Mathilde Johansson is now responsible for the integration division of the Girondins de Bordeaux.

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Q. Salinier / Girondins de Bordeaux

  • Since the end of her career in 2016, Mathilde Johansson has been in charge of the integration department of the Girondins de Bordeaux.

  • She is responsible for welcoming new players to the club and helping them to settle in as best as possible in their new living environment.

    Multifunctional work.

  • The former player must also adapt to the world of football, which is very different from that of tennis.

It's a new life.

But a life as intense as ever.

Far from the planes which transport you in the world from one tournament to another but close to a telephone "which is never switched off and especially not during a transfer window!"

Because it is indeed seven days a week and twenty-four hours a twenty-four that Mathilde Johansson must be available at that time.

The former 59th World at the WTA may no longer run after the little yellow ball in the corridors of the Château du Haillan, but that's not why she doesn't run at all.

On the contrary.

For two years, the one who ended her career as a professional player in 2016 has been responsible for the integration pole at the Girondins de Bordeaux.

A conversion that she was far from imagining when putting away the snowshoes: “It was a little complicated at the start because I didn't know what I was going to do after my career.

I started my tennis coaching diploma which I got but at the same time I also did a skills assessment and it came out that I wanted to study.

It was time for her to "cut the tennis a little" and go back to the school benches.

Family, accommodation, administrative procedures

Head to ESSEC, one of the best French business schools, for training in management and organization management specializing in marketing.

Between two, Mathilde Johansson puts down her suitcases in Bordeaux, "a city that I did not know at all", she admits.

She knocks for the first time on the door of the Girondins in the hope of completing her work-study program at the club because she wishes to stay in sport.

Stéphane Martin, the president at the time, received her but could not respond positively to her request at first.

But this is only a postponement.

Two or three months later, the Girondins call her back to offer her a job:

It's simple, I'm in charge of integrating the players.

I take care of them from the moment they get off the plane.

The biggest part of my job is to introduce them to the city and often find accommodation for the whole family.

"

Mathilde Johansson ended her career in 2016. - DOMINIQUE FAGET / AFP

That's the tip of the iceberg.

"It's a very busy job, you are always on the alert and there is also a very large administrative part, especially with foreigners, it's a lot of work," admits one of her colleagues.

A player in the squad recognizes for his part "often calling on Mathilde Johansson for him and his family, her work is very important for us, she helps us enormously for the papers".

However, this position exists very little in France compared to other countries.

Only PSG and OL offer this help for players and their families.

The world of football "lacks a little humanity"

“This contact with the players and their relatives” or “this possibility of meeting new people, new cultures”, Mathilde Johansson particularly likes.

On the other hand, adapting to the world of football is not easy: “I am discovering football culture which is a little different from that of tennis.

I realized how great the players are.

They are carried from one club to another, they do not necessarily have a say and I find it super hard.

It lacks a bit of humanity and that's where it's good to have someone help them at the start.

"

Even every day because you don't have to lie to yourself, the former player's phone continues to ring fine after installation.

And that's why "you also have to know how to say no sometimes", recalls her colleague.

Not obvious but necessary to finally have a little respite.

And why not go hit the little yellow ball at the Villa Primrose for the one who has just taken a license in the Bordeaux club.

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