His speeches are rather rare in the media. Fabien Barthez, who lives his retirement as a professional footballer in the agglomeration of Toulouse, prefers to remain discreet. But when France Bleu asked him to speak about the rise of his training club in Ligue 1, he did not hesitate for a moment.
A long interview, during which the 1998 world champion reveals his love for TFC and his region. Fabien Barthez started football in the Lavelanet club in Ariège, before joining Toulouse in 1986 to make his professional debut four years later. The emblematic goalkeeper of OM, also passed by Monaco, Manchester United and Nantes, had “got” last season to accompany the goalkeepers of Tef ‘. It is in Toulouse and in Occitanie that he flourishes. He was at the Stadium on Monday evening… happy…
France Bleu Occitanie: Fabien Barthez, how did you experience this Monday evening?
Fabien Barthez: I have several cards! We will say everything that is Ariège, Tarn, etc. all that, Midi-Pyrenees finally… We are all supporters of Téfécé obviously. This emotion is what sport and football bring, we are looking for emotions and that is what we have found. This is what we found last night and throughout the season too. It’s true that the whole season has been made up of happiness, good emotions. This is what we are looking for above all.
FBO: What is that due to? For you, it’s the president, it’s the workforce, it’s the data?
FB: It’s a whole. Already, Téfécé had lost its identity for ten years. The Téfécé no longer had an identity. For ten years, the management did what had to be done, but hey… Téfécé had become a club that didn’t stick.
FBO: But then, what is the identity of Téfécé for you?
FB: The identity of Téfécé is the club of a region. You have on one side Bordeaux, on the other side Montpellier. In the middle, you have Toulouse. We are still a sports region. You take football, you take rugby or take handball. So I’m not surprised to see what I’ve seen lately. The Stadium, we can fill it.
FBOs: We no longer believed in that. Finally, we said that football in Toulouse, would it no longer work?
FB: Ah yes, but I still believed in it. I have always believed in it. When you have passionate people at the head of the club, it can work.
FBO: You say “we” Fabien Barthez about the TFC, does that mean that it’s a part of you that goes up in Ligue 1?
FB: Yes I was trained here. I’m from here. Yes, that’s it, I’m from Ariège, but the people of Toulouse are from Tarn et Garonne, Ariège, Gers. Well, we’re all from the region. I was trained in Toulouse, I’ve been living in Toulouse since I stopped my career. The day after my last match, I was in Toulouse and since then I haven’t moved. So I’m home.
FBO: When we won a World Cup final like you, won a Champions League final, what makes this magic that you experienced last night?
FB: What makes this magic? That’s life, that’s group life, that’s club life. I can go through good times, through bad times. Here, during these two seasons, since Damien Comolli took the reins, the emotional lift was still quite high. So when we have the final whistle like yesterday, all that goes through your head.
FBO: Was it a good thing for you that the public invaded the pitch?
FB: Of course!!! I speak to you as a pure footballer. The most important thing is that there was no incident. But everyone had to share that. It is an exceptional communion between the players and the public. That’s football, that’s what makes you vibrate.
FBO: And a city, a big city in France, shines with its football club, in addition to rugby!!?
FB: It’s obvious. It’s much better. I am very close, very close to Stade Toulousain. I love rugby. In Toulouse, we have both.
FBO: Besides, is there a rapprochement between the two clubs and something quite natural that is happening?
FB: Yes, it happens naturally. You already have at the head of the two clubs men who know where they are going. There are young people who want it. Who will make them grow. For me, it’s called humility. You need a lot of humility in top-level sport and so we share these ideas.
FBO: You have practiced these players closely, by doing some freelancing with the goalkeepers. This generation of mixed, young players, pitchouns, foreigners, this carefree generation, what inspires you?
FB: I don’t call that a carefree generation. Football has always been a mixture. There are young people, there are foreign players arriving. We, the footballers, the sportsmen and the footballers, it is on the ground that we find ourselves. In each area, you have a president, you have a coach and it is they who have created this osmosis, who have created these links and who give this result. So we have to say hats off to Damien and Philippe (note: Comolli and Montanier, President and coach of the TFC).
FBO: The hardest part begins. Maintaining in Ligue 1.
FB: Ah yes, it is sure that afterwards you move on to reality. It has absolutely nothing to do with it. There are so many settings. But above all, it goes through this. It takes a lot of fun. Remove the negative from your head, remove the prejudices, don’t be afraid to come back down to precisely enjoy and have fun.