Alain Giresse on the Girondins: "Everything has deteriorated in Bordeaux"

Colin Abgrall 7:58 p.m., February 27, 2022, amended at 8:04 p.m., February 27, 2022

INTERVIEW

Former glory of the Girondins de Bordeaux and top scorer in the history of the club (181 goals in 592 games), Alain Giresse confided exclusively to

.

The 69-year-old coach goes back at length on the situation of his lifelong club, which is having one of its worst seasons in its history in the Elite, on the France team, of which he could have become the coach, but also on his new team, Kosovo.

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The situation of Bordeaux: "This club has lost all its aura"

“We never thought we would ever talk about Bordeaux in these conditions. It started last season, we almost lost the club. It was caught at the last moment to continue to exist. Now that it is starting this season, we are can see how very complicated, very difficult it is on a sporting level.The repercussions have not given Bordeaux the possibility of being able to build a team of sufficient level to be able to compete in a championship under normal conditions. And we see that now we're suffering in Bordeaux, we're worried because it's going downhill and we wonder where it's going to end, but beyond the sporting part, everything has deteriorated.

Everything has deteriorated in Bordeaux.

This club has lost all its aura, all its popularity.

All of his regional local relationships, it all fell apart.

And today, we know very well that it is done quickly, but to rebuild, it will be difficult.

Today, we ask ourselves a lot of questions and as far as I'm concerned, I'm worried because it's something I never imagined.

That is to say, we don't have the impression that there is anything that can stop this negative spiral.

The more it goes, the less it goes.

A transfer window has just passed and we have renewed the players.

It's true that around, there are other teams that have the same rhythm as the Girondins, but by dint of saying that, we will still have to get by.

We must not always stay there hanging out with these teams and we do not see what is the lever that can allow us to get out of it.

It's not pessimism, but it's a form of reality, of objectivity, of the situation."

Who is to blame?

“On all levels, there has been destruction”

"We are not going to rewrite history, but when you have investment funds like the Americans, who have just taken over this club, it does not have the stadium and the technical center, it only had a workforce which was not of great value. And then, all of a sudden, these people built, organized this club on the sporting level by doing anything, by bringing in people who were more concerned by their personal situations than to really work for a club, to perpetuate it. They didn't last. All that had to be changed.

And afterwards, on the administrative level as well, it deteriorated.

We started to want to change the logo and there was the confrontation with the supporters.

On all counts, there has been destruction.

There you go, the legacy is there.

When Gérard Lopez took over this club, he was faced with a difficult financial situation to discuss.

He took over the club with all the debt behind it.

So he was able to get financial help to be able to take it back.

And sportingly, the repercussions are there and we realize that we have misjudged what the first division could be.

The French championship is sometimes not very attractive in terms of matches, but it is difficult.

The best example we can give is Lionel Messi who, beyond perhaps his adaptation, is still surprised at what he faces every weekend with teams that are not easy to handle.

And the Girondins have players who have come but who are below what we could hope for to be able to at least play the mid-table, which would be a good thing.

How to help Bordeaux: "Arriving with a magic wand doesn't exist"

“I was always available. I met all the buyers. There were several buyers. I discussed these possibilities with each other. the one who took over the club, but it works in particular to save a team. But there is a whole club behind. I was talking about that to give back to the Girondins what they were, that is to say a club unity . Yes, I'm here, but today, arriving like that with a magic wand, it doesn't exist. It's very difficult today to know what the key is."

Giresse, coach of the Girondins?

“It would have scratched or scratched my image”

"That's something I've always mentioned. I said to myself, once my career was over, that it would be nice for me to be on the Girondins bench. I said no. What is it? what can happen? That I get kicked out of the Girondins. I think that would have scratched or flayed my story. Somewhere, it leaves traces and Jean Tigana knew that. He had a great story and he was fired.

I think that I could, in relation to any coordination that there could be, create a unity, bridges, links which make the functioning of a club.

It could be done.

But hey, that's not the case.

A descent into the second division could be the death of the club.

But today, what am I going to do in a situation as it is today?

Indeed, we are more in the direction of the wall than in the direction of a situation that will relieve everyone.

But it's deeper than that."

Why not call on the old glories?

"Former player, it's not a function, it's a status"

"On that, I am very careful. I will always remember that being a former player is not a function, it's a status. So claiming the possibility, yes, but you have to have the skill and the expertise to be able to bring to the club what it needs to function. And I positioned myself for that, in this form of coordinator to create a whole unit. Today, the club is fragmented. There are not many links between team one and all of its staff and roster. But I know there are a lot of alumni who have come forward, who have spoken, etc. But be careful, these are words. I know very well talking is one thing, doing is another and it's not that simple."

Alain Giresse, coach of the France team in 1998?

"Yes, I was asked"

"It should be noted that Aimé Jacquet had decided to stop no matter what. World champion or not world champion. Good for him and for us, they were world champions. Yes, I was told asked. Indeed, we had a discussion (with Noël Le Graët). The president said to me 'Tell me, yes'. I thanked him, of course, and I said that I still felt too young to spend the course of a selection. However, I knew. I know what a coach is, how it should work.

That it is no longer everyday, but that it is intermittent, etc.

It's history.

So you're going to tell me do you regret?

Regrets are useless, except to turn your head upside down.

It's like that.

I think it's demeaning for what we did afterwards.

I did other things that really filled me with satisfaction.

Noël Le Graët, I thank him for his approach, which is touching.

But hey, I made that decision.

We can redo history, it would be useless.

It's beautiful moments to talk about, but it stops there."

On Senegal's CAN victory: "I was very touched"

"She made me happy. I always left the selections without ever leaving ruins once I left. When I finished my contract with Senegal, I told the president not to offer me a contract again. There were really too many problems with the media who teased me, who sought me out, etc. And this team, I built it. I find myself with Tunisia. And in 2019, as is often the case , every time I changed countries, I found myself facing a country that I had managed. And there, I found myself in the Tunisia-Senegal semi-final (during the CAN 2019).

We are playing a very good match, we are on the verge of passing and at the end, at the press conference, we are the two coaches side by side.

Aliou Cissé (Senegal coach) takes the floor and says 'I dedicate this final to Alain'.

I was very surprised because he was the one who built this team and he set it up when I left.

I was very touched and it was the reality.

Besides, I kept very good relations with the president of the Federation (Augustin Senghor), with Aliou.

During this AFCON we talked about the start of the competition where it was difficult for Senegal.

I said to Aliou: 'Don't worry, it's long, you have to go.'

That's why I'm happy he won and happy for all these players, Sadio (Mané), Idrissa Gueye.

Violence in stadiums: "Raise the cursor on the measures to be taken"

"The supporters are essential, it's obvious. They only live in relation to their club. The club needs all this support. It's obvious. But afterwards, we have to avoid things getting out of hand as it is the case at present, we cannot go beyond. Why this violence? It is a violence of society. We find it in other areas. When there are demonstrations to demand things, we realize that it also drifts, with the shops being ransacked, etc. The public authorities have to take firm decisions.

We cannot afford that football and stadiums have become places where we are confronted with this violence.

It's easy to say and to regret, but I think the cursor needs to be raised on the measures to be taken.

I believe that there are ways that have been demonstrated in other countries to eradicate all that.

I think stadium bans should be multiplied not for two games, but really in a firm and long-term way to eliminate all those who come to the stadium to break and not to support.

On Euro 2020: "Easier to arrive than to maintain"

"You should know that in sport, it is easier to arrive than to maintain yourself. It's obvious. We are world champions and we are going to play for a euro. Except that unconsciously, when you are world champion, you have another perception of the competition, you feel comfortable, but all that is not wanted. It's unconscious. A form of ease. Everything that we put into a World Cup to be able to be world champion, we forget it a little.

We have a form of relaxation from everyone.

We see what Didier Deschamps was able to do.

He understood all that with the League of Nations and there was a questioning of everyone.

The players understood that it was not enough to have the star of world champion to win matches, but that it had to be demonstrated by deeds.

The ideal successor to Deschamps?

“We are in an implacable logic”

"Zinedine (Zidane) shows up, but there too, it's up to him. There are so many parameters that come into play. Is Zinedine going to start on a club by then? If Didier stops and that Zinédine resumes, we are in an implacable logic. Nobody will jump.

On his arrival in Kosovo: "I wanted to be in the action"

"These are the circumstances and these are the opportunities. I know Kosovo. I had already visited this country when I was Senegal coach. I made contact with football officials there. It turns out that contacted me and that I wanted to be in the action, in the activity. It was done quickly, simply, I signed up with Kosovo for two years. Everyone expects results are obvious. But you should know that this national team has only existed for six years. We must continue to create a team, with young players who are beginning to toughen up.

It's a construction job and with the League of Nations coming up (from June 2 to September 27), we have to progress.

I have been in countries in Africa and in particular in Gabon (coach between 2006 and 2010) where I found somewhat the same conditions.

You have to undertake, prepare, sportingly structure a selection.

It's a mode of operation that I like.

We are helped, there are difficult times, but I have always found myself in this kind of mission.