Saturday afternoon, Benjamin Jeannot took part in the celebration of SM Caen on the field of his neighbor Le Havre by scoring the third of his team’s four goals. The Caen striker had not scored since the maintenance penalty against Clermont (2-1) last May.
“A big thank you for all my partners, for the whole club for never giving up, for always believing in me. Me who was waiting to come back, to no longer have any physical problems, to score for the derby is great.
Because it is an understatement to say that Benjamin Jeannot was not spoiled by fate and by his body. Twenty-five months earlier, in this same Océane stadium, he had to leave the field on a stretcher due to a ruptured Achilles tendon. And this season, twice, he had to leave the field injured and twice his knee led him to be operated.
“You start to doubt your physique, but that’s where you have to be really strong mentally and tell yourself that it will pass. I did a lot of reinforcement with the physiotherapists so that it wouldn’t happen again. There you go, when you go home like that, you forget everything. Today, the knees, the Achilles tendons, everything is fine. Nickel (To smile) “
Four successive entries
Over the past six months, Benjamin Jeannot has had to make do with six come-ins, none exceeding twenty-eight minutes. At the origin of the equalizer in Nancy (1-1), decisive passer against Toulouse (4-1) and scorer against Le Havre, the Caen striker shows that the mind is indeed there. And with four successive appearances, he also shows that his coach can count on him in his attacking coaching moves.
“My last three comebacks, I felt good. I was able to bring everything. It’s in continuity. It’s the role of a substitute. It’s a role in its own right. You really have to concentrate, not telling ourselves that we don’t care about the match because we are a substitute. I’ve never been like that. We try to give our all and bring the little extra because we know that we have a role to play.”
My front partners also score. When it’s like that, there’s nothing to say
By becoming the eleventh Caennais to score in the league this season and finally left alone by his body, Benjamin Jeannot will be able to try to come and scratch tenures and push an attacking duo which is running very strong (Fourteen goals for Alexandre Mendy, nine for Nuno DaCosta).
“My front partners also score. When it’s like that, there’s nothing to say. We all work together. There’s great competition. I’m really focused when I’m on the pitch and that’s Most important.”
The return of an efficient Benjamin Jeannot who is at peace with his physical form can only be beneficial in pushing the performance of the incumbents even further.