InterviewG4E. Raphaël Gerbeaud: “We all know that this is not the place of the Girondins de Bordeaux”

He is today one of the top scorers in his National 2 group, like Andy Carroll, whom he would have liked to face on Saturday. Raphaël Gerbeaud, the US Saint-Malo striker, also spent a little over a season at the Girondins de Bordeaux training center. Unfortunately, like the majority of footballers who passed through FCGB at that time, at the end of the 2017-2018 season, he was not retained. It must be said that for someone who did not have the curriculum of a training center, who was geographically very far from home, the Scapular Club left him too little time to acclimatize. Without rancor or resentment, and as he did in his career afterwards, taking all the experience to move forward, Raphaël is today with his team at the head of group B of N2, and wishes, as with every opponent, to distance him a little more in the ranking. Interview.

You have just qualified for the Coupe de France against Saint-Brieuc, so you have good momentum since you are still undefeated this season.

That's it, exactly. We knew how to be serious this weekend. It wasn't a simple match, but we managed to secure the essentials in the Coupe de France.

This season, you are therefore leaders of the group. Was this something planned or hoped for at the start of the season?

We're not going to lie, last year we finished second, so we wanted to maintain that dynamic. Afterwards, we also know that the championship is very long, there are twenty days left. We have barely passed a third of the championship. We must not get excited either, we must remain humble, take the matches one after the other as we have done until today. We will take stock on the day of the last match, May 17.

Afterwards, it's difficult to hide given the points lead you have…

To tell the truth, last year, we perhaps got a little carried away, wanting to plan ahead a little quickly from the first days. This year, we don't want to repeat that mistake, which, I think, was detrimental to us at one point in the season. We really try to focus on the opponent we are going to face this weekend. In any case, we know that if we beat our opponent from the weekend, we will put him at a distance. We try to work like that with the team.

This weekend will be a reunion for you, with the Girondins. You must have followed what has been happening in recent years and especially this summer. What does that mean to you, even if you only spent a little more than a season with us?

I spent a year and a half there to be precise. It sure hurts my heart to see a club – beyond the fact that I was there for a season and a half – which remains emblematic like that, go down to that level. We all know that this is not the place of the Girondins de Bordeaux. So obviously, this is a little pang in the heart. Afterwards, we will have to put the moods aside this weekend, and do everything to defend our jersey, which is that of the Black Devils now.

Concerning your time at FCGB, you have not spoken at length on the subject. You just said that “in Bordeaux, it came down to details”. What are these details?

To tell the truth, it was a real change for me when I signed for Bordeaux. I had spent many years in a small club near my home in Saint-Renan, in Finistère. Then, there was a small change, I went to Sport Studies in Rennes. I had changed clubs and moved to Plouzané, but there I was, I was in a slightly different world. I was immersed in amateur football during all the youth categories. I did the footbridge which was a bit brutal at that time. It took me a little time to acclimatize and from the moment I started to feel good, it was already time to take stock because I had only signed for a year and a half. the era. That's why… There are no regrets because I learned a lot of things, and at the time it remained a training center that worked very well. I learned a lot of things. Maybe I ran out of time. But if it happened like that, it was because it had to happen like that. If I had to do it again, I would do it because I really learned a lot of things in Bordeaux.

This “brutal” aspect is not having started in the training center earlier, not having been conditioned to it like many other players.

Yes, I would have liked a little longer adaptation time. When you change regions like that, when you are young, you need to digest all that. I had little time to do it, and those are the details I was talking about.

Since then, you have played in many clubs, but each time you have returned to your native Brittany. Can we say that this region is important, even essential for your development?

I don't really know. To tell the truth, I also knew how to perform well in clubs that weren't Breton, but it's certain that there are my parents who live in Brest… I'm there, in fact (in moment when we recorded this interview, editor's note). I also have an attachment to this region. I'm not too superstitious either, so I don't believe in it 100%… But yes, the attachment is definitely there. I have my roots in Brittany, and it always makes me happy to go back there.

You've had a very good start to the season, 6 goals and 2 assists in 9 matches in N2… And also a goal in the Coupe de France. Is this the best start to the season of your career?

I also got off to a good start the year I went to Saint-Pryvé. The first six months went well. But yes, I am and we are in continuity. The club in Saint-Malo has been working very well lately, especially under the leadership of the coach, who has managed to build something that suits him, and also corresponds to the club I think. It's true that I feel good, we have a competitive team, which has improved further compared to last year. I am fulfilled in the group, so from the moment I am fulfilled in the group and in my life, I think that afterwards we feel it on the pitch too.

Unfortunately, you won't meet Andy Carroll, who is suspended for this match. Is it a disappointment? And what does this change for Saint-Malo?

It's certain that personally, I would have preferred to face him. Afterwards, maybe it's because he's not in my zone (laughs). I always tend to enjoy playing against good players and, what's more, a world-class player… He's a little older today but he also left his mark on his era. It's a personal disappointment because it's really always good to see the best. But yes, collectively, I think it's always a better thing that he's not there, if we think more about the collective. Afterwards, the match is not over yet, it is only part of the equation, exactly (smile).

Your stadium seems to be filling up… Will this be an asset? Is the enthusiasm a little higher because Bordeaux is coming?

Yes, but there is enthusiasm which is due to our current good results. Obviously, it attracts people. But we are not going to hide our faces, the fact that Bordeaux is coming to us is eye-catching. It's going to be a good match, I think it's going to be a great party too. These are always enjoyable matches to play.

Do you think that whoever wins this match will gain an advantage over the other for the rest of the season?

Really, I don't want to repeat the mistakes of the past, I want to learn from them. Last year, we operated like that, thinking that if we won or lost against direct opponents, it was an end in itself. In the end, I think that the conclusions we drew are that we should not draw too quickly. Obviously, if we beat them, it will be beneficial for us in the ranking, but it will only be the ranking of the eleventh day that will be good for us, not that of the thirtieth (smile).