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What was your state of mind after you officially announced your departure? I had known this for ten days. I had coach Grange and coach Puel on the phone who told me that they did not want to renew my contract and that I now had to stand on my own two feet. I’m nostalgic in the sense that it’s a club that gave me everything. I arrived at my 18 and a half, a little late. From the age of 16, I no longer believed in it at all. Being professional was no longer a goal, it fell on me like that. It’s a bit like leaving my mom and dad. The players who make five years in a club, it is long. I got attached to the club, to the people, to the supporters, to my teammates. When I look back, I wouldn’t change anything. It’s really great what happened to me. I have known some great people. When you were at the end of the contract in June, were you preparing for this departure? I was preparing in the sense that the prospects of playing were complicated. There are two monsters in front that are super strong. I didn’t have the level to pass them. I think that to play in a Ligue 1 club, especially in a top 6, it’s very complicated at 21-22-23 years old. I haven’t played too many games in recent seasons. I have to go play, shake my hand. Especially since experience means a lot to us goalkeepers. Today is what I miss. I took everything I had to take in Sainté. I filled my backpack, thank you to Saint-Etienne, now I’m going to use it elsewhere. Do you have a particular souvenir under this green jersey? It’s complicated! The five years have been intense. The first year, I’m in U19, I just arrived, we finish champions of our pool and we play the semi-final against PSG. The second, we stay on the last day against Cournon. The third, we climb from N3 with coach Batlles. The fourth, this is my first with the professional group, it’s been an incredible season. And this season, it was certainly more complicated in the league, but we’re going through a cup and we’re going to the final. But if I had to retain only one season, it would be that of the rise in National 2. It is the season where I played the most. Living somewhere on the field and in the stands is completely different. You’ve known a lot of coaches in five years. Some people count more than others when you remember your Saint Etienne adventure? There is Mickaël Dumas, who is the one who brought me here. Mick’s someone special to me. I have her on the phone once a week. When it was a little more complicated for me, even if he left (in 2017, nldr), he always had good advice. It’s important in football to have people telling us the truth, even if sometimes it’s hard to hear. (…) At the level of Coach Grange, I worked with him for five years. I will always carry it in my heart. He always told me the truth. He told me twice that he was not going to keep me and he did not go through four paths. I am a very emotional person, I prefer to be told things directly. There is coach Batlles too. It has made me tremendous progress in human and athletic terms. Same for coach Sablé, who was always attentive and of good advice.
“My goal is to return to Ligue 1 or Ligue 2 one day, to play and meet my teammates on the field” We imagine that you will also miss your teammates? Some in particular? The whole team. The guards already. Even if we are a family in the locker room, the family of the guards is apart. Steph, Jess and Baj’.Stefan is a bit like my little brother. We often talk. Jess too. He played Fréjus when I was a kid. I have known him since because he gave me things in a parking lot. It’s crazy to tell myself that I was sharing my life with a guy I stared into the eyes ten years ago. There are also friends from the training. Mahdi, Arnaud enormously. I’m always with him, we always eat together. And then there is Franck. He arrived this year but we played against when we were little. He was the player we were afraid to face because he was too strong when we were younger (laughs). Next week he will come to my house. Arnaud too. And then there are also the big brothers. Yann, Wahbi, Timothée… What was good in this group, is that you are young or old, that you are 300 games in pros or zero, you were treated the same. This is something that I appreciated. You will keep what memories of the Green People? A mad memory! It is THE stadium in France. When there are 35,000 people, it’s a phew thing. I hope for you that next season will be better than this year. After I say for “you”, but now that I’m not at the club anymore, I’m going to become a bit of a fan like you and I can say us (laughs). The good thing is that it’s the same as in the locker room. Whether it’s 300 games or zero like me, the supporters treat us the same. I put my ad, I got lots of messages from people who didn’t necessarily know me. It really shows that the supporters have a big heart. Before they love football, they love people. And that’s beautiful, I think. A return to the Cauldron? Yes with pleasure. It’s sad that it ends like this. We left each other overnight on a meeting with the coach who planned to come back in a week. In the end, we never came back. It’s sad. Are you fixed on your future? Not yet. With the virus, it takes a little delay. The clubs do not yet know what they are going to count on. I would like Ligue 2 or National. It must be said that it’s early too. It’s only May. I’m not saying it’s going to be all right, but I trust what I’ve been doing for the past five years I am confident in what I have learned, what I have shown with the N2, what I have produced in training. I know where I can play. I will have to find a club that trusts me, that relies on me. I know that if I am given confidence, I will return it a thousand times. I have good hope and confidence in my entourage and my agent. I know I’m going to have to go through the steps below. My goal is to return to Ligue 1 or Ligue 2 one day, to play and meet my teammates on the field. Even if it’s not in a big club like Saint-Etienne.
Good luck Théo!
The Vermot article: “It’s a bit like leaving my mom and dad” first appeared on ASSE-Newsfeed.
https://www.asse-newsfeed.com/2020/05/vermot-cest-un-peu-comme-si-je-quittais-chez-papa-et-maman/