Monaco, Nice, Marseille, Montpellier… After years spent in the south-east of France, Valère Germain (33 years old) set sail in July 2023. Headed for Australia and Macarthur FC. At the end of his contract with the Héraultais, the French striker thus offered himself a new challenge in a championship, certainly less competitive, but for the first time outside France. Joining a team in great difficulty, the red lantern for the 2022-2023 financial year, the 1m81 right-hander then had the difficult task of breathing new life into a collective on the brink of the abyss. More than six months after setting down his suitcases between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the observation is implacable: the challenge has been met brilliantly. An indisputable starter in Mile Sterjovski’s 4-2-3-1, the former Olympian striker continues to perform at a very high level.
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Mute for his first appearance with the Bulls during a defeat (1-2) against Campbelltown City SC during the Australia Cup, the number 98 of the Australian team finally opened his goal counter against Shan United during the first day of Group F of the AFC Cup. In this competition open to clubs from countries deemed “developing” by the Asian Football Confederation, Germain continues to shine. Before returning to Sabah FC, a Malaysian club, the player trained at ASM totaled 4 goals and 4 assists in 5 matches. A performance as impressive as that displayed in the A-League Men, Australia’s premier division. With another hat-trick scored against Sydney this Sunday afternoon, Valère Germain, also a decisive passer, was one of the great architects of the spectacular victory (4-3) obtained by his team.
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A boss-sized performance allowing, moreover, the native of Marseille to climb to second place in the ranking of top scorers in the championship (10 goals, or 3 less than Bruno Fornaroli, Melbourne Victory striker). Indispensable in the team of the club based in Sydney, Germain has only missed one match since his arrival, against the Cambodians of Phnom Penh Crown in the AFC Cup (Asian Champions League). Carried by his providential man, Macarthur then had a much happier season with a fourth place, just two points from the podium and four points behind Wellington, the current leader. A real renaissance for the 2017 French champion, who had experienced several difficult seasons with OM (2017-2021) and Montpellier (2021-2023).
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“OM is a highly publicized club, so when you are in the spotlight, it is more intense than elsewhere. And then it’s the era of networks: as soon as something comes out, it takes on incredible proportions. It was perhaps also a bit of fashion to attack me, an easy criticism. But I don’t feel bad at all when I think about it, it’s football today. I’m happy with what I did there. I could have done better, but I don’t have a catastrophic memory of Marseille at all.”, declared, despite everything, the person concerned during his visit to the Marseille city. Today far from La Canebière, the former Marseille striker is, in any case, living the Australian dream. In a country rather fond of rugby or even Footy, a local variant of football mixing American football and rugby, Valère Germain is well on his way to experiencing one of the most prolific seasons of his career.
Pub. 02/05/2024 4:01 p.m. Updated 02/05/2024 4:46 p.m.
2024-02-05 15:01:39
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