Following his historic debut the Caledonian has spoken out about how he has made it to the top, his plans for the future and whether or not he’ll be back to help Les Cagous on their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.
On Sunday you made your big debut in Ligue 1 against Lille. Do you have any inkling, on arriving at the Grand Stadium de Lille-Metropole, that you would finally be making your first step as a professional footballer?
I had hoped for that, but I wasn’t certain. Already, I wasn’t really expecting to figure on the team list for the match, even if I had had a good week in training. When the coach (Jean Marc Furlan) announced the group for this match and I heard my name, I started thinking that I may get my chance. But on the other hand, I had already found myself on the team list for the first match of the season at home against Valenciennes and I never went on. But this time, the coach decided to have faith in me. Even if it was short, it was a moment I will never forget. And on top of that, in front of my family, because some of them were on vacation in Paris and when they knew I was on the team list, they came to Lille.
How did you feel when Jean-Marc Furlan asked you to warm up?
I didn’t even have the time to think about it too hard because I looked at the clock and we were already at the 88th minute of the game and I had no time to lose. Then, one-and-a-half minutes later, the fitness trainer called out to me and said: ‘It’s good, in one minute, you go on’. I knew that I would have more than a couple of minutes to express myself, but for me it was already great. And there, at that precise moment, my legs started to shake. I was so motivated but also very overwhelmed – especially by the stadium and the thousands of shouting spectators. I have never experienced that. I had to forget the context and think only of the match.
That couldn’t have been easy?
For sure. In fact there was so much more running through my mind. I thought of my family, my parents, of everyone who had helped me to get there, particularly Alain Moizan my coach at Magenta, but also the president of the federation calédonienne. But I finally managed to concentrate and think only about football. I told myself, ‘Come on, get on the field, attack, defend. Give everything to take the three points and the victory for your team’.
On the field, you had just three short minutes and the time to touch the ball once. Were you given any advice by your coach?
I was just told to play normally, as I usually do, and not to be scared. The staff gave their advice before the match, which was to play and to push each attack. Ligue 1, it goes really quickly and the ball is played a lot. It’s another world, another football, very different to that which I knew at home.
Three minutes isn’t very long to make a lasting impression?
I had two or three touches on the ball, a back pass. It may not seem much, but it’s already enormous for me. It’s a huge step in my career. I have played in Ligue 1! There are a lot of players who would love to be in my place and to have this chance – especially in New Caledonia. I am proud to have lived this moment. Now, for sure, I hope that it’s not just a debut and that I will have this opportunity again one day with more game time. And why not play an entire match.
You must have had a lot of calls and messages if we can believe the impact of those few minutes in Ligue 1 had on the media?
Oh yes. Everyone has called me or sent text messages. And I had a lot of requests for interviews. Obviously, my family called me from home. I also had my former coach Alain Moizan, the coach of New Caledonia.
Can we assume that you remain in close contact with New Caledonia?
When I can, I watch the matches, but this will surprise you, I don’t think too much about what happens in my country. I am concentrating on my job. That’s what is most important for me.
Have you ever had any difficulty accepting that you have not figured on the team list over the past six months, and instead have had to play every weekend with the reserves in CFA 2?
In all honesty, no I haven’t. I have always taken it well and have never experienced a lull in my morale. In my contact with Alain Moizan, I have learnt one thing, it’s the coach that decides, and I respect that. I knew that I would have at least six months of adapting. If I have only played with the reserves up until now, it’s because there was a reason. That I didn’t have the capacity to play with the professional team. I have not spoken about it and instead I continued to do my job and give the maximum with the reserves every weekend. I scored three goals in official matches and five goals in friendly matches and I am, for the moment, unbeaten in the CFA. I have no doubt that one day, all this effort will pay off.
In a little over a month New Caledonia will play two important 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against New Zealand and Tahiti. Do you expect you will have to make a choice between Les Cagous and Estac?
Maybe yes. I really want to play these two matches with the team, especially if we win against New Zealand, we will go to the top of the table. But if Furlan asks me to stay and be available to the group up until the end of the season, then well, I think I will stay in Troyes. I also need to think of my future, of my career.
What objectives have you set between now and the end of the season?
I want to help my club at climb the table and stay in Ligue 1. That is my priority. I also hope that Estac will offer me an extension on my contract. Or that offers from other clubs might manifest. But for that, I firstly need to be playing.
Thanks to these three minutes of game time against Lille, you have entered into a small club of Caledonians who have played in Ligue 1. A club which counts Marc Kanyan Case, Jacques Zimako, Antoine Kombouaré and Christian Karembeu among its members. Do you feel that you are their equal?
Oh no. I am walking in their footsteps, but I am still far, very far, from them. For the moment, our only point in common is that we have played in Ligue 1, that’s true. But me, I am at the bottom of the ladder. But this is only the debut. I will continue to work to elevate my level. I am only 24 years old after all, even if we often say it’s too late to discover the professional world. But I am there now, and I count on staying there.
For more on New Caledonia football go to www.fedcalfoot.com

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