Daniel Riolo sharply criticized ASSE goalkeeper Stéphane Ruffier in an interview with Goal. The Saint-Etienne doorman was dismissed by Claude Puel this summer.
“Ruffier, I always thought more bad than good. I was never a fan. Even back in Galtier’s days, when he was in top form. I found him in his world. He had created a bubble with his trainer. He required to play low block and we saw that only his person interested him, his statistics. He had good seasons, we can’t deny that. On his line, he has always been very good. But he’s not a modern goalkeeper: he doesn’t come out of his six yards, he doesn’t have a raise. He does not fit into the collective. He is very selfish. Puel found that it couldn’t last like this. He wanted to change the face of the team and that required a change of goalkeeper. Sportingly, the change was justified, but Ruffier did not accept being sidelined. He has a very high opinion of himself, but yet he’s been at Saint-Étienne for nine or ten years and he’s never been asked. “