Jessy Deminguet stopped in the mixed zone after leaving the locker room to meet the Normandy press, like at the time when he was still wearing the SMC jersey. Only this Saturday evening, it was the colors of FC Metz that he wore. A reunion with a smile, especially since his team had just won (1-0) and continued at the expense of the Normans. “This match in my opinion could have gone either way, concedes the garnet midfielder. We knew how to score this goal which did us good. Alex (Mendy) had the chances but we were lucky that today he put them aside or on the post. We should have scored this second goal which would have done us good but it was a bit complicated at the end of the match.”
“It made me happy to see the Caen public”
This meeting had a special flavor for the native of Lisieux. He found his training club for the first time, seventeen months after his departure from Normandy. In the stands, he recognized many familiar faces including his in-laws who had traveled to Lorraine. “It feels quite strange but it's part of football. It's mostly before the match in fact. When we get on the pitch, we manage to move on but before and after the match it's always a bit special. “ The exchanges were warm before kick-off when recognizing the pitch with his former teammates and members of the Caen staff. “I still know a lot of people but it was a pleasure to see them, a pleasure to see the Caen public. It was also important for me to go see them and thank them. It was cool, now there also has a match in Caen (April 5) which will also be special for me, I think.”
“I would have liked it to have happened differently but it’s past, it’s behind me.”
Born in Lisieux, Jessy Deminguet will have spent fifteen of his twenty-six years linked to the SM Caen jersey before leaving for Strasbourg in the summer of 2023 in a difficult context. His aborted departure the previous year to Toulouse and a conflict with management had spoiled his last season in Rouge et Bleu. “Quite honestly, there are no more regrets. I would have liked it to have happened differently but there were a lot of things that went wrong internally (smile). behind me. And now I'm moving forward.”
If this evening was a little special for the Lexovian, it will obviously be even more so when he returns to his native region and when he returns to the Ornano stadium. “I already hope that I will be present at the return match. My parents will be present. I hope that there will be a lot of people. I will book the places in advance (laughing) even if we don't know never with football. Of course I would like everyone to be together in Normandy where it all began.”
