A football of reactions

At the end of Ligue 1 matches, while supporters are in their vehicles replaying the match, journalists, to complete their articles, gather post-match reactions in the corridors of the stadium. This happens in a very formal manner, at least at the Stade du Ray. A small room not far from the two teams’ locker rooms, an elevated table with sponsors in the background, chairs for the journalists facing it, a television broadcasting Jour de Foot. The journalists analyze the match while waiting for the coaches of both teams to come, one after another, to give their impressions. Microphones are plugged in, cameras too. Written press journalists generally equip themselves with a dictaphone. The more traditional ones will write everything in their notebooks. Thus, roughly a dozen journalists will have the same words, down to the comma.

The coaches and players are seasoned at the exercise. Maximum five minutes per person. Sometimes there are exclusives for live radio broadcasts. But after matches, you must not take up too much of the match participants’ time. Their place is in the locker rooms. They nonetheless comply with the media’s demand to communicate, so important in football. Few surprises, no revelations. Those are reserved for private interviews when the interviewee and “interviewer” have the time.

One notices upon observing this more closely that the coaches reserve in their speech, out of courtesy, a small word for their opponent of the evening, never mean, always to compliment with the exception of Albert Emon, the coach of Olympique de Marseille who preferred to speak only of his team. Empty rhetoric? Real respect? It matters little.

Concerning Frédéric Antonetti’s Eagles, one often praises

**Liveliness:**

– “Nice surpassed us with their accelerations,” Christian Gourcuff, coach of FC Lorient, Nice victory 3-0.
– “They were especially capable of playing, with swirling attackers,” Antoine Kombouaré, coach of Valenciennes, Nice victory 1-0.

**Counter-attacking qualities:**

– “It is always difficult to win a Ligue 1 match, especially against a Nice team that we know is formidable on the counter,” Dominique Arribagé, captain of Toulouse, Toulouse victory 1-0
– “Nice played it well by using counters,” Florent Malouda, Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon victory 4-1
– “a Nice team very skilled on the counter,” Pierre Dréossi, coach of Stade Rennais, Rennes victory 1-0

**More tactical comments:**

– “Nice was positioned higher and then posed us problems,” Elie Baup, Coach of Toulouse.
– “It was a difficult match because Nice changed their organization. This formation posed us quite a few problems in the first half,” Ricardo, Coach of Bordeaux, Bordeaux victory 3-2.
– “They applied heavy pressing for an hour and a half, they recovered balls high up. They were especially capable of playing, with swirling attackers. The contribution of their midfield and their full-backs hurt us,” Antoine Kombouaré.
– “It wasn’t easy tonight against a Nice team playing as a block and very defensive too with almost nine defenders,” Nicolas Fauvergue, Striker and scorer for Lille (1-0 for LOSC).

**Displaying superiority:**

– “Technically I think we were far superior,” Gérard Houillier, coach of Lyon. Translation: There was no comparison.

**Saying something because you have to say something:**

– “I am not surprised by Nice’s performance, I was expecting a fine performance from them,” Frédéric Hantz, coach of Le Mans, Le Mans victory 1-0. **Translation: “We only won 1-0, we struggled!”**
– “The Nice players were courageous,” Jean-Marc Furlan, coach of Troyes, Troyes victory 2-0. **Translation: “they annoyed us… they could have let the match slip away, especially being down to ten men early on”.**
– “Nice is not an easy team to handle,” Olivier Monterrubio, captain of Stade Rennais. **Same translation as above.**
– “Nice was an interesting test, in a difficult context with a Nice team that produces good football,” Alain Perrin, coach of Sochaux (0-0). **Interpretation: the same sentence works against any opponent.**
– “I think not everyone will come away with a result here,” Serge le Dizet, coach of Nantes (1-1). **=> false: some will win, others will lose or draw. These remain results.**

One could also look at all of Frédéric Antonetti’s comments. He always has a kind word for his opponents or about the refereeing.