Julie Debever (“Koh-Lanta”): “There is a good chance that I will end my football career”

After taking part in the Women's World Cup in 2019,

managed to secure her place among the 20 candidates for

filmed last summer in the Philippines.

A dream fulfilled after a long wait of ten years for the one who wore the colors of Saint-Étienne, Guingamp, Inter Milan in Italy and who is currently playing at FC Fleury 91.

Particularly discreet during the first half of the adventure, the native of Marcq-en-Barœul has been revealed since the reunification of the 20th day.

Despite a big underperformance in the very first reunified tribe immunity trial that could have cost her her place in the game, Julie is still in the race and is one of the last nine candidates in competition.

Read alsoTrash, contraceptive pill, lenses, periodic protection: what do the candidates of “Koh-Lanta” have for their hygiene?

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Indeed, I was hardly seen but it was my strategy to drown in the crowd and to be discreet.

I have been watching “Koh-Lanta” for several years and I know how the game works.

To go for reunification, you have to be neither too weak nor too strong and, above all, not put yourself forward too much.

I have always given everything on the tests but without trying to be highlighted.

Showing extraordinary performances or being a captain can potentially be expensive in this game.

By evolving in a team sport for years, it's something that happened quite naturally.

For a competitor like you, was it not difficult to adopt this strategy?

A little bit, in my career as a footballer, I happened to be captain of my team.

I experienced this positive leadership role.

My abilities and my experience as a high-level sportswoman can help in surpassing oneself and the mind.

But, in "Koh-Lanta", you experience an extremely difficult adventure with trials accessible to all.

I didn't feel in my comfort zone and, potentially, I knew that I could counter-perform as it happened on the grappling stage.

You've been trying to participate in "Koh-Lanta" for about ten years despite a job not necessarily compatible with this adventure game...

Not compatible at all!

(Laughs.) "Koh-Lanta" has always been a family meeting in front of the television, we all like to gather around this show.

There is a sporting dimension that we like as well as a side of self-transcendence and human adventure that have always attracted me.

I've always had this strong desire to sign up for the challenge it represents.

I was never a very talented football player, I didn't have an innate talent but I worked hard to stand out and achieve my goals.

I have always emphasized work because it is the culture of my family and I find these values ​​in "Koh-Lanta", we win everything by the sweat of the brow.

I had a mad desire to participate.

“I want to start a family and marry Regina Baresi”

Julie Debever

Did you inform your leaders of FC Fleury 91 before leaving for the filming in the Philippines last summer?

There is a lot of confidentiality to respect when you are selected for the casting of “Koh-Lanta” but you have the right to inform your employer.

Only my president and my coach knew about it.

Pascal Bovis (president of FC Fleury 91, Ed.) is a very human person who works for everyone's projects and dreams.

My trainer, Fabrice Abriel, would have done without my dream, it's not compatible with top-level sport, but he gave me his consent anyway.

I am at the end of my career, it was time for me to live this dream.

There was a very good recruitment achieved and the team was able to keep its balance to meet its objectives.

Your first start in D1 Arkema only happened on April 15, was it difficult to find your level after "Koh-Lanta"?

I play less but it was a calculated risk.

It was very difficult to find my level after “Koh-Lanta”.

Physically, I lost a lot.

I carried out specific and progressive work with the club's physical trainer.

It was long.

I had to regain my muscle mass and my rhythm.

I was surprised but happy to play again in the league, I am a professional footballer and I answer when the coach calls me.

I was happy to play and happy to win this match (at Reims, 3-1).

Will you still be a professional footballer next season?

I do not think so.

I'm not going to publicly announce the end of my career today, but I'm seriously thinking about it.

With "Koh-Lanta", I lived an extraordinary but complex adventure which leaves physical and psychological traces.

I knew that it was not compatible with my activity as a top-level sportswoman, but it will give a good note at the end of my career.

There is a good chance that I will end my career at the end of June.

Do you want to start a family with your partner Regina Baresi?

I turned 35 not too long ago, we actually want to start a family and, potentially, get married.

It is also part of the things that lead me towards the end of my career.

I did my time, football gave it back to me and I want to blossom in something else, to have more free time for the people I love.

I have the will to move forward as a woman.

"I didn't do 'Koh-Lanta' for others, I did it for myself"

Julie Debever

How do you explain your poor performance and your last place in the "Koh-Lanta" grapple test?

I have always managed to get by in all sports and all physical activities so I did not expect such a result.

I was struggling from start to finish.

I didn't adopt the right technique, I didn't understand that I could throw the grapple by directly holding the metal part.

There isn't a day when I don't want to go through this ordeal again.

I had a hard time seeing her on television, I felt ashamed to finish last.

But that's the whole wealth of "Koh-Lanta", we discover weaknesses but also strengths.

On the test of the hanged pig, I did not expect to last so long.

Julie Debever in "Koh-Lanta, the sacred fire" TF1 screen capture

Were you surprised by what you saw in the episodes of “Koh-Lanta”?

At first not because I remain quite discreet and no one really talks about me.

I play my role well until reunification.

At this stage of the game, we can no longer hide, we had to reveal ourselves and position ourselves strategically.

I was less serene in the face of the alliance of the four boys Nicolas, Gilles, Frédéric and Quentin.

I am surprised by certain conversations and declarations, but I am also surprised by rediscovering myself.

When we are immersed in the game, we know why we act in such and such a way.

But with hindsight, seven months after filming, we may have to wonder about some of our actions.

What do your loved ones think when they see you in this context of “Koh-Lanta”?

They recognize me.

My fear in "Koh-Lanta" was to be caught up in the adventure, the desire to go as far as possible and to betray my values ​​to achieve it.

I tried to stay loyal.

When we were discussing “Koh-Lanta” as a family, I said that my strategy would be the one I adopted in the Philippines, discretion to move forward better.

I did not understand the candidates who were too conspicuous.

Viewers may be surprised not to see me, but I did not do "Koh-Lanta" for others.

I did it for me.