AS Saint-Etienne : “ASSE will once again become a top-ranked team” | ASSE News

Zapping Goal! Football club ASSE: the Greens’ tribute to Loïc Perrin

Goal ! : Jérémy, how are you?

Jérémy CLEMENT: I am very well thank you ! We are preparing the new season in Bourgoin-Jallieu. We are in the reserve pool of the A.S.S.E. in National 3. Professionally, it is at the top with a lot of projects in progress, I am always busy. The resumption is on Sunday August 29, it happens quickly.

What are the fears, the expectations, after these last difficult months marked by the pandemic?

I try not to imagine the possibility of not resuming. We have to be positive, otherwise we cannot move forward. The issue will be around the measures: the vaccinated players, the tests … We are not structured like a professional club. It will be necessary to manage all this well. But the desire, the motivation, it’s all there! We want to play matches, the competition is lacking.

What will be the goals this season? Last year you were in the lead before the end of the championship …

Yes, but we had only played six games. The goal is to play for the top of the board. It’s hard to talk about a climb. You have to be consistent, to be successful, for everything to flow well. There are a lot of teams like us who are up for battle and want to land the ticket to National 2. We’re ambitious, but humble.

Has a retraining as a coach always tickled you?

Not really. In Nancy, I had started training in the management of sports organizations, on the side of football. But what I like is the terrain and the competition. I don’t know what my future will be like, but I’m a competitor and I’m having a blast in this role. I’m graduating, I’m a novice, and I have a lot to learn. The start of my coaching career was hampered by the Covid-19. The competition makes me stay on the green square. Today, I am in Bourgoin-Jallieu, but I remain ambitious. When you’ve been a high-level player, you have to always aim high. Not all dreams are possible, but you have to put everything in place to make them come true.

“There are a lot of young people. It will take patience ”

ASSE in your hen, it will be an opportunity for a great reunion …

Yes, with the club, but the young people, I don’t know them anymore! Sainté is always special. If one day I face the first team, it will make me even weirder. After watching the game against OM, I realize that almost my entire generation is gone. I have a little more trouble identifying myself. I know the people on the bench, the steward, more than the players. Fortunately, Romain Hamouma extended! My time has passed, I don’t know the current players personally. A few years ago, I looked at the Greens with nostalgia: Loïc (Perrin), Jess (Moulin)…

There are only two players left from your last season at A.S.S.E.: Romain Hamouma and a certain Arnaud Nordin!

Ah yes ! Arnaud, it was a kid. He wanted us to speak (laughs).

How do you judge the workforce built by Claude Puel?

Claude Puel has a lot more experience than I do in this area, so it’s hard to fault him for something. He has very specific ideas, goals and ambitions, and he relies on young people. But I think we have had good seasons with experienced players. This is my common thread with regard to recruitment at Bourgoin-Jallieu. Keeping the values ​​of the club, with players who trained here and mentoring them with experienced men. Without the experience, it’s complicated. In Saint-Étienne, there are a lot of young people. It will take patience. Youth has qualities, but it is far from so easy. It is this lack of experience that might worry me.

Precisely, were you surprised by the departures of Mathieu Debuchy, Kevin Monnet-Paquet or even Jessy Moulin?

Like I told you, I believe in the importance of executives. After that, it must be a deal between the coach and the players. The old guys definitely want to play, you have to make them understand that they won’t be playing all the time, that you need them in the locker room. This is the role of the coach: to make important players who play less. Being important without being on the pitch is hard for a player to accept. You have to have guys who impose discipline, good humor, transmit the values ​​of the club, who know what it is to chain and win things, just like losing. Claude Puel has a lot of experience so I think he knows what he’s doing.

What is your take on the last two difficult years for the Greens?

It’s complicated to have a real full season with young people, but sometimes you have to live with it. I am thinking in particular of the economic aspect. Sainté could not help it. I talk a lot about experienced players, but it costs a lot. This is the reality of football at the moment. Sainté does not have unlimited resources, they have to contend with a tight budget. We are in a period of transition. We can see the importance of the experience in Lille: André, Yilmaz, Fonte … but the economic reality, because of the Covid-19, is hurting the clubs. When we are in these transitional periods, we rely on the young people of the center. We must not complain about this. Often people criticize the fact that training is not given enough prominence because some teams do not have room for young people.

The extension of Romain Hamouma goes in the direction of retaining experienced players …

This is great for A.S.S.E. Already Romain is a decisive, talented player. He knows the club, he knows how it works, the team needs it. He will be able to continue to supervise young people. Winning two games is good, but the third is the most important. We must not be satisfied with what we have done. This is what Christophe Galtier told us: the most important games are the ones that happen. What is past is past, we can no longer go back on it. When we are young, we sometimes have too much of a tendency to fall into complacency.

“Sainté, it breathes football. It’s a balloon town. It will always be an important club apart ”

We are talking about a possible reconversion to the position of attacking coach for Hamouma, do you find that logical?

We must see ! In any case, Romain must know that the job of coach is completely different from that of player. It’s day and night. It’s always a plus to have players of this quality in such a role. Whether he can transmit or not is up to him. Romain is more of a talented than hardworking person. It could be a good opportunity for him and for the club.

Are you going to try to attract former Greens in your net at Bourgoin-Jallieu?

I would like ! After that, the level that I propose is not necessarily in line with the ambitions of some. If I could have recruited Romain (Hamouma) or Kevin (Monnet-Paquet), I would have done so without hesitation. In addition, Kevin is from Bourgoin.

Are you hopeful for the coming season?

Of course, you always have to be positive. Sainté, it breathes football. It’s a balloon town. It will always be an important club, apart. Football is cyclical. Currently, they are a little worse, but it will come back. We did some great things back then. There are series where everything goes well, others not. You have to hang in there when it’s not easy, especially in the transition the club is in. A.S.S.E. will once again become a top-ranked team.

Is the club obliged to go through a sale to reach a new level?

I think it is important that the presidents know how to leave the club at the right time to start again on a new project. All teams need a new lease of life at some point. It takes grip and strength to instill a new dynamic. A buyout, a new project, can do good, even if it’s not an exact science. This is the magic of football. Just because you buy a club with a lot of money does not mean that everything will work. Football is complicated. You also have to know how to put things into perspective. Even if you are a competitor, you have to be able to tell yourself that it is a great sport, realizing that there are more serious things around.

The X factor, could it be the public’s return to the Cauldron?

Necessarily. Young people’s madness can also breathe new life into the Cauldron. With a little success, a good dynamic… anything is possible. We know that Paris will be ahead, that’s for sure, but who would have said that Lens would have such a good season, that Lille would be champion?

Many young people at the club have never known a full Geoffroy-Guichard, do you have any advice for them?

It’s not easy to understand. We are pushed by the public, but it is demanding. If the young people are not ready to be heckled sometimes, they must find another club. If you want real fervor, but also pressure, Sainté is the right place. It makes noise, and when it’s in a good way, it’s impressive. We live for that as a football player: to play great matches and to have 40,000 people around me.

During your stay, besides the famous epic in the Coupe de la Ligue, do you have another strong memory?

I played six years here, that was six great and beautiful years. Selfishly, I think of my comeback against Milsami in the European Cup after my serious injury. Frankly, it was an incredible memory, very strong in terms of emotion. Otherwise, I think back to the global human adventure that I have experienced.

What can we wish you for the future?

One day, to train Sainté (laughs)!

Is it in the back of your mind?

No not necessarily. But hey, we don’t know the future. One day, I thought to myself why not come back and train at a club where you played. It’s a great way to come full circle. It’s great to be a coach with such an audience. I need this.

Interview conducted by Antoine CHIRAT