He was a little late because of an individual interview with a player.
But when he arrives in the small room of Jonelière, Antoine Kombouaré quickly drops the mask.
The look still planted in the eyes of his interlocutor, the new Nantes coach quickly proves one thing: since his stint at PSG, the man has not changed.
He still does not know how to tack and prefers sincerity.
Can the trip to Paris seriously end in something other than defeat?
ANTOINE KOMBOUARÉ.
I fear this match.
It would be the PSG of the other years, it would be perhaps better to face them in March.
: the championship would have already been folded and the team would make some choices depending on the Champions League.
Alas, this time Paris absolutely must win.
And there, I inevitably expect to suffer.
Lorient's reception the following week seems more important ...
Precisely, no.
Beyond the result in Paris, I will watch the attitudes.
The way you behave will count.
I am waiting for a way of playing and fighting which will be, for me, more important than the result.
Each time, with my former teams, we had managed consistent matches against Paris.
And I want to persuade the guys that we can beat Paris.
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Ligue 1: "The pressure, I like it", savors Antoine Kombouaré, new Nantes coach
Seriously?
Obviously, this is a very small possibility.
I am not naive.
Paris also has terrible pressure.
That of fighting to not let the title slip away.
If the PSG is at 100%, we will not exist.
But what mark will have left the qualification against Barcelona in the face?
And they have Lille and Lyon to face then.
Let's play it hard and we'll see.
Are you surprised to see Paris not flying over the L1?
Honestly, yes.
The team is less good but above all the others are better.
Lille are doing better than the year of their last title.
Lyon and Monaco are also much stronger.
Before, PSG had a great pace and the others were collapsing.
Not this time.
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What image do you have of Pochettino?
I'm going to tell you an anecdote that even he doesn't know: he's the only guy I've supervised in four years when I was in charge of the PSG reserve!
Luis, who was the coach, asks me to supervise a center-back in Spain.
I told him: No, you have a recruiting cell and I have to take care of the reserve.
Finally, I accept.
I arrive in Madrid and I drive three hours to go to a small stadium where he played on the move.
I watched this guy I didn't know for 45 minutes, that was enough for me.
I left again.
I called Luis to tell him:
Go ahead take him with your eyes closed, he's a great player and a boss
.
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PSG-Barcelona (1-1): Pochettino, the rant at half-time that has (almost) changed everything
Do you still think about how PSG dismissed you in 2011 when you were in the lead?
Honestly?
Never again.
All my life, I will be grateful to Paris.
I played there for five years and then I was able to learn my trade by leading the reserve for four years before coming back to coach the team.
Three times, this club trusted me!
And I know the codes of this profession: we are only passing through and the position does not belong to you.
From the start, I knew there would be an end.
Afterwards, I admit a little sorrow: I thought, by being first, to go until the end of the championship ...
So no hard feelings?
No.
Once this is done, you should no longer try to fight.
With Leonardo, once he told me it was over, we settled everything in two hours.
And then at that moment, with everything we were saying around, that I was threatened, that Ancelotti was going to come etc., I was happy that it stopped.
There, it was necessary to go quickly.
Today, many coaches are procedural ...
I also work at recognition.
When I arrive at a club, I warn that when it comes time to separate, it will have to be done quickly.
I like to leave with my head held high and without bitterness.
I have been training for sixteen years and each time, the separations were done in less than two hours, with a frank handshake and no bitterness.
You speak of "recognition
".
What do you mean ?
It all comes from there.
I know what the notion of giving me a job means.
I never had an agent.
Neither as a player, nor as a coach.
Everything is done live.
Each time, it's like an outstretched hand.
Knowing that people think of me every time, it touches me.
Maybe it's cultural, I don't forget where I'm from.
I am still loyal.
At the start of our interview, you didn't want to talk too much about yourself, but about your players.
Why ?
I was on the other side.
The star is not the coach.
The real actors are the players.
We are there to support them, sometimes to call them back on time.
But the bosses are still the players.
It should not be forgotten.
Your management is still caricatured like that of a chief warrant officer.
Does this annoy you?
Frankly, at the beginning yes. What disappoints me is reducing myself to a temper. I am above all an educator. Ask my former players what they think of me. But what can I do about it? Nothing. So, I let it be. I am not at all sensitive to my image. I love my job, really. But not to the point of taking care of it all. Some are sensitive to it. Not me.
