Thaon (N3) – Amiens (Ligue 2)
This Saturday (6 p.m.)
It seems that a sense of counterbalance is a virtue in playing Football. Matt Condi’s trajectory is confusing to say the least. Arriving on tiptoe in Thaon (where he had his youth ranges as well as in Épinal), in the summer of 2022, from Hadol and a departmental elite who fit very poorly with his qualities as a footballer, the boy took only a few weeks to convince Romain Chouleur, after an interesting preparation. And to make the general public lie who predicted a less dazzling future for him and initially expressed reservations.
“I’m a bit like the Argentinian Julian Alvarez. Not the best finisher, but a real fighter,” the 19-year-old told us at the time. Two years later, he climbed the four levels that separated Hadol from Thaon. And he made himself indispensable in the casting concocted, week after week, by Romain Chouleur and Michaël Ruez. Without being where we necessarily expected him since the middle of last season, this trained striker has moved back one, then two notches on the chessboard.
“Initially, I wanted to use it as a No. 9 or a No. 10, a 9 and a half whatever. It was him, through his performances and what he showed, that forced me to pull him back a bit. He’s not a guy naturally attracted to goals. He needs to run, work, recover the ball, make the play. In the end he backed off a little and then when he had to help out on sentry duty, he did the job. Things happened naturally in relation to what he brought. »
Installed in front of the defense, Matt Condi thrives in this key role, facing the game, requiring a great burst of energy, a good reading of the game and a technical touch. “It’s a position that I really enjoy. I like duels, going into battle, feeding guys with balloons, combining. You have to put in more effort, it’s cardio demanding. Afterwards, I like it, it’s in the family, with a brother (Tom) and a father (Oswaldo) like mine (laughs). It’s a little more difficult to score goals but I have my teammates who do the job very well up front. And I have the right to go up in the set phases, with compensation being made,” confides the attacker-defender.
“I usually say he’s a robot”
Logically, the next step will be to find him in the central hinge. “No, no, with Wilfried in particular, that should do it. I’m very comfortable in the middle (laughs),” laughs the person concerned.
For Romain Chouleur, this flexibility is natural. “His volume of play and his activity are impressive. He’s everywhere, I’m even a little afraid when he’s on sentry because he needs to attack and defend. He is technically good. He likes the effort, I usually say that he’s a robot because he never hurts. He complains sometimes, but he keeps running. He’s a soldier, he runs in the family. »
So much so that sometimes you have to curb your enthusiasm. “In Lunéville, he told me at half-time that he had a slight problem, I asked him to manage it. And five minutes later, it will split over the side to overflow (laughs). He can drive me crazy sometimes too by hitting strikes right away at the start of training. »
One thing is certain, with already two 32nd finals and a 16th final under his belt at 21, Matt Condi is not shying away from his pleasure. And don’t plan to stop there. “I’m not complaining, it’s not bad for my age. Even if we replay Amiens for the third year in a row, we are not going to shy away from our pleasure. And we will do everything to eliminate them.” QED
