Why tell yourself in a book when you express yourself so fully in front of a microphone, in front of a football match?
“My future is behind me now,” explains Omar Da Fonseca, 61, consultant beIN Sports, for the Spanish championship in particular.
I know this is the end of my story.
I wanted to try to tell it to my grandchildren, trying to convey a little lightness.
Nothing is black-black in the world in which we live… ”
Famous for his theatrical verve and his lush French, the Franco-Argentinian, elected favorite consultant of France Football Internet users in 2016, succeeded, assisted by Tayeb Belmihoub.
The songs punctuating the life of Omar, "Gracias a la vida", a standard in the Argentinian repertoire, gives its name to the biography and returns as an optimistic leitmotif over the pages.
Accidents of life, money, doping, small and large turpitudes of football business, the story juggles with anecdotes delivered without sweetener.
See you on September 23 in bookstores and here https://t.co/BsvHBPWrmd today for pre-orders.
Gracias a la vida and you too pic.twitter.com/ItDv6dzVKC
- Omar da Fonseca (@Omar_daFonseca) September 12, 2020
Carlos Bianchi, Diego Maradona, Nagui, Bernard Tapie, François Hollande… The personalities and the anonymous cross the road of Omar between Argentina and France, the two homelands of which he claims to be.
On the occasion of the release of his biography, we spoke with Omar Da Fonseca about the Argentinian footballers who make the news.
You write to have worked with Diego Maradona, tell us ...
OMAR DA FONSECA.
He is from 1960 and I from 1959. In juniors, I took part in detections where he was present.
He was already a star.
In training, it was as if the ball was part of his body.
At the hotel, he juggled an orange or a ping-pong ball… Furious madness!
In perception, it is one of those players who instantly integrate the nature of the rebound, the goalkeeper's exit, the boundary of the field, etc.
A true agricultural engineer!
But beyond his genius and his brilliance, he is someone who embodies the deep Argentina.
Lionel Messi's false start in Barcelona, what do you think?
Often in a relationship, wear and tear leads to different feelings.
Barcelona have given their all to Messi.
But for some time now, we started to take things away from him.
First, sports support.
Iniesta and Xavi are gone, then Neymar.
Then, on the institutional side, he felt let down, with the “Barçagate” in particular (
Editor's note: since February, the leaders are suspected of having ordered a campaign of slander of opponents on social networks, in order to promote the re-election of the President Bartomeu in 2021
).
Finally, Luis Suarez, Messi's best friend, was told that he was going to leave… All of this led Messi to say stop.
He realized that in his current state, he could not become the Messi he was again, especially with the passing years.
Forced to stay this season, is Messi likely to leave for good at the first opportunity?
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The agreement found is still largely constrained ... If Barça connects shitty services, the cover can jump.
From January 2021, he can go wherever he wants.
I don't want that and I think the club will surround him with people who are going to run for him, like De Jong and Pjanic.
But football has become so irrational that at one point the past between Messi and Barcelona will no longer matter.
Is Messi compatible with England?
It would require a complete change of environment and I don't know if he is capable of it.
He could go to City because there is Guardiola there and a lot of Spanish speakers.
But eventually, I can see him going to the United States.
Even in Argentina, in his Newell's club for a sort of jubilee from February to June.
Maradona had done this.
At PSG, how do you judge the performance of Angel Di Maria?
For two years, he has been able to position himself at PSG.
There are two essential players at the top of the pyramid and it is not easy to furnish the middle floors.
This is where Di Maria is.
For an Argentinian, it is reserved.
Especially for a desired player, passed through Real and Manchester United.
Mauro Icardi will he meet the expectations placed in him?
No.
I do not understand that a team of the level of PSG has opted for a player so specifically a scorer.
He is a player who has no dribbling, no head game, no ball coverage, is not powerful and does not go fast… He has 8 in no area, he is average everywhere.
He certainly scores goals, up close.
He makes sense of it.
But I believe that PSG must have a center-forward who shines more than Icardi, like Lewandowski or Suarez.
For PSG, I want excellence.
“Gracias a la vida” (Editions Marabout, 294 pages, 18.90 euros)