“Before I amused the gallery, today I wake up hungry to win”

To the rhythm of a TGV, the Parisian moped paces the left flank of Zulte Waregem and puts on caviar like pearls. Best donor of assistants of D1A, he evokes the dangers of a precocious talent, Cristiano Ronaldo, racism in football, Daniel Van Buyten, the passing of legs, the Tournament of Toulon and Pauleta. But also Yannick Ferrera, delays in training, his friend Thomas Lemar, Sclessin, Olympique de Marseille and Timmy Simons. And above all … his dear 91. Jean-Luc Dompé passes ” On The Grill “.

At the sharp hour. He shows up at the meeting the very minute, to evoke his sparkling form … within a team yet on the brink of the abyss. Zulte Waregem is dragging itself down the rankings, but his pocket winger knows the shape of his life: revenge on fate for this great talent from France … dragging a big reputation as a enfant terrible.

” I haven’t done anything really bad: I’ve never disrespected my teammates or my employers! ” commence Jean-Luc Dompé. ” I was just, say, a little rowdy (wink) : I liked to amuse the gallery and I accumulated small delays … In fact, I lived my sport as a passion, and not as a profession. I preferred a nice risky gesture to a harmless pass… but one that could lead to a goal. Today I turned the button and became a successful and mature player. I get up in the morning to win: win a match and win every duel in training. It went through a famous questioning. I have seen so many less talented players pass me by and have a better career, just by their seriousness and their work. I learned from my mistakes and I am lucky that the train has passed for me: this time I will not let go, hit or miss… “

And indeed: the statistical assets of the Parisian show 11 assists after 20 days of the championship. Leadership of the specialty shared with the Brugeois Noa Lang.

” Aligning the assistants is not necessarily my obsession: it is above all a reflection of my current confidence. I position myself closer to the goal and I become more decisive: it doesn’t matter if I score or give the ‘goes from’… As long as I help my team. Football has become a sport of statistics: before we examined the content, today the figures are everywhere. It must be said that the big stars have burst incredible ceilings, so we all have to follow! Me, if I can reach 15 assists at the end of the season, I will be happy… but I have not foreseen a special bonus in my contract (to laugh). I will never be a selfish player … “

Maximum brightness. A winter sun is splashing over the Gaverbeek … which is going through some damn difficult times: theEssevee local scrapes the bottom of the classification … to the point that the institution Francky Dury was debunked after 20 years at the head of the team.

” It was a shock to us to learn that the coach and the club were stopping their collaboration: coaches who last so long, it’s rare in the world (sic) “explains Jean-Luc Dompé. ” We don’t know if it’s wear and tear or fatigue (sic) which motivated this decision, but Francky Dury is a legend, here… With Timmy Simons and Davy De fauw, we now have a duo of coaches who are still players at heart: they felt it, they understand the codes… which is sometimes a little less the case with those who only have a coaching background. A change of coach is also the counters reset to zero: those who were not playing regain hope, those who were playing question themselves … and in the end, the competition increases. “

Rescue operation started last weekend with a victory against Mechelen… thanks to a goal from our interlocutor.

” Me, I’m not naturally stressed, because as soon as I get on the pitch, I close my ears and I play my match: there are no four ways. As pro players, we are used to the pressure: I experienced that at Standard, in Ghent, wherever I went, in fact. But playing maintenance is still different: we play for a club, we play for a city, we play for the club staff who have a family to support and who risk losing their job if we go down. We, the players, are passers-by… and we tend to forget this responsibility. But between our feet lies the fate of a lot of people: when I arrive at the club in the morning, I see this fear on the faces of some employees. Until the end in any case, let them know that I will give my all for this club. “

Integrated into the core of Ligue 1 of Valenciennes from the age of 16, Jean-Luc Dompé has burned the stages… and produced a reverse course. Pinned among the best nuggets of French football, he even gave the victory to France U20, by scoring in the final of the famous Toulon Tournament (2015) bringing together the best World Hopes.

” We had a super-generation, and we made a famous bunch of friends with Thomas Lemar (Atletico Madrid), Presnel Kimpembe (PSG) or even Enzo Crivelli. We still talk to each other regularly on Instagram. And yes, I could have followed the same course as them and, who knows?, Reach the French team. But I’m already happy to have been able to seize my second chance and to have relaunched myself after my setbacks at Standard … “

Because in 2015, when he arrived at 20 in Sint-Truiden, just promoted to D1A with Yannick Ferrera, Dompé has just refused an offer from… Olympique Marseille (” I was afraid of not playing, and I needed the minutes … “). A few months later, he will join his ex-coach in Sclessin… for a stay that will turn into black pudding.

” Already in the summer of 2015, Red Bull Salzburg wanted to buy me after only 4 matches with Sint-Truiden. But I could not make two transfers on the same transfer window and at Stayen, they did not want to let go of me because I was the darling of the audience. Afterwards, at Standard, I was the victim of the rivalry between the two Sporting Directors Daniel Van Buyten and Olivier Renard… And I paid for the broken pipes. Van Buyten and the President Bruno Venanzi made me come… but Renard didn’t want me. And when Van Buyten was sacked, I had to leave the club two months later: as if by chance… I was pushed towards Eupen because Henry Onyekuru had to leave… but he finally stayed, and I didn’t play. It is my worst choice of career… because in principle, I was going to take minutes in Waasland-Beveren: there at least, I would have played… The players are often victims of the networks of agents: I know a lot of top -players who did not break through because they did not have the right contacts… and, conversely, average guys who took off because they had the right agents. Football is business! “

Fan de Cristiano Ronaldo (” Since I was little, I’ve eaten everything he does: the leg stretching has become my favorite treat! “) and PSG (” It dates from the time of Pauleta, I made matches in the stands of the Parc des Princes! “), Jean-Luc Dompé is originally from Evry, in the Paris region. It was there that he hit his first balls… and that he still has his friends today.

” The 91 (NDLA: number of the Department of Essonne), it’s my life, it’s my heart, it’s my blood, it’s my veins! We learned everything in the neighborhood: that’s where we learned to play freely and above all, without pressure. Me, that I play in front of zero people (sic) or 40,000 spectators, I have zero stress! But I also managed to get out of 91, because I could have gone wrong: the neighborhood is quite ‘hot’, and a lot of my friends have had legal problems. I went to the Training Center (NDLA: in Sochaux), and football has given me this essential framework: football, studies, football, studies, football, studies… and you do not get out of hand. We learn about life there, we learn about diversity and multiculturality. It’s like the concerns of racism that plague football: I recognize that if I am insulted, I close my ears and I play my match, as usual. But we must continue to denounce these acts, which Vincent kompany did very well. The important players and the leaders who have the power need to take matters into their own hands. We need strong signals: I am in favor of entire teams leaving the match when racist acts are reported, I am sure that the players would show solidarity with each other. But these are behaviors that remain the work of a few fools: the majority of supporters are great! “

Ray supporters, Dompé knew those of Sclessin well: the very people who today threaten their club with big suspensions. And before a reunion scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

” This audience is magnificent… but it is true that invading the field against Charleroi was not a solution: it gives a bad image of Belgian football. Standard have always been a special club, and the instability of the past few years, both in management and among players, has not helped. All clubs have cycles. But even if sportingly, it was complicated for me there, I only have good memories and many friends. My best moments? My goal in my first match against Genk and my goal in the Cup Final against Bruges! And I also knew there Yannick Ferrera, who had already brought me to Sint-Truiden and who remains the best tactician I have known. Even if in the relationship with the players, it was more delicate… After, on the ground, it is each man for himself: I will go to Sclessin on Sunday to win. I already marked there last year, and even when I was in Ghent. What if I’m afraid someone will whistle at me on Sunday? No: I was a bit of a darling there and we liked my smile and my friendly side. ” (wink)

Approached by ruffles in view of the transfer window, Dompé lets come: in winter or in summer, he will eventually go away. Always with this dream … of Premier League.

” You give me Chelsea, Man United, Liverpool… or even West Ham or Crystal Palace, I take! “he laughs.” Okay, okay, with my meter seventy, it won’t be easy … But look Emmanuel Dennis, the former Bruges resident: he is no taller than me and he walks on the water with Watford. And if I am small, I still jump high: I have a very good relaxation! But from there to work on my head game in training, no, eh! “(He bursts out laughing)