Zapping Goal! Football club ASSE: satisfaction, disappointment … the first assessment of the Greens’ season
Goal ! : Lubomir, what become of you?
Lubomir MORAVCIK: I am very well. I live in Nitra. It’s my city. I was born there. I have my relatives here. These are my roots.
Do you still have a job at FC Nitra?
No. Not at this time. I was the leader and responsible for training. But when the new buyers arrived, the Ukrainians, they fired me. There, they left. But it is difficult. There are debts. When it’s like that, under these conditions, it’s hard to have an interesting project, to move the club forward. I am better at home, quiet.
Do you happen to play soccer a little longer?
No. It has been a long time. I was playing five-a-side football with some friends but lately my knee hurt. I have a problem with the meniscus so I preferred to stop. I took up golf about 15 years ago and I play it a lot. I love this sport. We meet up with our friends, we play and we have a drink. It’s nice. In addition, I have made good progress. I have a good level now for an amateur.
You left very good memories in Saint-Etienne. For many supporters, you are one of the best players of the post-Epic des Verts, maybe even the best …
How nice. When I come back to Saint-Etienne, people make me understand that they haven’t forgotten me and it’s very pleasant. I was named Ambassador of the club even though we didn’t win a single title when I was there. It is an honour for me. A beautiful proof of recognition. But I would have preferred to offer ASSE a title, allow the club to add a line or two to its record. Or at least to find the European Cup.
“The biggest mistake, in my opinion, was Sylvain Kastendeuch. It was a monumental mistake to fire him ”
What did he miss for that?
I think we missed the boat in the 3rd year. The club was progressing little by little. André Laurent was doing a good job, without too many resources. But Casino fired him to replace him with Yves Guichard, with Jean-Michel Larqué. The project was meant to be ambitious, but it didn’t work.
For what reasons ?
The biggest mistake, in my opinion, was Sylvain Kastendeuch. It was a monumental mistake to fire him. We had just had a good season. We were not far from finding Europe. We narrowly missed qualifying for the Coupe de France final and we had the best defense in the championship. There was Kastendeuch, Cyprien. It worked well. But the club bought Laurent Blanc and he decided to fire Kastendeuch to put him in his place. Even though Blanc was a great player, the team suffered a lot from Sylvain’s departure. It was he who held the defense. He was the captain and he was humanely appreciated. I remember the day I found out the club had ruled him out. I was coming back from vacation. He was not there and I asked why he was absent. When I was told he was training outside the group, I couldn’t believe it. It was not logical and very unfair. It broke something in the group. The mood was different afterwards.
At that time, Laurent Blanc was not yet really a central defender, he was rather playing in the middle …
But yes ! He started playing libero with us and the rest of his career proved him right since he was world champion playing in defense. But if he had played in the middle with us, can you imagine the team we would have had? With Bell, Kastendeuch, Cyprien, Cuervo, Deguerville, Moreau, Gros in defense. In the middle, Despeyroux, Passi, Blanc and me. Piotr Swierczewski too. And in front, Camara, Mendy, Wohlfarth. We would have broken everything!
Do you have a grudge against the leaders of the time, perhaps Jean-Michel Larqué?
No no. Jean-Michel, I appreciate it. He is nice. He knows football by heart. He was a great player in the heyday of Saint-Etienne and a great journalist. He did not succeed. Too bad. But I don’t blame him, no. It’s like that !
PS: Find a second extract of the interview with Lubomir Moravcik tomorrow Friday at 6 am on our site