His stats speak for themselves. Anaïs Ribeyra, the new striker for En Avant Guingamp, has always scored wherever she has been. And for her, it almost all started in the Côtes d’Armor. “In 2009, I had the choice between leaving Clairefontaine and staying at Olympique Lyonnais or the opposite,” says the center forward with 38 goals in 114 appearances in the Premier League, or one every three matches. But at Clairefontaine, I could do the studies I wanted and my manager found me a place at the Stade Briochin. At sixteen, I launched into D1. I was in Clairefontaine during the week and in Saint-Brieuc at the weekend.”
“The situation is stimulating”
Not an easy context, but Anaïs Ribeyra is used to traveling. “I was born in Germany during my father’s military service, I grew up in Reunion Island and I came to the mainland for football at thirteen.” And from Lyon to EAG via Rodez, Grenoble, Brest and even Saint-Étienne where she met Jérôme Bonnet, En Avant’s winter recruit never stopped moving. Always accompanied by a certain efficiency.
She intends, after several months without playing at the end of her adventure in Lille, to quickly revitalize a Guingamp offensive sector lacking inspiration. “The situation is stimulating, the challenge makes me want to,” assures the 32-year-old footballer.
Assumed choices
If some could have been cooled by a call from the Rouge et Noir due to the current position of the club, again beaten Wednesday in stoppage time in Nantes (1-2), this was not the case for Anaïs Ribeyra. The player with 81 goals in 92 D2 matches has always followed her instinct and assumed her choices, as when she refused offers from the elite. “I have several times had opportunities in D1, but I sometimes preferred to stay in D2 due to my mental well-being and the efforts I was capable of providing at those times.” To never betray the trust granted by its clubs. But rather offer them his sense of purpose.
