How Bruno Guimaraes returned OL before Juventus

A video candy among others that brightened our confinement, a day when it was necessary to experience time in all its languor even more than usual. One minute and 20 seconds from Bruno Guimaraes who gives love to Parc OL against Juventus, delicious sombrero shot on Juan Cuadrado included. First match in C1 and already a compilation from UEFA, therefore. All precisely 15 days after his first training with Lyon. In follower memory, rarely have a player changed the face of a team so much in such a short time, especially when the team in question plays blind football every other weekend despite the supposed addition of individual talent.

⏪ Throwback to a #UCL debut to remember for Bruno Guimarães!

🇧🇷 @ brunoog97
🔴🔵 @OL_English pic.twitter.com/fHlwXqKxrK

Juninho's promise, Garcia's skepticism

Rewind. Bruno G arrives in Lyon on February 12 after a frenzied negotiation signed Juninho, who wiped his feet on Atletico Madrid in the process. Promise of the Lyon sports director to complete the deal? "A starting place against Juventus in the Champions League, a competition that Bruno has always dreamed of playing," confirms his agent Alexis Malavolta. A promise that only commits Juni, by the way, since even if President Aulas invited his former free-kick hunter to put his nose in the coach's business when he arrived, it is still Rudi Garcia who decides who he lines up next to his sure guy Lucas Tousart in midfield. However, it is an understatement to say that the Lyon coach, busy chaining the matches every three hours, does not show an overwhelming enthusiasm for his new recruit.

First training for @ brunoog97! 💪 pic.twitter.com/D7qtRuJ9bi

“We'll see when he plays. I need to know if he can understand what the role of midfielder requires, through videos, through his training, through discussions with him. The Brazilian championship is not the French championship. »Pay your declaration of love on Valentine's Day. The player has a good reputation, still happy, but Roudi refreshes an audience that suffers from a slightly too noble idea of ​​football, in view of what OL can offer in the heart of winter. No Bruno G against Strasbourg, therefore, for a draw as forgettable as the previous ones.

"We have to explain L1 and the team's game to him"

Then? Then, it is the formidable FC Metz, before the reception of Juve. Rudi Garcia is a little hotter on his Brazilian, but nothing to take off the jacket either. “We will see him shortly. He is technically strong, in the short game, one touch. But you have to explain Ligue 1 and the team's game to him, especially in the defensive aspect. I showed him on video the role I expected from a midfielder. Fans and staff have high expectations when a rookie arrives. But it's always special for a winter transfer window. There is no truth to adaptation. It needs patience. However, internally, the level of understanding of the game of Guimaraes after only a few training sessions with the group impresses his teammates.

🎙 The 3-4-3 system against Metz mentioned by @RudiGarcia.

All reactions after #FCMOL are on 👉 https://t.co/FRDqitq8qk pic.twitter.com/iy18cn2Otd

“As soon as he arrived, everything happened very naturally, insists those around him. Bruno works by challenges and his will to succeed in Europe is very important. He arrived in Lyon with the ambition to take advantage of every opportunity. "The reward comes in Metz, in an unprecedented 3-4-3 that Garcia explains afterwards having put in place to put Bruno G as comfortable as possible" with a lot of support behind him ", a sign that he does not is not yet quite conquered. Moreover, the former coach of Roma hesitates for a long time before launching it from the start against Juventus. During the last set-up, he even exchanges his chasuble with Tiago Mendes, supposed to do the job for which Bruno Guimaraes was recruited, namely to finally give a coherent structure to an often disjointed team on the ground.

As specified in @lequipe, note that Garcia made changes during the installation which seem to reflect 2 hesitations: Terrier in place of Toko-Ekambi and Thiago Mendes in that of Guimaraes. Afterwards, it's hard to imagine that TM goes from 19th in Metz to holder vs Juve https://t.co/rxNzOXB4pz

Sure of himself the day before the meeting

Nevertheless, the former boss of Atletico Paranaense does not doubt for a single moment of his tenure against the Italians. “The day before the match, he was very calm,” breathes Alexis Malavolta. As if he already knew he was going to conquer Europe overnight. The next day, the followers are stunned: 12.5 kilometers covered, 68 balls touched, 7 duels won, 96.4% of successful passes, Bruno G played with the Pjanic-Rabiot-Betancur trio chosen by Maurizio Sarri. So criticized since returning home, Juninho drinks whey:

“He's a youngster who is very well trained, which is rare in Brazil. He has a lot of humility, he always wants to learn. He has the ability to see situations before others. When I arrived in Lyon, I spoke about this position in front of the defense which is very important to balance the team and give rhythm. Bruno has all the qualities to become a great player. Two members of the national team were there to see him and I think he will soon be called up for the first time with the Seleçao. "

The convocation for the month of March is only partly postponed. Six months later, the good vibes are still there. Bruno G has never played more than five games with OL, he was already entitled to special treatment from Lille last winter, and it was he who was often responsible for butchering Neymar in the middle of his crazy companies in the final of the League Cup, like a Casemiro of the great days. Marcelo Dijan in the JDD  : “As sporting director at Cruzeiro, I faced him several times and he was the boss despite his young age, he initiated all the good deeds. It's as if OL had recruited a Juninho 2.0. The two are alike. They are both well surrounded and well educated, and on the pitch they also have the same technique and the same vision. "

1 - Bruno Guimaraes 🇧🇷 against Juventus tonight:

96.4% of successful passes in the opposing half - match record

68 balls touched - 2nd Lyonnais

4 interceptions - match record

7 duels won - 2nd Lyonnais

JogaBonito. # OLJuve pic.twitter .com / PndQcqEG1y

"We can win the Champions League, I trust"

Barely. We also fell from our chair when we heard the boy answer a colleague in impeccable French when Neymar still does not know how to say hello and goodbye. “We took lessons with a Brazilian teacher via Skype every day during the confinement, jokes his agent. For Bruno, it's part of his job to have fluid communication with all club members. You know, he's a very professional athlete, who also takes great care of him off the pitch. His drive to succeed in his career is pretty incredible. "

Three games were enough for him, for example, to understand that he would need to gain muscle to withstand the shock a whole season of L1. "I did tests of strength, of fat mass, I have evolved a lot since February, I had to work on it", specifies the guy in the Team , his first big interview in a French media published this week .

Cinco meses em Lyon, Bruno Guimarães deu sua 1ª entrevista em Francês após o amistoso. Ele aproveitou in quarentena e estudou via Skype todos os dias. Ele tinha receio em não se adaptar ao idioma. Our próximos tuítes, a tradução da entrevista pic.twitter.com/HWwKL5OimM

Interesting interview, by the way. The player's ambition transpires there before returning to Juventus. “We can win the Champions League, I trust. Our collective strength is very good, we can achieve great things. I only think about writing history and being one of the first days to win the Champions League with Lyon, I just want to think about that. "Couillu when you know the OL table even in the event of qualifying" Friday in Turin? To tell the truth, Guimaraes' adaptability has surprised so much, even in Lyon, that one wonders how long the prodigy will take to look elsewhere.

No immediate departure

Assures him that he is where he is - "All of Juninho's promises have come true, that's why everything is going well here", assures his agent - but the Lyon supporters do not have eczema for nothing: Aouar and Depay are announced almost safe starters except intergalactic exploit in C1, and that risks making Bruno G all fun in the fall, when it will be necessary to give cakes to Traoré and Kadewere. Until then we have the right to dream, of course.

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• Juventus turin
• Jean-Michel Aulas
• OL
• Champions League
• Rudi garcia
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