The Hatem Ben Arfa / Jean-Louis Gasset couple is expected at the Girondins.
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N. TUCAT M.FEDOUACH - / AFP
The Girondins de Bordeaux travel to Marseille this Saturday (9 p.m.) on the occasion of the 7th day of Ligue 1.
Arrived ten days ago, Hatem Ben Arfa will be traveling.
Good news for Jean-Louis Gasset who relies heavily on him.
The team between the two men gives rise to many hopes.
20 Minutes
explains why.
In life, you have to know not to lie to yourself in order to move forward.
Even if it can hurt.
The supporters of the Navy and White sometimes have a hard time with this.
Yes, 2010 is far away.
So if "Bordeaux remains a historic club, a great name in the championship with many great players, a story" for Hatem Ben Arfa, we must immediately be clear: the striker did not join the southwest for the beautiful eyes of the Girondins.
No, he came for those of Jean-Louis Gasset.
It must be said that the latter has worked hard to attract the ex-prodigy of French football.
After a few flirtations, the new Bordeaux coach made him a beautiful declaration of love a few weeks ago: “Hatem Ben Arfa, he's a football genius!
Sweet words he must have heard many times in his career.
Except that this does not come from just anyone.
Gasset hit the nail on the head.
Girondins de Bordeaux: Containment, Covid-19, sporting summer… Why is Hatem Ben Arfa this time already ready to play again?
https://t.co/ZlniWqNSng via @ 20minutesBord pic.twitter.com/we3SmFNnhs
- 20minutesbordeaux (@ 20minutesbord) October 8, 2020
But to believe the player, there was no need for that: “As soon as I saw that the coach was Jean-Louis Gasset, it made me want to come.
I really like the way he plays his teams.
He is carried on the offensive, he likes to create the game, the excess.
And as a man, I knew him in the France team (2010-2012) where I felt good energy.
He's still a coach with a lot of values.
I really like his philosophy.
"
Papa Gasset knows how to do it
We are therefore witnessing a real love at first sight in the corridors of the castle of Haillan even if the former deputy of Laurent Blanc "had to fight with the club to the end" to repatriate HBA in Gironde.
Among the witnesses of this union, Olivier Létang has a good place.
He has known the two men well for many years.
The former president of Stade Rennais sees today "a beautiful marriage" between them:
“I think they are completely compatible and here I am not speaking on the technical or tactical level but on the human aspect.
For me, they are simply made to work together.
"
Moreover, the French leader did not hesitate to say all the good he thought of Jean-Louis Gasset to Hatem Ben Arfa during an interview in early September or to exchange regularly with the Bordeaux coach on the management of the player. daily.
⚽️ On D-2 of the trip to @ OM_Officiel, all @girondins players tested negative for COVID-19.
In contrast, the club hated three new cases in their women's team @FCGBWomen who are playing Issy this Saturday.
#Bordeaux #Girondins #FCGB
- Clement Carpentier (@clementcarpet) October 15, 2020
The latter hopes to regain the relationship of his time in Nice with Claude Puel who "had totally taken him under his wing" for a year, recalls a player from the Aiglons.
“The paternal side of Jean-Louis [Gasset] is a real asset!
He is very human and it is essential for the player, ”explains a member of the Girondins staff.
Papa Gasset will have to pamper his "new technical leader" to see him express himself at his best level as during the 2015-2016 season on the Côte d'Azur (17 goals and 6 assists in 34 games).
“He needs to be in a world of trust.
He is a sincere person, very endearing and unfiltered, he always says what he thinks.
He hates when you lie to him or betray him.
On that side, there is no risk with Jean-Louis [Gasset] and I told Hatem [Ben Arfa] ”, insists Olivier Létang.
For once, it is true that the language of wood, it is not really the hobby of the man with the cap.
A unique status in the field
If the two men seem made to get along well, it must still be felt on the ground.
This is the biggest challenge.
In Nice, “Puel was smart to build the team around Ben Arfa.
He was a real free spirit and even if he spoiled, missed or was less involved defensively, no guy on the pitch was angry with him because as soon as he had the ball, he was capable of anything, ”recalls his ex - teammate.
And today, Gasset may refuse to see him as “his key player” out of respect for his group, he is already ready to give him all the space he needs to make him shine.
From this Saturday (9 p.m.) in Marseille.
Because if his team is solid (best defense in Ligue 1), it is very slow in front.
Not really to the taste of a coach known to play well in his teams.
For Olivier Létang, “football is a team sport with a project to which all players must adhere.
Part of the job for his coach is to make other players understand and accept that one of them may have a little more freedom for the benefit of the team.
It's always a question of balance.
Players will perhaps work a little more for a player who will be decisive but Jean-Louis (Gasset) will succeed, he knows how to do it ”.
He can also count on a healthy and intelligent group, which has kept the Bordeaux ship afloat for two years, to achieve this.
The facts remain because, as someone close to the team rightly says, “we did not play any match with him and we will have to see what happens in the medium term when players like De Préville, Kalu… may have to get out of there. 'team or Ben Arfa himself'.
For the moment, everything is beautiful, everything is rosy and the honeymoon promises to be beautiful.
But be careful with Hatem Ben Arfa, you always have to be careful.
Even with a very caring Gasset.
Divorce quickly happened and lawyers never far away.
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Girondins de Bordeaux: Containment, Covid-19, sporting summer… Why is Hatem Ben Arfa this time already ready to play again?
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