For “At the heart of the game”, the former central defender of the Girondins de Bordeaux, Lamine Sanéremembered his first professional match. It was in the Champions League, against Bayern Munich, for a 1-2 victory.
“My first match with the Girondins was in the Champions League, at Bayern… I was a substitute, he had to stay 10-15 minutes. I'm on my bench, calm, it was cold… In my head I told myself that I had time, that I was patient. There, Laurent Blanc is standing, he turns around, and says to me 'are you ready?'. I look at the others who say to me 'yes, it's you he's talking to'. So yes I'm ready… He says to me 'well change!'. I didn't even go to warm up. He said to me, 'well, listen, you're going to put yourself between Ciani and Chalmé, because Robben had just returned. You put yourself in between, and you play'. Okay (laughs). I enter the field, and today, I only have flashes… There are matches where I remember exactly what I did, and then I only have flashes… I see Robben who passes in front of me with the ball, Chalmé who runs it… We win 2-0, and on the action of the goal, it's me who recovers the ball, I pass it to Fernando, who throws Marouane in depth, and we score… We win, we go into the locker room, and here I still don't realize… Big bonus too! I celebrated the thing for at least three days… I have no taboos, I had a salary of €5,000, and there we had a bonus of €40,000… Wow, this crazy thing (laughs). From there, I told myself it was over. It left an impression on me, but I really only have flashes, no memories. But these flashes will remain for life…”.
