A cry from the heart. Lilian Laslandes, former striker of the Girondins de Bordeaux (1997-2001 and 2004-2008), does not see the situation of his club well, he is a native of Bordeaux who still lives in the region. 19th in Ligue 1, four points behind Saint-Etienne, play-off, the team is threatened by relegation before its trip to Nantes on Sunday April 24. Champion of France with the Girondins in 1999, the French international scored 70 goals in the navy and white jersey. Now coach of a team in the Médoc, the former player delivered his sadness and anger to franceinfo: sport.
Franceinfo: sport: Five days from the end, the Girondins de Bordeaux are 19th in Ligue 1 and risk relegation. How do you feel about this situation?
Lilian Laslandes: Of fear. The team does not fully master its subject when it plays cleaver matches. We feel that it is not constant: there are irregularities. We are disappointed to see Bordeaux playing the last places. We have a new stadium, the club has been bought several times, promises have been made… We are at an impasse that is difficult to digest.
In 2004-2005, you were then a club player and the Girondins escaped on the last day, against Marseille. Is the situation comparable today?
No, it’s not that at all. That year, we were at the top of the rankings in December (6th in mid-December, editor’s note). We then chained a lot of dummies (20 total), then defeats. There was something else on the mental level, we didn’t play one game out of two or three like today. The executives were also in contact with the supporters. Today, they say they are, but hey… We didn’t take a 6-1, like in Lyon.
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Do you feel the players aware of the danger that awaits them?
We do not know if these players are affected. When we buy new players every year, with loans… Those who are loaned (eight players) may say to themselves: ‘we return to our club if they go down’. When you play hold, you can’t take 6-1. It gives the image of a team that doesn’t care. Where is the pride? Where is the respect for the club?
“Today, the basics are gone. It’s business now.”
Lilian Laslandes, former Bordeaux strikerat franceinfo: sport
Since the sale of the club by M6 in 2018, the latter has had three owners. By force, have the Girondins lost their identity?
We have lost an identity, it is the word “family”. It has always been a family club. These values had never changed, from Giresse to Gourcuff. All the players who came here then bought a house in the area. They said to themselves that there was a communion with the supporters, that we lived well here. And above all, everything was structured at the club.
I am not saying that football should not evolve. But when something works, why change the basics? You see that every year there are problems. M6 did not give the club a gift. They sold the club to the Americans, who arrived with their own institutions. But everything has changed in Bordeaux, it’s not possible!
Do you want President Gérard Lopez and sports director Admar Lopes, in office since July 2021?
The management will have to explain: how does this club work? David Guion (coach appointed in February) cannot revolutionize everything. And anyway, it’s not the coach’s fault: who went to get these players? The president and the sports director. These people bring in players, in connection with the agents.
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I was silent, I was in the direction of the club. Everyone was happy when there was money, but what is the project? The financier, we were introduced to him. But on the ground, we don’t know how it works! They are not football people. A sports director who is not a footballer is out of place. He doesn’t know how it goes in a locker room.
“We copy the big ones, but we are small.”
Lilian Laslandes, former Bordeaux strikerat franceinfo: sport
Since the new internationals Aurélien Tchouaméni and Jules Koundé, sold two years ago, no young person has really emerged in the first team. How to explain it?
The Girondins don’t even think about it. The club must stay at its level. We’re going to look in the big Parisian pool, before seeing young locals. It is no longer done as before, when we recruited young people in Aquitaine. Competent people, like Matthieu (Chalmé, reserve coach) or Rio (Mavuba, U19 team assistant) are there to teach young people. But even at this level, the agents intervene to place their players…
Do you believe that a descent into Ligue 2 could allow the club to start again on a healthier basis?
People go to the stadium hoping not to go down, but you have to think about Ligue 2. I don’t want that. We must also think of young players, who want experience. They need to play in Ligue 1. Ligue 2, we go down there but we don’t know when we will go back up.