Jump to content
Melbourne Football

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 09/05/20 in all areas

  1. After adventures in Dijon and Sochaux, Florin Bérenguer took over the management of Australia and Melbourne in 2018. A fairly special new experience to which the French community returned for Foot Mercato. Situation on the spot with the Covid-19, adaptation, objectives, future: the 31-year-old player gave himself up on his new life 15,000 kilometers from France. Foot Mercato: hello Florin. You took the direction of Australia in 2018 to live a new experience. How are you first? Florin Bérenguer: it's going well, it was better in the past than with the current situation but it's global and not linked to Australia. Otherwise, beyond that, everything is going well, I'm happy to be here. FM: The Australian Championship was one of the last to be stopped in the world to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. Why such a late decision? What was the situation there when the European authorities decided to stop everything here? FB: I was not particularly shocked by the delay. We are out of step with Europe. When it really started to be in critical condition in Europe, especially in Italy, there was not yet a single case of virus in Australia. We were delayed two or three weeks before the first case. The season unfolded almost like in France, until the moment when one could not more. Then, at the end, they tried to reduce because we had five days left of the championship, trying to find solutions by perhaps putting all the teams in one place but in Australia, there are great trips , with a team in New Zealand, one to three and a half hours by plane so it was complicated too. As a result, the League followed government restrictions and there came a time when there were more and more cases and they began to close the borders of internal states. So there was no longer the possibility of playing and it stopped. FM: How did the last matches played go? FB: we played the last two matches behind closed doors, because our schedule meant that we had two separate away games, but they brought them together over three days to precisely try to finish them as quickly as possible. We were hearing more and more about the virus that was coming, the measures that were going to be taken, and there was little chance that it would continue. But it was done, quite legitimately, like everywhere else, the instructions of the government were followed and when it said that we could no longer travel, that there could no longer be meetings above 10 people in the same enclosure, the season was shifted, stopped. FM: did you feel in danger during the last days before this suspension of competitions? FB: it's hard to say because ... in quotes, I was touched but more compared to what is happening in France. I know how big it is in France, I have my whole family there, I have them on the phone regularly. But it is true that here, if I have to take stock of you at the moment, there are less than 100 deaths. It is a serious situation but if I want to compare with France, there must be less than 10,000 cases, roughly 6000 or 7000 throughout the country. While in France, we are at 180,000 ... I was more affected by that, I had feedback and I followed developments that were not going in the right direction in France. And I thought to myself that if Australia does not make the arrangements before, it may become like in Europe and it will be catastrophic. Finally, they did not manage too badly. Regarding the two matches, the club really did the right thing. It was two away games, on the east coast, they found a hotel between the two times where we were isolated, it was really in "a countryside". We were between us so everything was taken into account so that we are protected as much as possible. On the plane, they had made reservations so that there were two of us per row. FM: What were the measures taken by Melbourne City so that you can continue the training, for example, during the confinement? FB: after the end of the season, they all gave us a bicycle, one of the ones there at the academy. We received a bike, plus fitness accessories and with that, we had a pretty busy schedule. We also had GPS so every night we had to send them GPS data when we had a race to go and they followed us like that. But for the past few weeks, as it was postponed again (no resumption before May, note), they put us on vacation and we have an individual program which starts again from May 11. "Resume in June to try to finish the season in July / August" FM: what is the current situation there? Will the championship be able to resume quickly or is the debate as lively as in Europe? FB: I have my opinion about France and what is happening here. I make a little comparison but it is not obvious because everything is different. Here, they are big cities but there is less density per square meter, it is extended. In January / February, it was the end of summer with beautiful days, and I heard that the weather could also have an influence on the virus. There, we will soon be back in winter, in a month and a half, it is getting cooler, so maybe we have to be a little more careful now but from what I understand, the government will review its restrictions because, until now, he did not want to take risks even if it is moving in the right direction. After, for football, it may be to resume in June, leave the possibility to sports clubs to resume preparation to try to finish the season in July / August. FM: there have been many debates in France about TV rights. How's it going in Australia? FB: I believe that the only broadcaster that is FOX is negotiating to review the conditions of the contract as are the broadcasters in Europe. If the end of the season deserves to be questioned, the consequences for the following seasons are likely to become a major problem as well. FM: sportingly, your team was in good shape just before the interruption. With this second place currently a few days before the end of the regular season, what are the objectives if it starts again? FB: there is already the question about the end of the contract. Here, it is on May 31st and not at the end of June so how is it going to be ... There are four teams who have dismissed everyone, so the situation is a bit complicated. On that, it is a bit vague to know if it will really resume but before that, we were second, with Sydney who has a big season and is quite a bit ahead. We had a good season, and the advantage here is the play-offs. By being second, we received the semi-final at home and after, we know that football, in a match or two, we can be champion. The objective, without lying, is to win the trophy and be champion. FM: and on a personal level? FB: I was injured on my second season, the first third. I was injured the day before the first friendly match, especially since here the pre-season lasts four months, it's long enough so we have to make 10/15 friendly matches. Everything went well but the day before the first match, I got injured so I missed the first ten days before coming back in December. Since January, I had the chance to play and it went pretty well. I regained my physical capabilities and good feelings which allowed me to be decisive with 3 goals in the last 7 games and a nice assist in the Melbourne derby which is played in front of 35,000 spectators here. FM: what is your relationship with your trainer, Erick Mombaerts? Between French people, do you spend more time together also outside the field? FB: we have a relationship as a coach-player. After that, it is sure that it is easier for him to pass me instructions because last season, when I arrived, I did not have a very good English and nobody spoke French so it was not obvious to understand everything. It’s true that we have a good relationship, he can explain to me what he expects from me, what more I need to do, on video feedback. It's an advantage, it's more like a relationship you can have in France with a French coach, where if you want to chat, the door is open. It's a plus. "It's not" tiki-taka football "but there are good players, with rhythm" FM: moving from France to Australia is not very common. How did the adaptation take place, whether it was in terms of lifestyle or football level? FB: It didn't go too badly. I spent the first two months alone because it was complicated to repatriate everyone, my daughters had started school in France in September, and I signed in late August so the time to find a house. I didn't want to bring them in right away so they finished school in France until the All Saints holidays. But I was well received, the group was very warm, they welcome foreigners well. There were four or five, even if they spoke English, with which we got a little closer. Everything went well on this, on the environment, life in general. It is even there that we realize, like me it was my first experience abroad, the importance of a group. When you take a stranger under your arm to help him. I also put myself in the place of foreigners whom I met with in France, it is true that it is not obvious. But until we have experienced the situation, we realize in fact that sometimes, it may not be easy. FM: Many people do not know the level of the Australian championship. What are the major differences with Ligue 1 or Ligue 2 for example? FB: honestly, I was surprised. I had never heard of the Australian Championship, I didn't really know. I was surprised at the quality of the players, there are some very good. Then, in spirit, it’s English speaking and a bit rugby country, with footy, their Australian football, so it’s also a lot based on contacts, duels, power. It's a rough championship, with big templates, maybe we wouldn't find in France in Ligue 1. It's hard to compare, maybe two or three teams would manage to do something interesting on some matches in Ligue 1. It's a different football, there are a few more duels and we, with coach Mombaerts, he established a little more football based on the City group and what Guardiola does. We worked a lot on it so it posed a lot of concerns for some teams. It is not "tiki-taka football" but there are good players, with rhythm. It's fun to play and I even think I have progressed by coming to Australia compared to my last years in France, with the amount of work, the physical first. FM: why did you make this long journey in 2018 to join Melbourne and the A-League? Do you need a new challenge? FB: It really happened late. Basically, I got a call from a scout from the City group who asked me if I would be interested in Australia. At the time, I did "wow"! In quotes, I had an answer like when we are at the end of the contract, we wait for it to evolve: "I'm open to everything." That's the answer I got and afterwards, talking to my family, my wife, we started to weigh the pros and cons and it got a little bigger in my head. I had childhood friends who had gone to Australia for six months-a year, who explained to me. And I wanted to see something else after nine years in France. It happened very quickly. We ended up with my wife and we thought it was a great adventure to open up to a new culture, a new country. It’s on the other side of the world but we thought we were going to bet. FM: how do you see your future? Is it possible to return to France, for example, or are you heading for an end of career in Australia? FB: I don't know at all. On a return to France, if the clubs followed my performances, why not. But after me, I love the adventure here and the choices also depend on the family situation and especially that of my daughters. We have been here for a year and a half, they are starting to speak good English but it is not yet top top. But if I can spend a few more years here, I would be happy to spend them. Leaving to end up here in Australia, that wouldn't be a reluctant choice. I cannot say that I am closed because with France, I am far from my family but I do not know at all. The future will tell us, I try not to bother with this. In any case, we are really happy here and I am not in the urgency of saying "I absolutely have to go back to France" or "I am not happy here, it's not okay, I have to go back to France
    1 point
  2. The problem I have with the “it was only a friendly”, mantra, is it is an attempt to ignore the sporting, social and historical context of Australia vs England. well of course it was a “friendly”. If it was another sport it would have been called a Test Match, but under FIFA the odds of Australia playing England in anything but a “friendly” are very very slim. If FIFA don’t want to call it a Test Match we can’t make them. We have an intense rivalry with England in all sports. In all the major sports, bar football we have dominated that rivalry over the passage of time. That is what makes the first victory of us over them hugely significant. It is be expected it’s remembered how it is, with FIFA’s titles for games rightly regarded as insignificant. That shouldn’t disappoint any Australians at all. (Our subsequent history post that era is disappointing, but that’s another matter).
    1 point
  3. Yeah I agree Atkinson is a must re-sign as his salary is outside the cap due to him being a homegrown player. Wales not fussed about. Genreau is gone can see it Erick hasn’t been playing him.
    1 point
  4. I just don't want to see quality players such as Atkinson and Genreau leave us. Atkinson in particular - IMO far better than Noone going forward.
    1 point
  5. Fucking hard to attract support to this club and then to maintain it with the turnover of players every season. Where is this club actually going? I'm almost over it TBH.
    1 point
  6. That just about says it all about everything to do with America and professional sport.
    1 point
×
×
  • Create New...