- Author of a dumpling at the start of the match, Yohann Pelé signed two crucial stops during the shots on goal against Trélissac, this Sunday, in the 32nd finals of the Coupe de France.
- The OM substitute goalkeeper had prepared this exercise very well, with the help of André Villas-Boas assistant Ricardo Carvalho.
From our special correspondent in Limoges,
"I don't know if we'll be on time at the airport!" "Little pressure, this Sunday evening, among the staff of OM. The Marseillais, second in Ligue 1, had not planned a penalty shootout against the players of Trélissac, who are trying to stay in National 2 (fourth division). But "the Albatross" sometimes takes off late. At the 21st second of this Trélissac-OM, Yohann Pelé expected everything, except for a back pass from Bouna Sarr
"We told ourselves that we shouldn't play backwards because the terrain was complicated and that's exactly what we do on the first action," said the goalkeeper. The replacement for Steve Mandanda, left to rest in Marseille, recognizes his wrongs: “The trajectory of the ball, with rebounds, is a bit odd. But I should have done something else. Countered by the buttocks of Aboulaye Diaby, his release ended in his nets.
"We made a list"
In the 120 minutes that followed, only two other balls landed in the same spot, despite a penalty shootout. "Yo saved us," says Valère Germain. He was decisive in this exercise, as against Metz. "Entered during the game after the injury of Steve Mandanda, Pelé had slept well on a peno Lorrain Diallo. He was even more impressive in the exercise this Sunday, since he stopped two shots and dived on the right side in three of the four Périgord attempts.
His secret? A choreography, close to the Macarena , performed by Ricardo Carvalho, assistant to André Villas-Boas. We were too far to know if he was humming "I put my finger in front" between each shot. But here is what we saw: Carvalho placed his back to Pelé and stretched out his arm either to the right or to the left, depending on the habits of the Trélissac shooters. "We had a bit of information about their penalties and we made a list of them," said Villas-Boas.
Ricardo Carvalho man of the match. We have all seen this gesture. #TFCOM #TeamOM pic.twitter.com/PfLmafsDDj
- OM_Fada (@OM_Fadaaaaa) January 5, 2020But Pelé didn't have a cheat sheet on his flask, as Jordan Pickford used to do, for example. Hence the great gestures of Carvalho, rather effective: "I didn't see the shooter's number but we managed to communicate well," smiles Pelé. Was his job pre-chewed? "I only had to dive on the indicated side," slips the modest goalkeeper.
"Yo's influence is decisive," assures coach André Villas-Boas, who believes that Pelé perfectly read, during this crucial session, "the position of the players and their way of striking the ball". Without his "Albatros", OM would have been the victim of a humiliating crash from the 32nd finals of the Coupe de France.
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