After more than 400 pro games (Metz, Valence, Valladolid, Lille, Nîmes, Arles, Angers, FC Bruges), Ludovic Butelle makes a last adventure at 38 with the Red Star who receives Boulogne this Friday (7 p.m. at the Duvauchelle stadium de Créteil) for the 2nd day of National. He explains the reasons for his choice and looks back on his rich career.
Why did you choose to come in National at the Red Star?
LUDOVIC BUTELLE. After my last season as an understudy in Angers, I was looking for a good project in a club with good infrastructure to end my career well. I didn’t want to stop on a year when I didn’t play. I had several requests: L1 clubs to be an understudy (Editor’s note: Troyes), abroad or Cholet (National)… I came to visit the facilities, I saw the Bauer stadium and the training center in Marville which are being rebuilt and I was won over. I also had a very good feeling with President Haddad.
What did you know about the Red Star before signing?
I never had the opportunity to face them during my career. I know it’s a legendary club with real popular values. It’s a dimension that means a lot to me. After that, in all honesty, I didn’t necessarily watch National games. But I am very friends with Cheikh Ndoye from Angers. I had him on the phone a lot and I followed his journey last season.
How did you experience your last season as an understudy in Angers?
It was frustrating. The club made this decision and I did not expect it. I could have left. But from the moment I chose to stay, I played my role as an understudy to the full. I did my best to help Paul (Editor’s note: Bernardoni) to integrate well and to support it on a daily basis. The two of us have built a very good relationship. Even if it did not end as I would have liked, Angers is a club that has meant a lot to me. There was this rise in Ligue 1 but I remember above all this human adventure. A project, we share it with an entire club, from administration to players. These are the moments that I want to relive with the Red Star. Everywhere I have been I have tried to leave a good image and that is what matters most to me. More than titles or climbs.
In Angers, you were very appreciated and close to the supporters …
I am a simple and natural person. I always give myself 100%, I have values and I don’t cheat. In all my clubs, I have tried to respect their emblem. In return, people had a good image of me and I was able to share with the supporters. That’s why I like the popular side of Red Star too. I look forward to being able to share with them at Bauer. As an elder, I have to bring my experience and lead by example. I want to prove myself worthy of the Red Star crest.
You had a serious accident (fractured spleen) with Valence in 2004, your career has never been easy. What are you most proud of?
I am always very reserved to talk about myself. But I am sensitive when it is the people who matter to me or like when I arrived here at the Red Star, who congratulate me on how far I have come. I am entering my 23rd season at the highest level and I have learned that it is a profession where you have to be very strong mentally. In two weeks, you can go from being the best player on the team to being the worst… Everything can also stop overnight, as I almost experienced in Valencia. But I have always known how to question myself and never give up. The trials I have experienced in my career have also made me put a lot of things into perspective.
Until what age will you still hope to play?
I don’t set limits for myself. Physically, I feel good. It’s up to me to be efficient to bring something to the team. I have enough perspective on myself to draw the conclusions if one day, this is no longer the case.
You have started your retraining by creating your own brand of gloves, B-Save …
It was not planned and I started this project with a friend. It is a brand which is also intended for amateur goalkeepers. Football is not only L1, L2 or National… Amateur clubs are suffering a lot financially and this project also allows me to help them. It allows me to stay in touch with real football… This closeness, this human side is very important to me.
To come back to the field, how did you experience your debut at the Red Star with this defeat (2-0) at Concarneau?
These are not the beginnings we hoped for. This match allowed me to get into the National’s bath right away. It’s totally different from Ligue 1 in terms of the stadiums, the atmosphere and the style of play. I was aware of that when I arrived so I prepared for all of this. We saw in video what had not worked. We took a good lesson, we must use it to move forward.
