Two days before returning to his former club on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of LOSC, Bruno Genesio focused on the unprecedented context surrounding the reception in RennesSunday. With the desire to remain fully involved in the sport despite the festive dimension of this meeting.
Bruno, how difficult is this match to prepare with the festive dimension of the club's anniversary?
“We must always be vigilant when there are such demonstrations around the match. We must not get caught up in the different activities. But it is also important to celebrate the history of the club, the anniversary and the alumni who made the glory days of LOSC. It's good that there is entertainment around the match for this anniversary. Now we have to be focused on the 95 minutes we have to play. This is the first match of a final cycle before the winter break. It is, like all matches, an important match, which we must win if we want to continue to advance.
To prepare for this match, did you rely on last season's match (tribute to Eden Hazard and 0-2 against LOSC after 20 minutes)? How did you prepare him against an opponent who will be different after his change of coach?
I often say that mistakes should make us progress. We must be able to ignore everything that surrounds this match and concentrate on our game. It is an axis of progression for the team and the club. There was this match, but also others, especially in the last few where the team had difficulty finishing.
Regarding Sunday's match, we did not make a video montage on the opponent for the first time this season. We don't know how Rennes will play with the arrival of the new coach (Jorge Sampaoli). As every time this happens, there is certainly an individual and collective questioning. But we don't worry too much about what's happening with our opponents. We mainly take care of ourselves, what we want to show and what we still need to improve.
Several things. This already offers us several possibilities in the initial compositions. When you have matches every three days, it's always better to have more choices. The second point is that it leaves more possibilities to make adjustments during the match. Today we see that the contribution of players from the bench is more and more important and decisive. The third point, which will be the good side of the return of the injured, is also mental freshness. They did not participate in this marathon of matches, they can bring important mental freshness. Concerning Hakon (Haraldsson), he will bring us his technique, his volume and his ability to make a lot of deep runs, which has become an important element in today's football.
Can you remind us of the reasons for your departure from Rennes?
(Laughs.) No, I don’t want to talk about that. I rather want to remember all the good times I experienced in Rennes. In my coaching career, there were two seasons where I enjoyed myself the most. It was an offensive team, which scored a lot of goals, which created a lot of play and shared emotion with the people of the club and the supporters. This is especially what I want to remember: a passage that left its mark on me with significant encounters. And a team that corresponds to what I expect as a coach. »
Comments collected by Enzo PAILOT, in Camphin-en-Pévèle
Photo credits: Baptiste Fernandez/Icon Sport
