Zapping Goal! Football club ASSE: the complete list of the Greens
Goal ! : Bertrand, what become of you?
Bertrand FAYOLLE: I am still in Valencia. We are good here. We are not far from Saint-Etienne, from the family, and we have our ties here. I have been working since 2013 at the Jaguar-Land Rover dealership in Valencia. And I recently joined Sporteo, a young company that supports athletes in their management of social networks.
Time passes, you left ASSE 20 years ago already … Who was at the origin of your arrival?
Jean-Louis Desjoyaux. He had come to pick me up at the Olympique de Saint-Etienne. He had me signed to L’Etrat. He had good relations with Gérard Soler and at the time, Gérard wanted local young people to bring back the soul, to create proximity with the supporters. Jean-Louis put my foot in the stirrup, like Frédéric Zamith in Valence.
At the time, were there other young people from L’Etrat likely to join ASSE?
There were several of us, yes. There was a great generation of young players. We had almost left Clermont in the Coupe de France, just before they left PSG. There was in particular Fatsah Amghar. I take this opportunity to congratulate him on his journey with Rumilly. It’s wonderful what he did!
Adrien Ponsard has followed the same trajectory as you …
Yes. In fact I arrived just before Adrien. At the end of my last season at L’Etrat, I made three friendly matches with ASSE and signed a two-year pro contract. When we resumed training, we had a friendly match in Le Puy, where Adrien was playing. And he scored a goal. That’s how he caught the eye of Robert Nouzaret. Immediately afterwards, he joined us for an internship at Chambon-sur-Lignon. It was great to be in the green jersey. We knew each other from the Olympic.
And you played an important role in the recovery of the club, in 1998-99 …
Yes. We scored goals. I think we put in 5 or 6 both.
Do you remember yours?
Of course. Especially the one against Beauvais, on a free kick. He had been very important. It was at the start of the season and we had a bit of trouble at the start. On the other hand, afterwards, we had won almost everything. I have wonderful memories of this season.
Is it the most beautiful of your career?
Yes. I had a good time with Valence, a climb to D2. I finished 2nd top scorer in D2 with Valencia, in 2003-04, I scored 15 goals and that allowed me to sign for Nancy where we had a great attack with Dufresne, Kroupi. As Fabien Mira’s assistant in Valence, there was also a rise in DH in CFA. Even in Sion, Amiens and Gueugnon, there were good times too. But this first year with the pros, at ASSE, it was magical. I really enjoyed myself.
Sporteo, his new challenge
Since his time in Valence as a player and then as an assistant coach, Bertrand Fayolle has been living in the city of Drôme where he has been a car dealer for eight years. But recently, the Stéphanois has a second hat: he supports the Sporteo project, a structure that offers young athletes to manage their image, their social networks (mainly on Instagram), also with a component of interventions in training centers , the instances, in order to warn about the dangers of the networks for the players. Bertrand Fayolle thus brings his experience to Sporteo, his network, his advice.
“Wear this swimsuit, experience it … Kader Ferhaoui told me:” Take advantage, you have the right to caviar! “. He was right. I took full advantage “
You have experienced what all young Saint-Etienne footballers dream of …
That’s it. I was measuring my luck. In addition, we had a great team, a great group. With Adrien, we came out of nowhere. We were greeted by exceptional guys. Humanly, this group, I never found that, such an atmosphere, such a collective force. In front, we were shooting between Nestor Subiat, Patrick Revelles, Adrien and me. And behind, in the middle, it was super tough. We never let go. We wanted to bring the club back to D1 and nothing could stop us. Out of an average team, we made a war machine, a steamroller.
When you scored, Adrien and you, all Stéphanois had the impression of scoring …
And we scored for them. At that time, there weren’t so many barriers between the players and the public. We could exchange. In addition, we did not take ourselves for others. We have always kept our feet on the ground. Me, my friends from L’Etrat was fully behind me, they came to the stadium. The same goes for my school friends, and of course the family. Wearing this swimsuit, experiencing it … Kader Ferhaoui told me: “Take advantage, you have the right to caviar! “. He was right. I took full advantage. I bit into the apple!
Are you still in contact with your former teammates?
Yes. We have a What’s App group. It was our national Patrick Guillou who had this idea. We exchange almost every day. Nice to hear from you. We even have some from Alex and Aloisio, they put messages. And in September, after the Covid, normally, we have a match planned in the South. We will be able to meet again. Every time we see each other, it’s as if we had never left each other. It’s great. We experienced great emotions together, it multiplies the links.
Which player impressed you the most?
I mainly played in L2 but with ASSE, we had played two friendlies against Inter Milan and Arsenal. I was able to play against Pirlo, Laurent Blanc, Vieri. Otherwise, here, the ones who impressed me the most are Alex and Aloisio. Stéphane Pédron and Pape Sarr too. But Alex and Aloisio, it was really strong, a hell of a duo. Gérard Soler had done hard by bringing them back. My only tenure in L1 was alongside Aloisio, in Troyes. Alex wasn’t there, I can’t remember if he was injured or suspended.
“The presidents had almost sold two or three years ago, we do not really know why it was not done. We will see if it will be done but I think it is a wise decision. The club needs a new lease of life “
Which of today’s players resembles you the most?
Bigger world! In Valence, I happened to play in 6, but I was a bit old-fashioned 9, let’s say. Today, things are going faster and faster! Me my models, it was Bergkamp, Trezeguet. They weren’t going at 8000 an hour either!
At ASSE, which players do you like?
I really like Romain Hamouma. He is fine, intelligent, he always has the right gesture.
He’s at the end of his contract …
Yes I know. I don’t know what the coach’s intentions are, but in my opinion, he’s a player to keep. He has the experience, the technique. He can score, center. And he’s got a good frame of mind. He can still render valuable services, as we have seen this season.
This season precisely, what do you think?
It’s a complicated season. It already is at the base with the Covid. Behind closed doors, it was clearly a disadvantage for ASSE, without the 12th man. Afterwards, it was complicated for everyone, the players, the staff.
The club is on sale. What do you think ?
I don’t have to judge. But the presidents have been here for quite a while now and a handover would be logical, it seems to me. There would be new faces, new ambitions. You have to live with the times. Maybe the results sped things up. The presidents had almost sold two or three years ago, we do not really know why it was not done. We will see if it will be done but I think it is a wise decision. The club needs a new lease of life.