Juliette Faure (BBH): “I sometimes have trouble realizing what is happening to me…”

You started your second season at Brest, after not being retained by Besançon. From a failure, you ended up enjoying a great promotion…

But there is no feeling of revenge at all. Frankly, being a high-level athlete, you know very well that you cannot be sure of being kept in all the clubs. It was going very well in Besançon, but the coach and the staff made their choice and I was no longer in it. So yes, it was a big disappointment. But in the end, Brest came for me, something I didn’t imagine at all, not even for a second. For me, it was really “something crazy”.

You arrived here without certainty, and we have the feeling that you have clearly taken a step forward in Brest.

When I arrived, my only objective was just to take everything I could, in terms of playing time in particular. Initially, just being selected was already an accomplishment. Because last year, we were more than 20 pros when we can only put 14 on the match sheet. Same in the Champions League, which I had never played. Little by little, I realized that it was working well, that I needed to continue without necessarily putting too much pressure on myself. And I think that’s also what worked, telling myself that I had nothing to lose. I can just progress, gain experience, have fun, learn from all the girls. In the end, it worked, I feel like I’ve reached a milestone. But I still sometimes have trouble realizing what is happening to me.

In addition to having already known Raphaëlle Tervel and Sandrine Mairot in Besançon, to have a profile that matches their expectations, you also benefit from the absence of Méline Nocandy to have more playing time.

Already, if we start at the very beginning, nothing but the club, the infrastructure, the means put in place, everything is done so that we are in the best conditions. Afterwards, Raphaëlle and Sandrine, I was obviously happy to see them arrive, they had known me very young when I was 17 years old. They are really there to help us all progress. There is a very positive atmosphere and we are given real freedom to try things. Everyone works in a super positive, happy and very healthy environment. We manage to laugh while working.

Does seeing Clarisse Mairot find a place in the French team give you any ideas?

Already, I’m super happy for her. She is even younger than me and she manages to confirm what she already showed in Besançon. Here, she has clearly even moved up a level, she is one of the best scorers in the Champions League… For my part, I know well that to be taken into the French team, you have to perform at a club. So I keep working and if it has to happen, it will happen. And if it doesn’t happen, it will be like this.

You feel very serene. You are reaching the end of your contract: have you started discussions with the BBH for an extension?

Not yet. But as I said at the beginning, I try to perform as well as possible on the pitch. I would definitely like to stay, I love this club and I really like this region and its magnificent landscapes. But afterwards, the decision belongs to the club, to the coach.