Nice Premium: You spent more than ten years at Saint-Etienne. Why did you leave the club at the end of the 2006/2007 season?
Julien Sablé: (He sighs). I still find it hard to understand how things got to this point with Saint-Etienne. When I said I wanted to spend my career there, I meant it.
I had been rumored to be leaving for two seasons. In the last year, I was supposed to join Toulouse with Elie Baup. Ivan Hasek had asked me to stay and I took it as a matter of honor. That year was one too many after ten years in the first team, not to mention the training years.
NP: What happened?
JS: I think they were tired of me. They cleverly put obstacles in my way because I never caught anyone red-handed saying they didn’t want me anymore. But I understood that my departure was a relief for everyone.
Afterward, I didn’t even return to Saint-Etienne right away because it was too hard. I only went back six months later. Even today, I find it difficult to return, even though I have friends there. It’s a whole life that I left behind.
NP: Do you have any regrets?
JS: No. I do not regret leaving because it was over. I knew it was the end of a cycle.
Saint-Etienne is a big club where a lot is demanded.
As I embodied the club’s values and came from the training center, more was expected from me. However, I was at a stage where I could not give more. My character means that I sometimes speak too soon and things got worse with Hasek even though initially, everything was fine. But many points made it untenable for everyone. It was better to leave with a good image.
“When you’re in trouble, you sort out your friends”
NP: Are you able to return one day to AS Saint-Etienne?
JS: I would return only if the club is in trouble. Their current policy does not align with my views. I think they have a very good team, very good players. The hallmark of Saint-Etienne is to set a path that changes based on the results. If trust is placed in the youth, it must be maintained even in tough times. A year like this one does a lot of good for them. They will inevitably pull through with their coach and the charismatic guys who help the youngsters. A year at Saint-Etienne is draining. It’s like two or three years at another club. I feel like I spent 20 years there. From one week to the next, the popular pressure prevents relaxation. It’s rewarding but also exhausting. It took me almost a year to recover after my departure. I think that’s why I lost feathers at Lens.
NP: What is the most memorable moment of your career?
JS: My memories are at Saint-Etienne. But I remember the promotion with Fred Antonetti in 2004. It was now or never. Except for him and the fans, nobody believed in it, not even us, the players. The following year was also beautiful. I was close to joining the France national team, and we won the Intertoto. Even though we only passed one round, it was grandiose.
NP: Who are your friends in football?
JS: I think I have many friends. But you recognize true friends when you are in trouble. Last year, I was able to sort them out. So I will mention Vincent Hognon, Patrice Carteron, and Jody Viviani (all three former teammates at AS Saint-Etienne. The first one plays at the Gym, the second coaches AS Cannes, and the third is the current second goalkeeper of the St. Etienne club, ndlr).
“Each day has its own trouble”
NP: What is your favorite stadium?
JS: Geoffroy-Guichard
NP: Nice or Marseille?
JS: Marseille. It’s my birthplace, my family lives there. But there are not huge differences between these two cities.
NP: What do you do outside of football?
JS: I stay at home. I am quite a homebody, very family-oriented. I’ve lived in two popular cities; I didn’t go out much as I was sometimes overwhelmed. At home, I watch DVDs, I try to read a lot to gain the knowledge I didn’t get at school.
NP: Your strengths and weaknesses?
JS: I am impatient, a poor loser too. I sometimes speak too quickly without thinking, which harms me. I am also naive, too nice to people.
I prefer others to talk about my qualities rather than myself. But I would say that I am a fighter, someone courageous.
NP: Your favorite movie?
JS: Braveheart.
A song?
JS: Ça Fait Mal by Christophe Maé.
NP: A dish?
JS: Shrimps with garlic parsley or barbecue.
NP: A quote, advice for living?
JS: Before dying, my mother told me: “each day has its own trouble.” But I find it hard to apply.
