Zapping Goal! Football club PSG: top 10 most expensive transfers
Goal ! Saint-Etienne: Oswaldo, from Argentina, do you watch all the Greens’ matches?
Oswaldo PIAZZA: No. On TV, they only watch the big matches: Lyon, Paris, Marseille. That’s why I wouldn’t allow myself to judge the players, the coach, his choices. I am 11,000 km away!
Are you happy to see Lionel Messi wearing the PSG jersey?
I would have preferred him to wear the Saint-Etienne one (laughs)! But it’s great for France, of course, for Ligue 1. What I’m really happy with is the victory this summer in the Copa America, at the Maracana. Messi was criticized for not winning, unlike Maradona, for having lost three finals. Now, we can no longer blame him for that, he also won with Argentina. Without him, we would have watched the last World Cup on TV, like Italy: he had scored two goals in the decisive match against Ecuador. He’s a magnificent player, the best. His six Ballons d’Or, we did not give him a gift!
Do you know Ignacio Ramirez, the new Uruguayan striker from ASSE?
Ramirez, I didn’t really know him. I knew he was playing for Liverpool, but in Uruguay, we mostly talk about Penarol, Nacional, Danubio. I think ASSE took it because they needed a No.9. If he was called up for selection and finished top scorer in Uruguay, it is because he has qualities. I hope he will have the opportunity to have a continuity to show what he is capable of. He must adapt, learn the language, understand the coach’s requests. It is not always obvious when you come from far away. Afterwards, he’s a center-forward. It will also be up to the others to put him in the best conditions by giving him good balls.
You probably know that ASSE has been put up for sale. Shareholders are hoping for a sale by the end of the year. What is your take on the subject?
Quite simply, I wish the best for ASSE. If a buyer can give more resources to the club, then it will be necessary to give it the place and to welcome it with open arms. If this buyer exists, I hope that he will have the money of course, to recruit good players, but above all I hope that he will be faithful to what has always been Saint-Etienne’s strength. This club must rest on its breeding ground, its land. Saint-Etienne is a city of football. We were talking about Farison, but we could talk about Jacquet, Bereta, Loïc Perrin more recently. In my time, the team was 90% made up of young people from the training center. It was only Curkovic and I who were not from the center. If there is a change, I hope that the new management will rely a lot on local young people, that they will give even more resources to train good players. And not just advocates.
Are you referring to Wesley Fofana and William Saliba?
Yes. To Kurt Zouma too, and to Faouzi Ghoulam.
They were all sold very young …
Especially Fofana and Saliba. But I think the club didn’t really have a choice, unfortunately, given the economic context.
Oswaldo, what message do you want to send to the green people?
That I was very proud to be part of the Epic of the Greens, and that I would like ASSE to once again become the flagship club in France. The next Lionel Messi is the green jersey he must wear! (he smiles)
to summarize
“I would have preferred him to wear Saint-Etienne’s (laughs)! But it’s great for France, of course, for Ligue 1. What I’m really happy with is the victory this summer in Copa America, at the Maracana. Messi was criticized for not winning, unlike Maradona, for having lost three finals. Now, we can no longer blame him for that, he also won with Argentina. Without him, we would have watched the last World Cup on TV, like Italy, ”says Piazza in particular about Messi.
