It has now been a month and a half since Gaël Derrien*, 19, returned to Lamballe FC. After playing there until his teens and showing his talent with the ball, he had, at the time, left his favorite club for the U15s of En Avant Guingamp (EAG), in the hope of breaking through to the level pro.
Unfortunately, football is an environment where there are many called and few chosen. After wearing the colors of the Rouge et Noir (around thirty matches in U19 National) and joining the reserve, the 19-year-old footballer decided to leave the department’s flagship club to return to where it all began.
Digesting your departure from Guingamp
“Honestly, I didn’t know him,” admits his new coach, Pierre-Yves David, recently arrived at the head of the A team. At first, he is a manager and Sandro Flaviano, coach of the Lamballais reserve and former EAG recruiting manager, who spoke to him about it. One thing led to another and the technician ended up receiving a flood of information on Gaël Derrien.
“It was done in a very simple way. Before he signed, I offered him my help to find a rebound elsewhere. In N2, in N3. But he told me that he was more inclined to stay in the sector, with his family, to digest his departure and join our team if the staff agreed. Before, he was in Guingamp, today he is in Lamballais. »
A surprising choice therefore, especially since Gaël Derrien had, according to his coach, “an opportunity in Portugal”.
From now on, it is for the public of the Louis-Hingant stadium that the player has put on his crampons again. “He’s a versatile midfielder, a relay player as we used to say. He is able to change pace, direction, he has a good volume of play, specifies the technician. Technically, he is very armed. At a level like ours, he can even consider evolving in several positions. »
Find rhythm
However, even if he has already played, his integration is not rushed. After being “in a deficit of playing time”, the young Derrien needs to find rhythm before seeing his name appear regularly on the match sheet.
“When a new player arrives during the season, especially in a team which has decent results, it is always difficult to integrate him straight away. But hey, the boys are not crazy, Gaël’s individual qualities are above the R1 level, adds Pierre-Yves David. If things go back to normal sportingly speaking; later, it will surely evolve to other levels. »
*When contacted, Gaël Derrien did not wish to respond to our requests.
