Troyes could finally see for the first time its flagship recruit, Adil Rami, who has not yet played this season in Ligue 1 but will be in the group to challenge Nice on Sunday (1:00 p.m.) for the 10th day.
When he arrived in Aube at the very end of the summer transfer window, the world champion said with a big smile: “
PSG has its Messi, the Estac has its Rami.
"But until now, the supporters of Champagne compared"
their
"recruit to another Parisian: the Spaniard Sergio Ramos, who we have not seen play since his transfer to PSG this summer.
For Rami (35), the debut could take place on Sunday against the Aiglons of Christophe Galtier, 3rd in the championship, far ahead of the Troyens, 17th.
To discover
Ligue 1 fixtures and results
League 1 standings
Embarrassed until then by calf pain, the Neo-Troyen played his first competitive match in his new club last weekend, in National 3, with the reserve (0-0 against Illkirch).
Rami played 90 minutes.
“
The most important thing was to find the sensations, the rhythm, to put on the warming blue
,” he explained.
If he no longer has the speed of his youth, the former Lille still thirsts for football, for victories.
And above all, "
I can bring my experience, my background, my competitive mentality
," he says.
"
You need discipline, never give up, have exemplary behavior
".
Of course, upon hearing the news of his arrival in Troyes, after terminating his contract with Portuguese club Boavista last June, fans could wonder if the French international was going to give his all for a promoted.
"
I know there is a lot of expectation,
" observes the player who grew up in Fréjus, not far from Nice.
"
We ask ourselves questions, in relation to my career, my last two years, my age ...
"
Am I ready for Ligue 1?
I want to but it will take time, physically and mentally.
Adil rami
The international tricolor (36 caps) wants to quickly provide answers on the field, he who often repeats that he has accepted a new challenge in L1, in particular so that his son can see his dad playing football. Coach Laurent Batlles, who believes that Rami "
will bring us experience and other things we need
", will now have to make the choice to align or not his world champion. In any case, the attraction of the last Trojan transfer window is waiting for that: "
Am I ready for Ligue 1? I want to but it will take time, physically and mentally. There are a lot of central defenders, I'm here to bring competition. I can't wait to be 100% for, I hope
to be one of the best central defenders in Ligue 1 ”.
A place to find
Before that, it will already be necessary to make a place in the Trojan defense, which aligns three axial ones.
If Yoann Salmier and captain Jimmy Giraudon seem to be holders in their own right, third place has been rotating since the start of the season: Oualid El Hajjam, Giulian Biancone, Erik Palmer-Brown, Philippe Sandler and Karim Azamoum have already played in the hinge Trojan.
The last two are injured for long weeks.
Adil Rami is finally no longer.
Just in time to come and help his new team, which has won only one victory this season (in Metz, September 12).
Will he really be the Trojan messiah?