“We take L’Union Saint-Jean very seriously”

Anxious to end the year 2024 on a good note on the occasion of AS Monaco's entry into the Coupe de France this Sunday against L'Union Saint-Jean (2:45 p.m.), the Monegasque technician expressed.

Leave with a lighter mind with a qualification in your pocket. This is the objective of the Rouge et Blanc before the 32nd final of the Coupe de France scheduled for this Sunday at the Toulouse Stadium against the Regional 1 team of L'Union Saint-Jean (kick-off 2:45 p.m.). In any case, this is what Adi Hütter repeated at a press conference on the eve of the meeting. Excerpts ????️

On the state of mind of the group

Yesterday was an off day and today we are meeting to prepare for the meeting. I have the feeling that the players, despite the obvious disappointment after the defeat against Paris Saint-Germain. But tomorrow is another competition, our first round in this Coupe de France and it's obvious that we want to win this match. Besides, we are taking all the players who are in good health, which shows how seriously we take this meeting.

About L’Union Saint-Jean

We know this team a little bit, even if we don't have many matches at our disposal. The last is the one against Versailles in the previous round. What we do know, however, is that they play 4-4-2 in defensive phases and rather 3-4-3 when they have the ball. We respect our opponent a lot by preparing this match like any other, but it is certain that we owe Toulouse a good face and win this match.

We have some images that we will show to the team, even if the light and angles are not optimal. But for us it is above all important to imagine the system that they are likely to put in place, even if I want above all to concentrate on my team.

About the Coupe de France

I like this competition, which brings together nearly 6,000 or 7,000 teams in France, with eight matches before we enter the competition. It's a great competition, and I have a lot of respect for these teams who have to go through so many rounds to face Ligue 1 or simply professional teams. But our goal is clear, the Coupe de France is also one of our main objectives for the season. So I can assure you that we are approaching this match seriously.

A match lost against an amateur team

As a player, once we came out of the competition and it was a third division club. And still in Germany, when I took over the Eintracht Frankfurt team, we lost my first match on the bench against Ulm, who were playing in the fourth division. I remember it because I replaced Niko Kovac who had just won the German Cup the previous season, and I was therefore eliminated for my first time in the competition.

It's football, but it's the past, even if I keep some memories of it. This competition is really special, and it's an opportunity to fight for a title. Our goal is clearly to do everything we can to reach the final, in any case it has to be! And for that, we must start by winning tomorrow's match. All the clubs that enter this competition want to win it, that’s obvious.

On possible turnover

We will see during the match, but I repeat, we really take this meeting seriously. We will rotate the team slightly, but I don't think there will be any very big surprises. Our job is above all to offer the best possible match, because it is the last of the year 2024!

About Rouen last year

Our performance always depends on our behavior, how strong we show ourselves. I have a lot of respect once again for L'Union Saint-Jean which plays in the sixth division, at the amateur level.

When we think back to the match against Rouen, with the atmosphere in the stadium, we had a bad match by missing penalties. So we have to be careful not to repeat that, but for me there is no debate, we want to qualify for the next round.

On playing at the Stadium

I don't know the state of the Union Saint-Jean pitches, but it's obviously a big event for them to face AS Monaco at the Toulouse Stadium. In any case, I think it's an advantage for us, that's for sure.

Expectations of players

I expect us to approach this round of 32 in the same way as a championship or Champions League match! This may sound crazy, but it's normal in my opinion, we have to do the job. It all depends on us, on our behavior when we lose the ball, on our reactions. This is what I want to see from my team, the same approach, the same professionalism.

About Lamine Camara

We're really happy he's here. He was voted best young African player for the second year in a row, which is great both for him and for us! This shows that we work well with him. He is one of the young talents coming from outside, like Christian Mawissa.

These are examples of French football players that we want to bring to the highest level. Overall, we are very satisfied with Lamine's progress, although he can obviously improve in different areas. Which is not easy when you play three competitions, because you don't have a lot of time to work.

On the suspension

Besides, for your information, as I am suspended for this meeting, it is my assistant Christian Peintinger who will lead the team tomorrow. I have total confidence in him, we work together every day and he was already the one who replaced me when I was sick in Germany. I repeat, I have complete confidence in my technical staff.