“The Champions League is possible”

Top 5 at the break and record points for 10 years?

I’m not too focused on that, more on the game itself. Often, when we look at the total aspect and the situation, we start to ask ourselves too many questions. It’s tight: we lose a match, we go down two places, we win one, we go up three. You don’t have to think about it. We only have to think about this match against Angers. You have to stay humble, calm. And each match, take it as a new project, a new experience. You shouldn’t think you’re too good-looking. You have to know that you are confident, keep it and show it.

The influence of Téji Savanier and Mamadou Sakho

They talk a lot. If they give positive reviews, and that’s very important in football, Even if sometimes you don’t like to hear that you made a mistake, what they tell you is the truth. This is what will make you better. As soon as they tell you, you know that if you do it next time, it will be better. Sometimes they don’t tell you to do something, they explain the situation to you, you think for yourself and you find the solution on your own. Its very important. It’s not just Téji and Mamadou, there are also Valère Germain and Jordan Ferri. These are players who have a lot of experience in Ligue 1. And when they tell you something, you know it’s positive, that it’s done to help you progress. So obviously, you progress as soon as you listen.

Nicholas Gioacchini aims to stay in Montpellier © AFP
Pascal Guyot

The second part of the season?

Personally, I hope we can aim for the Champions League. Yes, it’s amazing and maybe it would be an achievement. But we are aiming for the Champions League. We know that there are big clubs ahead, PSG, Marseille. We are close to it. So inevitably, I say to myself: you never know. Football is funny, sometimes weird, there are situations that you don’t expect. We aim as high as possible, and I find that the Champions League is possible. It is perseverance that will ensure that we can give ourselves the opportunity to do so. It is trust and work.

Personal goal and expected first goal

I’m very happy to play more and more, but I would like to be more decisive. I’m still a striker, we expect a lot from forwards, and two things in particular: scoring and assists. Rather to score, moreover, than to make assists. I’m working on it and I hope that by the end of the season, I will have shown progress, that I will be more efficient. I think what I lack is comfort. I’m still too stuck. But that is a matter of time.

The option to buy in the head?

This is something I have in mind, which maybe blocked me a bit at the beginning. I told myself that I had to do this, that I do that. You start to think … but I realized that you shouldn’t! In fact, if it doesn’t work out here, that’s okay. I will have done what I could do. It will mean that this was not the place for me. Although, of course, I hope it will be the place for me, the club for me (laughs). But it comes back to my performance, my statistics, my desire to progress. I already consider myself part of the club. Even if I am still under contract with Caen, I am from Montpellier. It’s my mentality. I know the players better and better, on and off the pitch, which helps me in terms of confidence. And this option to buy, I still think about it. But it’s much rarer than when I arrived.


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