Still in solitary confinement after contracting Covid-19, Fabien Mercadal still hopes to be on the Dunkirk bench for his reunion with Paris FC where he coached in 2017-2018 on Saturday.
After two complicated experiences in Caen (L1) and at the Cercle de Bruges (D1 Belgium) he returned this summer to his former club, promoted to L2.
What memories do you keep of your time at Paris FC?
FABIEN MERCADAL.
Only positive, of course.
I only spent good times there with great human encounters and good results.
I kept a lot of contact with players like Cyril (Mandouki), staff members like Mickaël Boully, Mikaël Durrens, Corsican masseur Hervé Gallorini.
With the president, we send each other messages.
I'm not Parisian but I fell in love with this club.
I always look at his results first, hoping they are good.
I had signed to play the rise of National but we had been drafted a few days before the resumption of L2.
With a team built for the National, you had played the leading roles for a long time before finishing 8th ...
We were still a little worried at the start.
But it turned out well as looking at the names that made up our team, some predicted that we would finish 20th with zero wins.
We managed to create a great state of mind.
One of my strongest memories is the match in Nancy: the last before the break where we won 1-0 at the last minute on a skylight shot from Idriss (Ech-Chergui).
We had 32 points at the end of the first leg, we knew we were going to save ourselves.
With these boys, most of whom came from the lower level, we experienced a magnificent human adventure.
J
ustly, is it a source of pride to have contributed to the emergence of players like Lopez or Mandouki who are now among the best players in L2?
When you are an educator, you do a little for that.
The life of a coach is to perform short stints in a club.
I am happy to have participated a little in these beautiful stories.
Of course, I have a special affection for Cyril (Mandouki) whom I went to look for in Sainte-Geneviève (N2) to get him signed in Dunkirk at the time.
But it makes me happy all these kids, Delaine, Karamoko, Akichi, Lopez, that we looked for in National or National 2, to succeed in great careers.
"Paris FC is like a small family"
How do you explain the supporters' attachment to you when you only stayed one season?
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Between them and me, we found each other very well.
They were always there on the move.
Paris FC is like a small family.
Me, I quickly connected with this club.
Boys like Demarconnay, Yohou, Lybohy or Sidibé who had this Parisian flair and were deeply attached to Paris FC, transmitted their values to us.
There was also a turning point in my love for Paris FC: the afternoon I spent at Porte de Montreuil with the young people.
I had seen exceptional U13s.
I said to their educator:
"your little ones are wonderful"
.
He replied
"but they are the B team, the A team trains there…"
I said to myself,
"what club, what reservoir, what work for the educators"
….
That Wednesday, I understood a lot.
Looking back, do you regret not having continued to make Paris FC grow?
Considering the two failures that I experienced behind, I understand that people can say to themselves:
"Mercadal, it would have been better to stay rather than to go wrong in L1 ..."
But, it is my story, my destiny .
In life, you should never regret anything even though I have had some real bad times over the past two years.
But for someone who comes from an amateur background like me, it's still difficult to refuse the L1.
Afterwards, I know that I made mistakes.
"I will not make old bones in the world of football"
Which ones?
In football, a coach must be able to master certain parameters.
Me, there are many things that I have not managed to master.
I blamed myself because I should have imposed myself a little more on recruiting.
But it's not easy.
You discover the L1, you do not represent much, we do not always listen to you ... I arrived full of humility but I did not take enough precautions.
I had also experienced this situation in Tours (L2) coming from National.
At Paris FC, one of the keys to success that season was recruiting from college.
Have you been marked by these failures?
There are things that ended up disgusting me even more of this environment.
I already know that I will not make old bones there anyway.
I sometimes felt a deep sense of injustice.
I will never forget this caricature in
the Team
where Roland
(Editor's note: Courbis, came to his side in Caen)
was sitting on me crashing on the bench.
… It was filthy, gratuitous meanness.
When you experience that, it's very hard at the time, after that it must slip.
You have to be able to use all that to be stronger.
Today, I feel stronger.
When you have resisted this surge, it scores but you come out better.
Was finding Dunkirk where you revealed yourself and where you have your ties, was important to you?
Despite my failures, I had other proposals.
But yes, I am a bit at home in Dunkirk, I am close to the president and I have found former players and members of my staff.
It feels good to work in this environment again.
Once again, I have the smallest budget.
My story has always been to play the maintenance.
Since I have been a coach, I had rarely known so many problems, between the Covid, the injuries ... But for the moment, we manage to get out because we are a united and strong club in human terms.
How do you see this match against Paris FC?
We are happy to have won Saturday in Chambly.
It takes a load off us.
We will do everything to achieve a result but it will not be easy.
Paris FC is the undisputed leader and it is deserved.
The boys are confident and they are not easy to play.
The quality of the workforce means that each time they manage to replace those who are lacking.
There is also a great experienced coach.
This family side that I have known, we still feel it.
It gives them some protection.
I remember that in my time in Choisy-le-Roi (
Editor's note: ex-Paris FC training center
), we had to adapt our sessions to the RER schedules.
Conditions were not always optimal despite the efforts of the staff.
For those who have known it like Demarconnay, Lopez, Mandouki or Lalaina, it gives them extra strength.
Today in Orly, they work in a great place but they know where they come from, they are not going to behave like spoiled rotten children
(sic)
.
Do you think that Paris FC can move up to L1 this season?
They won't win every game but yes, I see them going up.
Especially since for the moment, nobody really stands out.
The best quality of play is Troyes, also with Clermont.
But Paris FC is today the best and most competitive team.
