad towards the end of 2013/14 campaign.

Nevertheless, in recent seasons, Boly has matured somewhat while Cédric Hengbart, a teammate at Auxerre, insisted in L’Équipe that Boly was able to handle the transfer speculation in training, explaining “he never let it show, he remained very professional”. However there is certainly another unusual side to Willy Boly. In a strange turn of events for a promising footballer at youth level, holds a “BacS”, roughly the equivalent of top grade A-levels, in Maths and Sciences, while he impressed coaches in Liga Nos by swiftly grasping Portuguese upon joining Braga in 2014 and speaking quasi-fluently with his colleagues, an intelligence perhaps reflected in his style of play.

When Boly eventually moved to Portugal in 2014, he did so for no direct monetary exchange, despite Auxerre’s initial demands, they received no transfer fee for Boly, merely a sell-on percentage clause. However, Boly struggled to assert himself in Portugal. For much of the 2014/15 season, the Frenchman found himself as a Braga B team regular, playing in Portugal’s lower divisions. Fortunately, his attitude towards turning out for a reserve side had evolved since his Auxerre days. “It was a difficult situation for me and I was not going to be happy for the B team,” explained Boly, “inside I forgot everything. It was important for me to play well when I was called to B team to show what I can do for the coach and the A team.”

That attitude proved essential, as Boly, impressing incoming manager Paulo Fonseca after centre-back Aderlan Santos departed, played his way into the Braga senior side. Within a year, Boly had joined Porto, a protracted move due to Boly’s high wage demands, having rejected Wolves before eventually joining them a year later following a failure to establish himself at the Dragao.

Given Boly’s impressive debut season in England, showcasing his ability to bring the ball out from the back, sometimes a little too much, holding onto the loanee Frenchman will likely be near the top of Nuno Espirito Santo’s summer to-do list. Although Nuno might have to spend an eight figure sum to secure a permanent move, given Boly’s ingrained keenness to constantly improve and play at the highest possible level, he would undoubtedly relish a jump to Premier League football.

What’s more, making that step with a club clearly on an upward trajectory, where he is already established, stability will also be a crucial element in terms of furthering his own development. Whether he stays or not, dodging tennis balls and rotten tomatoes should remain a distant memory.

A.W.