After facing him for two seasons at Pau where he showed himself to his advantage, the new Clermontois Henri Saivet spoke to 90football in an interview where he talks about his time at Saint-Etienne. He does not lack superlatives to describe the ASSE supporters.
Winning the derby, a defining moment for Saivet!
“What remained was the epic Europa League. Playing Manchester was good because we were able to bring back a very great player from Europe in Geoffroy Guichard. That year, he won it too so we have no regrets, let’s say! It had a bit of an impact on me because we were able to at least get the supporters excited and everyone participated. I was happy for that. Another notable moment was the derby that we won (2-0 against Lyon, goals from Kévin Monnet Paquet and Romain Hamouma). It was exceptional. Already before the match, he came to the training center at Etrat. The atmosphere was exceptional. Smoke bombs everywhere. We felt that it was of capital importance to them. All matches are important but this derby had an even more special flavor. We really had to win it.
« I have never seen an audience with such fervor”
“I have a flash of my assist for Monnet Paquet. I remember, we go towards the public, we see all the supporters who go down like that. I looked at them and I was scared. Honestly, I tell myself if I had been an opponent, I would have been afraid to see that. Already afraid that they would hurt themselves because you had the impression that they were all going to fall. I felt shivers. It is indescribable, you have to experience it to understand it. Really, it is a crazy crowd. I have never seen a crowd with so much fervor, I have never seen that in my life. I knew that the atmosphere was like that but to experience it as a Saint-Etienne player… in terms of an atmosphere of fervor, I have never seen that!”
