A big piece on the menu for the TFC this Friday evening: a trip to Lens. The Toulousains face the northerners, second in league 1: the Lensois are dolphins of PSG. The TFC is 10th in the championship. A match inside the bubbling Bollaert stadium which will have a special taste for Michaël Debève, the assistant coach of Phillippe Montanier. He spent eight years at RC Lens as a player. A club legend: blood and gold fans still remember his goal which allowed Lens to win against Arsenal in the Champions League in 1998. He confided in France Bleu Occitanie a few hours before kick-off.
It’s a bit of a special trip: you’re going to play for Lens, a club you know very well from having played there. In what state of mind are you a few hours before kick-off?
It’s always a pleasure for me to come back to Lens and to the Bollaert stadium. I still spent ten years of my life there. Eight years as a player and two years as assistant coach of Philippe Montanier. This is the referent club of my region, the Hauts-de-France, since I am Picard. Bmany members of my family are big supporters of Lens and are subscribers. They often travel for matches, so it’s always special for me to come back to my land.
When you come back there, are you recognized, are you stopped in the street? You are one of the legends of the club…
Yes, for having had a long career there, and for having scored an important goal in the European Cup, against Arsenal in the Champions League. And it’s true that everywhere in France, people remember me for that. It happened to me abroad, in really unlikely places, to come across Lensois. I was a player appreciated by the supporters: they remember it and they give it back to me. I have always been close to the supporters, I was someone who gave a lot on the pitch, as they say over there, I wet the jersey. So I was a popular player. I still have Louisette who regularly sends me messages and who also has my wife’s number: she is the emblematic supporter of RC Lens.
What atmosphere are you expecting on Friday night?
Has a very big atmosphere: the stadium has been full since the start of the season. For those who don’t know this atmosphere, it’s an audience that is very warm and that is fully behind its team, even in difficult passages. We still have a fairly young squad, I think they will be surprised by this atmosphere. All the players who play there remember that. When this public begins to encourage you or to whistle at you, we hear it. It sucks, really. And that’s really what comes out of those moments.
Did you know the Olivier Sadran era with tensions between the club’s management and some of the supporters? Has the club changed?
Even under the Sadran era, there have always been supporters who pushed, who encouraged their team. But it’s true that since the renewal with the new president, the public who is a little more loyal, it is perhaps more regional. There are a lot more people coming to the stadium and it’s really a good-natured atmosphere. At each game, they are there, they are present and push us : something is really happening. The new management managed to create that little extra something to make people come back to the stadium, feel good and come cheer on their team. I think we are gaining supporters. I think that the game that is offered by the team and by the players who give a lot on the pitch has something to do with it. I think it will take a little longer for the stadium to be full. But that will come over time. But we see that little by little, the public returns to the Stadium.