PSG have officially lost their title of champion of France, acquired for the first time last season. OL won against the Parisiennes this Sunday evening (1-0). And if the disappointment is great for Bernard Mendy, evening coach after the sidelining of Didier Ollé-Nicolle, the coach promises that they will come back “stronger”. With him at their head? Case to follow.
Is it a great disappointment to lose this title of champion of France?
BERNARD MENDY. Yes. I’m not going to repeat the season for you… The most important thing today was to show a good face. Like I told the girls, I’m very proud of them. They had a great game. We have five minutes of inattention which penalizes us. We can be disappointed. The objective was for OL not to be champions with us… But we showed a good face compared to what happened.
How did you manage this week?
I changed a lot of things. You saw the game system today. I think we had the profiles for that. They answered present. We only had two days to work. Imagine in one or two weeks. The mental aspect was also important. You had to try to forget what had happened. They played more relaxed. Congratulations to Lyon who had a great season. The credit goes to him. But we will come back stronger.
What have you done to restore their confidence?
We tried to change things, by making things simpler. We made a lot of videos, just to restore their confidence that they may have lost. Being a deputy, I have a role of big brother. There, I was number 1 but that had not changed. I was as close to them as before. They gave it back to the field. It was the main thing.
There were choices to be made. The midfield girls responded. Ami (Diallo) had a great game. You have to congratulate her. And I anticipate your question about Sara (Editor’s note: Däbritz, absent from the match sheet when she has already signed up with OL). I wanted to start Laurina (Fazer). This is the future of the club. She did it very well tonight. The choice was to put Sara in the stands. Not to cover up what she’s been doing here for two years. But I didn’t want to penalize her in relation to the whole context.
The songs of the ultras to your attention have not escaped you…
I do not know. What did you hear (laughs)?
They want you to stay in this position…
I heard them. I can’t talk about my personal situation. It would be inappropriate for me to talk about the situation of the coach, who is under contract. But you will soon have news (smiles).
How is Marie-Antoinette Katoto, injured?
She had adductor pain. But nothing serious, I think. In relation to the deadlines with the France team, if it is selected (smile), I did not want to take any risks. I will not take it for the last game on Wednesday.
