Aren’t you happy? On the corner.
On the TikTok account of So Foot, Yoan Cardinale released some tasty anecdotes about his time at OGC Nice and in particular the 2015 season. At the time, it was a team that fielded some great people: Hatem Ben Arfa, Mathieu Bodmer, Valère Germain… and of course Cardinale in the cages. All with Claude Puel at the helm. But beyond the high-sounding names, it was especially necessary adapting to the talent… and moods of Ben Arfa in training.
@so_foot This anecdote from Yoan Cardinale about Ben Arfa ???? #footballtiktok #sportstiktok #benarfa #hatembenarfa #ogcnice #nice #ligue1
♬ son original – SO FOOT
A genius, or poison in training
A little look back at a training session where Claude Puel organized a mini-tournament. A team brings together Cardinale, Ben Arfa, Bodmer, Germain, Mendy and Ricardo Pereira. A « dream team » on paper, according to Yoan. Except that Hatem decides he doesn’t want to play. « He broke the candy »says the guard. And there, Mathieu Bodmer releases a clear instruction: « Guys, we’re not passing Hatem anymore. » Result ? By boycotting their star, they end up winning the tournament.
Yoan summarizes managing the Ben Arfa conundrum in one simple lesson: « When he didn’t want to, you shouldn’t make him play. When he wanted to, he had to go. » A binary, but effective operation: « Sometimes it’s white, sometimes it’s black. As soon as we understood that, he was happy, we were happy, and we were winning matches. »
So, sometimes life really isn’t that complicated.
Nice blows the plug in Reims
Swiss
