France Bleu Gironde: What to do or not to do to attack this Ligue 2 season?
Xavier Giraudon: First of all, we must not wipe the slate clean of everything that has been done because I may surprise some people, but when we see the great weakness, the lack of character of the Girondins and the fact that at the arrival to an equalizer from Jimmy Briand on penalty in Nantes, you were still alive on the last day, I tell myself that you still have to keep a framework with young players, experienced players. Is it above all necessary to recreate a dynamic? You have to be able to create something, so you need veterans, including at the goalkeeper position? We must strengthen the workforce, but sparingly, with intelligence and find the mentor, the coach who can put Bordeaux in the right direction.
In 91/92 the stadium was very crowded, will the public have a role to play?
It is necessary that the supporters and I believe the Ultramarines have already done it, say yes, it will be hard, but if we do not go back this year, maybe it will never be or not before 20 years. It is also necessary that the Aquitaine, the Périgourdins, the Landais, the Basques want to come and see Bordeaux, perhaps sometimes to see the opponent, because it will be a Bordeaux Saint-Etienne. And for Bordeaux to become a feared club again, it must first be a respectable club because it is when you are respectable that you are respected throughout Aquitaine, and it is from that moment there that Bordeaux will become a possibility for the children, why not put my youngster with the Girondins, because there is a window to play in the first team. Well, that’s when Bordeaux will be able to take off again. It is played now, in the weeks to come and of course on the financial side.
We talked a lot about a Gérard Lopez bashing, could that be the case during the passage in front of the DNCG?
First, I hope they’ll be ready because you know, if they’re not ready, if the project isn’t well-crafted, beyond the money, of course, who will be the nerf of the war, it will not pass. I do not believe that there is a desire, a will of the DNCG in quotation marks, to pay Bordeaux or Gérard Lopez. Whether there are friendships or enmities in football, it exists. But then there is a logic. We remind you that this is a commission of experts which is not there to please, but whose logic is to say, I am going to study the finances, the debt, the money that is on the table, the restructuring . You have to do everything to balance it.
Which means that a lot of players will have to be sold?
We know that Tchouameni and Koundé will bring back, we hope, around 20 million euros, we have to sell Hwang, Elis, Oudin and Maja. I think that with Elis and Hwang, we will still be between 15 and 20 million. We need, I think, at least at least 45 million transfers at a minimum. And then afterwards, you need these 20 million. And what is this 20 million? It is also perhaps a desire of Fortress, to know if Gérard Lopez is capable, on his behalf, of handing over 20 million of money, cash. We must both work on the debt, of course the staggering of the rents of the stadium, I believe that it is being done between people of good company, with both elected officials from all sides and the club scapular to try to find how to structure itself. And then, the only question is: will it be with Gérard Lopez? Today, it is sure that yes, he wants it. But what will be the DNCG’s decision on D-2?
In the end, what could be the scenario of June 14?
Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised, for example, if Bordeaux were demoted as a precaution, pending other pieces, which wouldn’t be catastrophic. It would mean a delay to prepare an even more robust file and try to stay in Ligue two. But once again, the fight that will happen there on June 14 is the future of the club. This is the future of FC Girondins de Bordeaux, you shouldn’t miss this one. It is the most important of the year.