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Wendie Renard OLPlay Interview (October 15, 2024)

Interview took place back in October but I only finished translating it now because I actually have a life jk I have billable hours I have to meet if I want to stay employed. So a lot of the stuff might be a little out of date, y'all just have to deal with it.

Blah blah standard disclaimers apply; @OL Comms Dept it's rainy and chilly pls contribute towards my Starbucks fund; I'm not sure even the most qualified therapist could solve some of y'alls parasocial relationship issues you are that CREEPY AND WEIRD; y'all know the speech by now.

A good and proper chat with Lyon's renown Bad Catholic. This is what Lyon is actually about: a football player talking about what makes them, well, a bad Catholic football player. Imagine not pouring yourself a glass of wine and having a good and proper chat with Renard. Wouldn't know, couldn't be me.

I also cannot emphasize how time consuming translating an hour-long segment actually is for those of us who are functioning adults with full time jobs. Lyon should really be sending me a bottle of Zinfandel (Sextant, 2008) for doing this shit.

Finally, and I know this is a weird thing to have a beef about, but I cannot emphasize enough how much I CANNOT STAND when people say/write "OL" instead of Lyon. This is a hill I will die on.

WENDIE RENARD OLPLAY INTERVIEW

[opening segment]

Journalist: Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to OLPlay. I'm delighted to welcome you once again. There's an extra thing tonight, I'm smiling about it, I'm happy. I talked to you about it yesterday, you've been waiting for it, we've been talking about it on social media. Today we have a special guest. She is a figurehead at Olympique Lyonnais, for women's football in France, for women's football in Europe, for women's football worldwide. She is a figurehead for football in the purest sense of the term. I'm really, really to announce - and it's not Jules Cross - it's Wendie Renard who is with us tonight. Good evening, Wendie. I'm really happy to have you here tonight.

Renard: Thank you. I'm really happy as well, thank you for having me. I'm eager to spending some time with you.

Journalist: Usually I like to pick the intro music based on whose birthday it is that day. Today, just for you, and I know it will make you happy, I chose music from Martinique.

Renard: That's it, this is the core. It reminds me of my roots. So I'm really happy to have this intro music. It makes me happy.

Journalist: If I let it run too long, will you start dancing?

Renard: [laughs]

Jules: Let it play, let it play. We can play MMMBop afterwards.

Journalist: We had Melchie [Dumornay] on after the Trophee des Championnes, and it was Jocelyne Béroard's [Martinique singer] birthday. I put the music on, we lost Melchie. She started dancing.

Renard: I can't blame her, Jocelyne makes good music. Whenever we hear music our body just takes over. It gets a mind of its own. That's our nature.

Journalist: In any case, welcome, Wendie. Obviously Jule Cross is here too. Good evening, Jule.

Jule: Good evening. Good evening, Wendie. Good evening everybody. I am happy to be here and to listen to music from Martinique, that's always good.

Journalist: We have been trying to get Wendie for a while. Jule and I brainstormed what we will be talking abut, there will be some surprises. We will talk about what's coming up, that's the game against Wolfsburg and we will end on the calendar, with the UWCL and the league. There's a lot of games. And we will get to know Wendie a little bit better as well. We will talk about her career so far, Renard 2027 and I am not talking about the elections, it's her extension.

Jules: Why not? We never know.

Renard: No, no.

Journalist: We will begin with the start of the season. It's a good start to the season in the league and the UWCL. Playing in the UWCL again. Anyways. There is a lot coming up. We are going to spend an hour with Wendie. And to be sure, Wendie, we've wanted you on the show for such a long time. We know you are so used to interviews, we know you are used to interview segments. So I want to start with a questionnaire to avoid any cliches and so you can point me in the right direction for the upcoming topics. So it's simple. So I will give you themes and you will have to tell me which question you hate, which one you don't want to hear anymore, and which one you'd like to be asked. Very simple. Here's the first theme: press conferences. What is the question you'd like to ban from press conferences and which one are you never asked?

Renard: Wow. One I'd like to never be asked again?

Journalist: Or an annoying question.

Jules: This is actually a philosophy exam.

Renard: [laughs] And it will last three hours. [this is a joke about the French baccalaureate] No, usually it's fine. Honestly it's fine. There aren't any questions. You know when you get to this level that journalists have certain criteria they have to meet. So you need to know how to answer them. So off the top of my head, no, I can't think of any questions I don't like being asked.

Journalist: Even after games? Are there questions when you've just finished the game, you haven't even caught your breath and they're putting a microphone in your face, and they're like "well? What are your thoughts on the game?" Is it the same, are there questions you're tired of being asked?

Renard: I think it depends on how the game went. It's easier when we've won. When you've lost, and depending on how you lost, then obviously yeah, it's hard. But it's a bit trivial at the end of the day. It's always the same questions at the end of the day, before or after the game.

Journalist: Is there a question where you're like "oh god, here we go again" and you already have your answer prepared?

Renard: No. Honestly, no. It's fine.

Journalist: And if I broaden the scope, if we're talking about women's football as a whole, are there questions where you're like "god, that's so cliche, can't you ask something else?"

Renard: Yeah, there are definitely cliches. It's often the same phrases which come up when it comes to women playing football. But beyond that, I think that I don't really pay that much attention to it these days because I know the opportunities the club [Olympique Lyonnais] gave me, but also worldwide. There are real opportunities out there for women. So you can't let that get to you. I just hope that those people who say those things, I hope they have daughters and they say to him "daddy, I want to play football."

Journalist: And when people are talking to you in interviews, whether it's about Martinique or yourself, doesn't matter, are there questions you would like to be asked and are there questions where you're like "you've asked me this 100 times, this is getting ridiculous"?

Renard: Yeah. "What is there in Martinique?" [imitating a journalist] What is there to do in Martinique? Well there's everything. You're on an island, there's lots of things to do. It's a beautiful island. I would encourage people to go.

Journalist: So what is there?

Renard: A lot of things. There's a lot of things. My roots are there. There's the volcano, there's the ocean, black sand, white sand. There's a lot to discover.

Jules: There's everything.

Journalist: There are also a lot of memories for you.

Renard: But it also depends on what you like to do when you're on vacation. Everyone has to make their own choice. But in any case, I relax and recover when I go home.

Journalist: Do you invite players over to visit you?

Renard: Yeah, I've brought teammates with me. They dug it by the way, they want to come back. Others want to come too. So now we need to find the right time.

Jules: The tourism office will be in touch.

Journalist: It's a bit your role.

Jules: Like an influencer.

Renard: Not an influencer. But they know. But like I've said, it's always better when you go explore a country or an island to be with someone who knows it, that way you're not wasting any time. You're going straight to where it's beautiful. You're doing cool shit, you've planned it all out. So that's good. It's better.

Journalist: I see which direction we can go for the questions, and where we can't go. [to Jules] We can scratch a couple of our talking points, it's too cliche.

Renard: No, it's okay, it's okay.

Journalist: Here are the themes we will talking about. What life is like on the pitch, your life journey so far, and obviously Martinique. Let's talk about what happened most recently. The league last weekend, there was that away game against Dijon and we will go over where we are in the calendar, or rather in the rankings, Jules, with Lyon in its traditional spot. [note: this discussion took place a while ago so the hierarchy has changed a bit but Lyon is still first]

Jules: Yes, you had let Paris FC take top spot after the first league day on goal difference, but now you are on equal points with Paris Saint-Germain but are still ahead on goal differential. You're also ahead of the surprise team of the moment, Saint-Etienne [ASSE], whom you will be playing against in a few weeks. And then there's Paris FC. We've talked a lot about the perfect start to the season, Wendie, with four cleans sheets, a new formation put in place by Joe Montemurro. For the moment, everything is going perfectly.

Renard: Yeah, I think everything is perfect in terms of rankings and results. Now that being said, for sure in terms of the game, with the new coach, there's still some stuff to work on. For instance his game plan, you can see there's some small adjustments to make.

Jules: Yeah, there were a lot of experiments, a lot of changes, a lot of turnover.

Renard: Exactly. And I think that since the start of the season, I don't think the coach has had - okay for a few weeks now he has had the entire team to work with.

Jule: It was the case with you. You came in late, you didn't do the preseason.

Renard: Yeah, I didn't take part in preseason. At the start we were playing with three at the back, now it's four at the back. So you have to get your bearings depending on which player you have next to you, in front or behind, it's not the same thing. But yeah, I think that on the whole everyone is on the same wavelength. We're working well, everyone is having a good time. So the future is pretty positive.

Journalist: The question is when you're a player like you are, you've been here 18 years. You've had several coaches. Is it easier to change coaches when you have experience or is it the other way, you're too used to things and you're like "I have to put in some more effort." You were talking about playing in a back three instead of a back four. Do you think it's easier or harder?

Renard: No, there isn't an easier or harder. There's just personal growth and then collective growth because expectations are different even if football remains the same, meaning that we all want to win. But after that there are expectations and that's normal for coaches and staff. But for me personally, it's about good to have the new coach because first of all he is a foreigner. He speaks English so being French, it allows me to work on my English on a daily basis. Beyond that, even in the way of the mentality, that's different as well. You are always learning, there isn't an age cut-off. Learning doesn't stop at a certain age.

Journalist: Let's not talk about age.

Renard: Yeah. No, actually, I'm part of the older players. I'm not denying that. But when you're on the pitch, you need to do the work.

Journalist: Speaking of the pitch. Back three, back four. In terms of the playing mentality, controlling ball possession. For the outside one could say that the back three is when you want to keep the ball and a back four is when you think there is a stronger opposition? Is that the idea?

Renard: No, that's not how the coach determines it.

Jules: You played with a back four against Galatarasay.

Renard: Yeah, we played with a back four then. That being said, there were several reasons for that. But beyond that, no, I think that from the moment it's understood and that everyone is "100 percent physically fit", I think anything is possible. Now as I said, sometimes we can start with a back four and then you pause it and we're in a back three. Sometimes even a back two. So it doesn't mean anything. There's a positioning at the start. If you go back a few years, we were playing in a back three in the Gerard Precheur era. So it doesn't mean anything. It's a formation question and communication between the players on the field and how they adapt. And I think it's rather interesting when you look at our start to the season. There's still some things to work on especially defensively like not gifting opponents chances.

Jules: Staying on the topic of formation, if you do a freeze frame sometimes we feel there are only two defenders back because you might have Damaris who drops back with you or Vanessa Gilles and you have Sofie Svava and Ellie Carpenter who are more attack oriented. They really move up a lot. Is it difficult for you to handle the fact that while Lyon is a really attacking team, there are times when it's almost solely focused on the attack.

Renard: We're a really, really attacking team. Yeah, there's a lot of offensive. But I think it's also a bit of our role as central defenders to call them back. They [Carpenter and Svava] have the profile of players who overlap. They have a tendency to make themselves open whereas we have to bring a sense of serenity in defense. There has to be a balance in the team. That's why I said there are still some things to work on. And now we're approaching the big games, important games even if really all games are important since the start of the season. But I will say the UWCL is on another level.

Jules: It shows where you are in terms of the level.

Renard: That's it. So we need to take it seriously, look at each other eye to eye. We need to be stable defensively because it's important.

Journalist: Earlier you said you need to be physically 100 percent. Where are you in terms of preparation? Because I think you missed the start. Are you 100 percent now? Is there still a bit to go? How do you feel?

Renard: No, I think there are still some things - I'm thinking specifically of acceleration, sprints, that needs to come back naturally. But in any case, no, I feel really good. I worked hard. It's true that it was a bit frustrating for me to miss the start of the season. But in any case, the staff, the medical staff, we all took the time so I wouldn't relapse later in the season. Today I am feeling good physically. And I am improving every day because the more games you play, the better you feel.

Journalist: And still the same desire to win everything?

Renard: Always. It's innate.

Journalist: In terms of margins of progression, you said there are readjudmemnts to make. There is that adversity, we scored six goals in the first game, six goals in the second. Are there still changes to be made when you are dominating like that? You're paying attention to every detail. When it comes to the details for the work to be done, how much time do you need? And what are those details?

Renard: Each game reveals its own truth. But as the coach says, and as we say to each other, is that today we have high ambitions. So we're not basing it on this game or that game. We know where we want to go. We work on ourselves as individuals but also as a collective because as I said, there are readjustments to make. We need to be able to keep the same rhythm, control the game. And you can see sometimes in the second half that it goes all over the place because sometimes there is space and you want to take advantage of it but we should have better ball control.

Jules: It's been nothing but clean sheets since the beginning of the season.

Renard: Yeah, apart from the first game.

Journalist: It was a tennis score, 6-2 first set, 6-0 second set.

Renard: You could see after the first game, we made some readjustments. When we watched the video, there were readjustments made by the coach, it came from us as well. But it's about not gifting opportunities and precisely that, not allowing the opposition to think that it's possible [to create chances]. So we need to be rigorous, and yeah. Stay concentrated.

Journalist: We're looking at training footage now. You know how to train by yourself. You know where you're at with the schedule. Is that something you share with the young players? Do you tell them "it's okay, take another week or two, it'll be much better in the long run"? As athletes get older, the coach might give some advice, but they know where they are at.

Renard: Yes, of course. Obviously you get more experience as you get older. You become more mature. Your body feels more as well. So I try to - well I do it naturally - but I try to tell the younger players that it's important, that if the medical staff or the coach decide not to play you in a game, or if they're like "well you have a small injury, you feel fine and you want to play but it's better to wait", that's not for nothing. So for things like that, I think it's important because the younger players and myself, with a bit of hindsight, there's maybe a couple of things I should have been more cool about, be more patient. I can look at it in hindsight be like it was what it was, and that's what allows me to tell younger players to be careful.

Journalist: Have you become more patient with time?

Renard: I take more time even if it's frustrating. I take more time because it's better that it's healed well so that when you return to play, everything's good, rather than trying to shave off two or three days, weeks, and then you relapse in four months.

Jule: Speaking of injuries and healing well, you had a pretty serious injury at the end of last year, last December, I believe you were sidelined for around three months. Do you think that as you said, with experience, you took a bit more time than if you had gotten that injury maybe 10 years ago? Would you have rushed your return to the pitch? Here we get the impression that you wanted to play it safe. You missed some UWCL games, you returned to league play, you missed the quarterfinal against Benfica. We get the impression you wanted to pace yourself because it's a marathon.

Renard: Yes, it's a marathon but here the difference is that I was operated on.

Jules: Yeah. And that means having to play it safe.

Renard: There has to be a time for the scars to heal, you have to respect the timeframe.

Jules: You didn't want to cut any corners?

Renard: No, I didn't want to because of where the injury was, I didn't want there to be a relapse, especially because it's my shooting leg, the one I prefer on the daily, in all the gestures. I didn't want there to be any issues later on, especially any problems after. So the staff and I were very clear from the beginning, I was very clear about it. I've always said about my injuries that I want to come back like I never had anything. So yeah, I take my time even if I said sometimes it's frustrating when you see your teammates play, practice, they come back and you're in the gym doing rehab. They come back all smiley.

Jule: You missed important games.

Renard: And you say to yourself - yes, important games as well. But beyond that, you need to know how to take care of your body. And the period where I came back, it was a bit delicate because we were playing a lot of big games and it was difficult for the coach at the time to manage giving me playing time and also perform well. I understood that completely.

Journalist: We saw the picture of you in the hospital bed giving a thumbs up. We saw a similar picture recently with Selma Bacha. So the comeback can also help Selma. But let's go back to a lighter topic. We have some surprises for the show, some questions from Wendie's teammates.

Renard: No funny business.

Journalist: You'll have to find out. The first one isn't the most serious, you'll have to be careful with her questions. We vetted it. Lindsey Horan is asking the first question.

Renard: I'm fearing the worse.

Horan: Hi, Wendie. I would like you to tell the public what my nickname for you is and what your nickname for me is. Thank you, I love you.

Renard: [laughs hysterically]

Jules: I feel there's an oppo file here.

Journalist: It's a nice question, it's a good question. It's not an offensive question. However can we share the answer or not?

Renard: I would say thankfully - [starts wheezing she is laughing so hard]

Journalist: There's blackmail material for sure.

Renard: No, Lindsey [Horan] is joking. But she calls me "my heart". But I said to her, look, your heart belongs to Tyler [Horan's husband]. So I said to her, look you have to stop at some point. So she teases me a bit about that. And when she says she loves me, I don't respond. "I don't love you."

Journalist: So that's why she signed off like that.

Renard: Yeah, "I don't love you." We joke about that. But she knows full well I appreciate her as a person, I appreciate the woman that she is, I appreciate the footballer. So yeah. She's someone who is important in the team, she brings a joy of life. So yeah. Thank you!

Journalist: It really made you smile. We have other questions as well. We asked our followers on OLPlay on Instagram to submit questions for you. We'll start with the first questions, Jules.

Jules: Yeah, we'll return to life on the pitch, how you do things. What is your ritual for the night before the game? Or a pregame ritual? Are you a bit superstitious? Are there things you do regularly?

Renard: No, I don't really have rituals. But I have my habits which we develop over time. But beyond that, no, not really. Stay focused, log off, go on the bike.

Jules: We know you tidy the locker room a lot.

Renard: Yeah. I'm a bit manic about it. They've always said when you're in a messy place - I don't feel good when it's messy. So I do it because it really bothers me.

Jules: Who is next to you in the locker room?

Renard: Alice. Alice Sombath. But it's fine. She's organized.

Jules: She doesn't have a choice.

Renard: But sometimes there are socks which are left out.

Jules: Oh lord.

Journalist: Who do you have to look out for? Who doesn't tidy up after themselves? Can you give us some names? Or is it secret?

Renard: No. There aren't any, no. No, it's okay. Overall it's okay. There are two or three who sometimes - it depends.

Jules: Is there a to-do list? A process in the locker room to keep it tidy?

Journalist: You were talking about routines, about staying focused. Part of your routine, disconnecting, that's a part of your focus. We could consider that a ritual without talking about superstition or whatever. We're still focusing the same way when you're at that level. For you personally, do you have a precise order? How much time do you need to get ready? Maybe that's what the question was getting at. How much time from "I am outside of the game" and "my head is in the game"?

Renard: [shakes her head] For me, as soon as it's game day, that's it, I'm in the zone. Even the night before, I feel like there is a certain preparation, there's a certain "feeling" to have as well. There are things you feel with experience, as I was saying. You feel things more. So even the day before, everything depends on how the week went, how much rest you've gotten, how much is left in the tank, how tired you are. So, yeah. Beyond that, it's actually pretty natural. Game day, that's it, I'm in the zone.

Journalist: So if it starts the day before the game, can we say it's a ritual for you? You know what you're going to do, you know how much sleep to get, you know what to do on game day. Is it that order, that structure, which allows you to -

Renard: I just know how to do it.

Journalist: That's it, that's the top level. That's the answer to the question.

Renard: It's kind of like a ritual.

Journalist: Yeah, yeah. They're rituals. Let's talk about the news which dropped in September this year, that's the contract extension. You're going to continue the adventure with Olympique Lyonnais. We knew you were going to be here until at least 2026. But Jule, we gained another year here because it's to 2027.

Jules: To 2027, indeed. Still not a candidate in the elections but we'll leave it at that. [Note: French presidential elections are in 2027] We need to be focused on football.

Journalist: The show isn't over. We could still have an announcement.

Jules: Stay tuned until the end of the show. In 2027 you will have been here at Olympique Lyonnais for 21 years. That's enormous in terms of longevity, be it in women's football or men's football. It's really complicated to see that. Did you imagine in 2006 that you would spend your entire [football] life here?

Renard: Honestly, no because - well I'm going to say it, I've come from far away.

Jules: There is that.

Renard: There's that. Very far away.

Jules: Is it hard to see -

Renard: And it was very difficult to see ahead and imagine it being like this. That being said, I owe it to the people who always believed in me, to President Jean-Michel Aulas and his team because he wasn't by himself all these years. So yeah, I've met some nice people, all the staff I've known, all the teammates who have taught me a lot from when I first came in 2006. I've played with very good players so, yeah. All that means that - and when you win you have really high expectations. That really suits me because I am someone who is really hard on themselves. So in light of all that, I feel good, we're winning trophies. And for me each season reveals its own truth. I have to ask questions of myself each time.

Journalist: You said you're hard on yourself. Can we have an example for something where you're really nitpicking the minute details and say to yourself "that is absolutely unacceptable for me, I need it to be perfect"?

Renard: Practically speaking, take for example a game where we can win and sometimes you say "yeah, but you're dominating all the time, etc etc, aren't you bored of that?" No. There's always something to work on during a game. Typically I can go onto the field and say to myself "today I want you to - I want you complete five good deep crosses, find the player, break lines".

Journalist: So it's giving yourself objectives in a game, even if you're dominating, and make sure it's perfect going forward.

Renard: If we're working on something and it's not going well, and we're pressing higher to attack better - it's those things which I learnt from previous coaches at Lyon. Give yourself objectives on the pitch during a game. And then afterwards during the video analysis, because I'm someone who likes to watch back my game on film, that's when I am hardest on myself. I'm like "no, Wendie, you sucked there. You can't be doing that."

Journalist: We're always hardest on ourselves when we see our mistakes during our game day video analysis. It's not easy.

Renard: It's not easy but it's a part of playing at the top level, being able to recognize your mistakes. We're not perfect. If we were it would be too easy. So we make mistakes. And sometimes the opponent pushes us to make mistakes as well, so...

Journalist: And those standards lead to impressive numbers. At the end of your contract, you would have been here for 21 years. That means those statistics will go up even more. Jules, we're on to something monumental.

Jules: We tried to summarize your career at Lyon, Wendie. We had to use two graphics. It's a little complicated. Let's start with your achievements. 17 league titles, 10 Coupe de France, 8 Champions League, 3 Trophee des Championnes. As you said, there are very high standards. You're always in the mix, always looking to do better. We get the impression that sometimes it can get a little complicated, that it becomes routine, there is an element of complatency. But I feel like that's not the case. Is it always the same feeling when you lift the trophy?

Renard: Yeah, it's always the same feeling. It doesn't become routine.

Journalist: Well it's a little bit routine, you always do the same celebration.

Renard: Yeah, well, that's normal. You have to hype up your teammates. We had to fight, now it's time to celebrate.

Jules: Those stats were for the collective. Now we're going to look at personal stats. This is simply exceptional. 481 games played, that's the overall number, you've played 305 as captain. That ratio isn't bad. You've scored 152 goals. This is probably my favorite part, for the moment you've scored 99 goals in league games. I really, really want the 100th to come quickly.

Journalist: So I'm going to tempt fate a little. Last year we had Euge[nie Le Sommer] on the show before she scored her 300th goal.

Renard: Okay.

Journalist: Jule was pestering her for about three months. He was telling her, "look, the goals will come, I want them to come."

Jules: I wanted the 300th goal to come in the 400th game.

Renard: So you harassed her, got it.

Journalist: She just need 10 goals when she came on the show. She had to score them quickly. So.. Look you need to get that [100th] goal out of the way sooner rather than later because he can be really annoying.

Jules: Just get it over with so we can put it behind us.

Renard: Look if the opportunity presents itself, I'm not going to say no.

Jules: Think of me, that will make me happy.

Journalist: Speaking of Eugenie, you're at 481 games. Eugenie isn't that far behind. Did you extend just so you can stay ahead?

Renard: No, honestly no. I remember when we played against Montpellier, they were chanting my name along with Ellie's. I didn't know why, I thought it was because I was back with the team [post injury]. They're just happy about that. And then I found out it was my 300th [league] game.

Jules: It's a nice round number. I like that.

Renard: There are moments where you're not aware. As I said, I keep playing games and I play season after season. But I don't pay attention to the numbers. But now that I have the information... I'm going to do everything to score that 100th goal.

Journalist: That will make him happy. We've talked about hard work, we've talked about demands and expectations. We've seen all the statistics. We went digging in our archives and we found a young Wendie Renard who talked about the improvements she had to make. [to Renard] You can cover your ears if you don't want to watch.

Renard: No, no, it's a part of life.

Journalist: Do you think you've improved since you've arrived at Lyon? Renard: I wouldn't be here otherwise. I think I would have been kicked out already. Journalist: What do you need to improve on? Renard: Headers first of all. And I need to gain more experience.

Journalist: That interview dates back to 2009. We heard you say you need to improve on headers and gain experience. Do you think you've improved enough? Would you say to yourself, "don't worry, you've improved enough."

Renard: Yes, experience is brought through achievements as my team likes to say. When I was starting, there were times when I was naive. But I learned a lot through a forward named Katia, and a lot from Lotta Schelin. Those were two players, two forwards who did so much for me in terms of what types of players they were. For me Lotta was the best in terms of how she wanted the ball, finding space behind, how to find the pass. And then Katia, how she could play with her back to goal, what she could do physically. I learned so, so much from those two players. So that's why I said that, because I remember that very clearly. And yeah. I was a bit naive, so that's why I said I needed to gain experience. But I think also at that point in time I had other margins of improvement.

Journalist: You practiced headers with one of the men's players, or so I've heard.

Renard: Yeah.

Journalist: Were those individual sessions?

Renard: Well he was a goalkeeper. So sometimes when we both had days off, we would go practice. Sometimes he would send in crosses, I had another guy friend who came as well, he would send in crosses as well. And it was mainly about reading the trajectory, knowing the right time to jump. And respecting the ball, because headers -

Journalist: We're starting to believe that being 1m87 [6ft1 for those who don't believe in meters] makes things easier.

Jules: But it's actually a question of timing.

Renard: Yeah, that really annoys me I've got to say.

Journalist: So that's one of things we shouldn't ask, got it.

Renard: It annoys me. Because I'm tall I score goals? Yes, it helps, but that's not everything. I've seen forwards be it with the men or - actually a little less on the women's side - but I've seen really tall forwards but they haven't scored a lot of headers. Let's take Eugenie as an example. Euge[nie], she's really, really good at headers. Height isn't everything. You have to know how to read the trajectory, you have to jump at the right time and after, you have to direct it.

Journalist: Yes, Eugenie is just a bit shorter than you, [sarcastically] I think she's 1m85 [6ft]. [Le Sommer is 1m60, 5ft3].

Renard: But she's incredible at headers. So it's timing, it's a lot of things. And that's why when you hear "you score because you tower over everyone" - yes, it can help, but it's not everything.

Jules: In the clip that we showed, I'm not sure if the audience caught it, but you were basically like I sucked at the time. Did you do all that work because you were asked to or was that a challenge you set for yourself as you've said before?

Renard: When at the time with Farid Benstiti, when I first started - when I first came I was at 1m82, 1m83. And really in terms of coordination, I sucked. No, really. And he made me aware it was something to work on because there was something there. So I set to work. I was working on it in practice with him and then I was doing more work on my days off.

Jules: When he said there was something to work on, was he talking offensively or defensively?

Renard: Both. Both, because headers - first of all I'm a defender, so it was important defensively. And then obviously if I'm confident doing headers in defense, then - if I can read the trajectory correctly when I am defending, then I can do it on offense as well.

Jule: You're in the top 6 for most goals scored with the club. A lot of those were headers.

Journalist: We've talked about Farid Benstiti. I have some photos for you of different coaches who have been with Olympique Lyonnais. I'll put up the picture and you have to say a quick word about them. It'll be quick so we can move on to other things. But we can always circle back if there are things you want to elaborate on. Let's start with Farid Benstiti, he was head coach at Olympique Lyonnais from 2004 to 2010.

Renard: [big sigh] Well, he was the first one to want me at Lyon. He was the one who said yes when I was trying out. So he will have my respect, my gratitude for life.

Journalist: Second coach, it's Patrice Lair, 2010 - 2014.

Renard: Really tough. Really tough but he was the one who made me realize what the top, top level is like. And also if I want to do this over a long period of time, what I need to put in place in order to succeed. Especially mentally and repetition of things. I really learnt a lot from him.

Journalist: And you had to play against him later on when he coached Paris Saint-Germain. After, we jump to 2017 with Reynald Pedros.

Renard: I think - I think it was a little - isn't there -?

Journalist: Yes, sorry, I skipped a line. I skipped one. Before Reynald Pedros there was Gerard Precheur. When I said he went to Paris Saint-Germain I was thinking of Gerard Precheur.

Renard: With Gerard, I learnt - I learnt football. We can say it like that. But in a good way, in terms of tactics, playing as a team was just so impressive, playing for each other. He really is someone who knows football down to a millimeter. When I say that I'm not joking around. I learnt a lot, it was three exceptional years with him. The first year we did a double, then it was triple, triple. So it's also - I learnt a lot from him and I think from a team standpoint a lot of players will say the same.

Journalist: I had asked for a quick word.

Renard: Sorry.

Journalist: We'll move on to the next one. From 2017 to 2019 it's Reynald Pedros.

Renard: As a coach, Pedros.. Same thing. I want to say that in his approach to the top level, because he knew it as well, it was about giving us a lot of confidence to play the way we wanted. It was following on what Gerard had built. But the playing style was much more direct.

Journalist: It's the period of adaptation that we were talking about earlier. After that it's Jean-Luc Vasseur, who was there from 2019 to 2021.

Renard: With Jean-Luc I think it was a little... It was a bit difficult with him. But the principles were pretty clear, it was based on the team, defend well, and then use the counter attack. But generally speaking, every coach had their own style of play. They brought in different systems as well. You have to be able to adapt. But in terms of style of play I think we weren't dominating as much. We weren't dominating much and he wanted a direct style of play.

Journalist: And then it's Sonia Bompastor, who left at the end of last season.

Renard: Sonia is about expectations, standards. You have to kill the opponent. Kill the game at the first opportunity. Camille [Abily], her assistant, was focused on positioning. So there were times we didn't have the ball. But she is someone who is about expectations.

Journalist: And who likes to win.

Renard: And likes to win, obviously.

Journalist: You've played with her as a teammate. Who wants to win more, Wendie Renard or Sonia Bompastor?

Renard: It got heated. It got heated but it wasn't just the two of us. But I learnt a lot from her because I was really young when I arrived and Sonia was already an experienced player. So whether it was with the national team or here at Lyon, I learnt a lot from her professionalism and how to prepare for things.

Jules: In terms of cliches that you don't want to hear anymore, like "you're tall so it is easier to score", we often hear that it's easy for coaches to come to Lyon. It's easy because they're obviously going to win. But we saw with each coach that came in, there was an analysis on the tactics. It's a new cycle every time and it's not just arriving at Lyon and putting your feet up. There's actual work involved.

Renard: No, as I've said, each person has their own personality. Every person has their own way of thinking and of seeing things in football. And it's hard depending on the team you have, the players, the profile... Like when you have players who like to do something with the ball but you're asking for a more direct style of play, there can be some conflict. But as I said, it's about adapting. Football today means you have to be able to adapt.

Jules: Who has to adapt more? The players to the coach or the coach to the players?

Renard: No, I think that when the coach comes in and his ideas are clear, everyone adapts to him. That's a certainty. Then as the season progresses, if there are difficulties in winning games or - we try something as a team because we're all in the same boat, we all want to win. So you try to find areas you can adjust. At the end of the day it's the coach who decides on the style of play. Us as players we have to follow that.

Journalist: We just went through all the years with those coaches. Now we're going to move on. We actually have questions from Instagram. It's a rather precise question about all your years here. Jule?

Jule: You've been here since 2006, we're now in October 2024, you extended through 2027. Someone on Instagram asked, have you ever seriously considered leaving Lyon? What convinced you to stay?

Renard: Yes. In 2008, 2009, before signing my first professional contract, I was going to go to university in Canada. Unfortunately, I guess, it didn't happen because the president [Jean-Michel Aulas] - okay here the anecdote. The president found out because I told the club I was leaving. He didn't want me to leave Lyon. And in the months that followed, everyone [at Lyon] got professional contracts. So yeah, I was going to leave Lyon in 2008 even though I had just been there for two years.

Journalist: So Lyon becoming fully professional is linked to wanting to keep you?

Renard: No, not at all. Everyone got a professional contract.

Journalist: So it wasn't one of the conditions for you to stay?

Renard: No, no. We weren't pro at the time. There was a federal contract in 2009 for the whole women's section. So it wasn't linked to my contract, I signed my first professional contract in 2009. That's how I remember, it's because I was supposed to leave for university. So it's not really about the contract, because I was there for two years without a professional contract. I just wanted to live my dream of playing in France and winning games.

Journalist: And the second part of the question?

Renard: The second part? What was it?

Journalist: What convinced you to stay?

Renard: What made me stay? Well like I said, we're in a club with very high standards and expectations. We have a president who - well we had a president who always believed in women's football, who always gave the means for women's football to develop. We've always had big players. So for me, we're improving on a daily level. We're developing as players. And we're winning trophies. That's important for me.

Jules: The extension through 2027 was kind of implied in that question. 2027, you will be 37. Is this going to be your last contract? Are you already thinking about what happens next? Because I imagine that at 37 - well players are playing for longer and longer - but you're starting to think about things.

Renard: Yes. But I didn't wait until I turned 34 to start thinking about my future and the end of this contract. Beyond that, we don't know what could happen tomorrow. So for me, talking about what will happen after 2027 doesn't make sense, it's too far out. Beyond that, it's like I said, step by step. Day by day. One game at a time.

Jule: Have you thought about what you want to do post-career?

Renard: Yes, of course. But I'll keep that to myself.

Journalist: At Nice, you have Dante who is still playing, he is over 40. Is the long-term something you planned for? Did you tell yourself "I want to play as long as possible, I need to enjoy football as much as possible"?

Renard: In any case, football is my life. Ever since I was young I dreamed of playing football, winning trophies, winning games, wearing my country's jersey. I've always dreamed of those things. And recently a former Lyon player told me "do it as long as you enjoy it." So I do it as much as possible. I am conscious of the chance I have, like being healthy, the players I have around me. Now if I have to quit tomorrow, I'm okay with that.

Jules: Going off your last sentence. Are you ready for your career to end? We get the impression sometimes with certain athletes that the day after it ends, there's something missing. There isn't the excitement of game day, no routine, no practice. Are you anxious about that?

Renard: No. Beyond that, I think that when the decision is made, it's made. That's it, it's done. Obviously, having discussed things with former teammates, they said it's not necessarily the pitch they miss. It's the atmosphere in the locker room, the bond we have because we see each other every day. We see each other more than we see our families. So they miss the bond. Beyond that, we know when we started and we know when it's time to end. I know I started my career, I know I'm going to have to end it be it tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in 2027 or beyond that. I know I'm going to have to say goodbye at some point. It's a given, that's life.

Journalist: You see them everyday. Is that why you reminded Lindsey Horan who she has at home? [Renard laughs] We talked about Lindsey, we have another teammate who has a question for you. Will we get an answer? Who knows. It's from Eugenie Le Sommer.

Renard: What is Eugenie going to say this time?

Le Sommer: Wendie, can you tell us the size of the studs you've put on yourself, and why?

Renard: [laughs]

Journalist: We're back with the oppo files. What is this story about studs? Did you go too far with the size or something?

Renard: I'm not sure I would say I went too far. But I've played with studs that were pretty long, yeah. I think it was size 18 [note: idk how to convert that into American size so you're just going to have to use your imagination]

Journalist: Maybe size 20.

Renard: Maybe.

Journalist: They have a firm grip, you don't slip.

Renard: Yeah, but it's because the pitch was catastrophic. We were playing at Soyaux and it was dangerous. It was dangerous. We had to think of our safety and I wanted a firm grip.

Journalist: Look, when you're tall, you need to be anchored okay.

Renard: They [the studs] were already long. I will admit they were long. But hey it worked, okay. I really had a firm grip. I don't know how the others did it with the small studs, the 14s and 16s. Honestly I have no idea.

Journalist: I imagine the real difficulty was when you were inside on the tiles.

Renard: I was careful.

Journalist: We've talked about personal stuff, the values and morals you hold dear. We took a look at your Instagram to see which photos we could use. We picked one, and I think it will speak to everyone. We can see the smile on your face. You're not alone. On this picture - and it would be great if our producers could put it up - [production puts up a picture of Renard and Zidane] There we go. It's a picture of you and a fan.

Renard: He is a legend.

Jules: Nice of you to take pictures with fans.

Renard: He's such a legend. You have to respect him, it's Zidane.

Journalist: That picture, is it something you dreamed about when you were younger?

Renard: Yeah. Honestly, yes. Zidane is class in the purest sense, you see it in his body language, his gestures, his control [of the ball]. He was class on the field. Obviously, I dreamed of meeting players like him, like Ronaldinho, and others in this generation. But yeah, Zidane is class. And we have the luck of having a common sponsor, which is Adidas. So I took advantage of that.

Journalist: What was going through your head when you took that picture?

Renard: I was happy. I was happy but also a little uncomfortable because it's Zidane, and at a certain point - yeah. It's Zidane.

Jules: Is he nice?

Renard: Honestly, yeah. Really nice. It was a great moment, he shared some wisdom and experience. And me too, I had the opportunity to ask him a couple of questions, like when did he realize he wanted to be a coach. So yeah. I got a lot of answers.

Journalist: Maybe that was a hint for our viewers.

Jules: It's nice to hear that though, because sometimes when you meet your idols, it can be a bit complicated, it's not what you expect. [jokingly] When I met our co-host, I was starstruck. It took a year before we got along.

Renard: But it's okay now?

Journalist: We tolerate each other.

Jules: He knows my name now, that's something.

Journalist: Zidane is amongst the French people's favorites. You also were one of them. The rankings came out a few months ago, May 2024. You came in third in most inspirational French people. You're ahead of a lot of athletes including Leon Marchand. Is that a role you've had to get used to over time? Do you realize the impact you have on the younger kids? We talked about Zidane as a role model for you when you were younger, but you can be that for young football players.

Renard: You don't really think about it every day. But beyond that, yes. When we met young individuals or even the older generation, it doesn't matter, when you meet people on the street, when you're running errands, that's when you realize the impact. Especially the way people see you. But it shows that we had an "impact", and I'm putting that in quotation marks, on people be it directly or indirectly. So, yeah. It's nice, because in those moments I tell myself, "wow, the little girl from Martinique has come a long way." And there's an element of pride as well for me, but I think for my parents to be able to say - well, I guess thank you to them for bringing me into the world. I became what I am today thanks to my family and my support system. But yeah, it's nice.

Journalist: And we have someone who needs advice from you, it's a question on Instagram. It's two questions, Jules, am I right?

Jules: Yes, we put them together because they're linked. What would you tell a young child who dreams about playing for Olympique Lyonnais? And the second one says, hi, I'm a young player, I'm 14, I would like to play professionally but don't know where to start.

Renard: I hope you all become professional football players. But beyond that, I've always said it. You have to know you're lucky to have a lot of people around you in big clubs. So you have to listen to their advice.

Jules: Even in Martinique?

Renard: Yes, everywhere. Have fun, work hard. You have to understand that your body is what allows you to do your job. So I often tell young players to have fun, don't put pressure on yourself by saying "I want to become -". Obviously we have dreams, we have objectives. Kids have dreams. You want to play in the UWCL, you want to play for France or whichever national team it is. But what is most important is what happens daily. Have fun. And then you have structure from coaches and they will give you guidance. We're there to develop, to improve. So my message would be to have fun and if the talent is there, if the potential is there, then I think that everyone around you will do everything possible to get you as far as possible.

Journalist: We were talking about your values and things you support. There is that campaign, we saw your face being used, it was the anti-tobacco campaign. It's a cause you really got behind. "The tobacco industry never wanted a woman to be free. [Slogan: This year, the hearts of 20,000 women will stop beating.] I think this campaign really suits you.

Renard: It's perfect. That's also why I agreed to it.

Journalist: Your commitment to this cause, does it date back to anything?

Renard: Yes, a few years ago. It's got to be three, four years, easy. But yeah, it was a great experience with really amazing people. And I liked the goal because - well obviously I've lost people close to me because of this [e.g. lung cancer]. And even when I see the damage it can do on a day-to-day basis, I know people are aware of it. And I know it's hard for a lot of people to quit. But I was always told, "when you want to, you can." So you take to find the courage and then make the decision to quit. And then honestly, after you do that, sport is so important. It's a release. Let out all the negative energy because [Renard goes quiet] smoking isn't good for you.

Journalist: That's a really lovely message. I completely agree with you. We're going to go back to lighter things. We're going to continue with another question. We talked about it a little at the start, but it's about your cultural tastes, we should say.

Jules: This is my thing.

Journalist: That's what you think.

Jules: I'm going to hold on to it. This is the question. "Hi Wendie. Which television show are you currently watching and what music are you listening to at the moment?" Come on, Wendie, I need recommendations.

Renard: At the moment I'm really into Dadou [Pasquet] [NB: Haitian artist]. I like him, I'm really into him at the moment.

Journalist: And shows?

Renard: Series, no. I'm not really into that stuff.

Jules: You're more into music?

Renard: Yeah, music is more my thing. I'm really into music.

Journalist: That's great to hear, we actually have a music question. One of your teammates has a question to ask you. Or rather, they want to thank you.

Renard: it's got to be Melchie [Dumornay].

Le Sommer: Wendie, I have something to confess. It's because of you that I like Zouk. I think I know more Zouk than any other genre of music because how much I've listened to it in the locker room. So thank you for that, thank you for letting me know about it.

Renard: Euge[nie Le Sommer] is saying all the right things.

Journalist: I'm sure she's not the only one.

Renard: She's not. When [Elodie] Thomis was still a player, we put it on in the locker room, it wasn't really up for debate. So all of the older players, they've all been subjected to it for a long time. Amandine [Hnery], Sarah [Bouhaddi], Sonia [Bompastor], Camille [Abily], Lotta [Schelin]. Euge, let's be honest, her taste has improved. You learn through experience.

Journalist: You have to teach them, I get it now.

Renard: Right, they need to learn.

Journalist: Winning titles is cool and all, but it's about the habits you have to put in place beforehand.

Renard: Exactly.

Jules: Individual sessions with Zouk music playing in the background, I understand it now.

Journalist: Okay, no television shows but a lot of music. But we need to touch on another topic. We saw when we we were looking through photos -

Jules: That's also my area of expertise.

Journalist: It's a little bit everyone's area. Let's not pretend otherwise. We're going to show you the picture of - it's pretty self-explanatory. [Picture 2 if for some reason it doesn't load correctly]

Renard: So I like good food, so what?

Journalist: This is serious now.

Renard: It's serious, it's not a joking matter.

Journalist: You're from Martinique. The food there is pretty good. You get to Lyon, the food here is pretty good too. There isn't a lot of compromise involved.

Renard: No, the gastronomy scene in Lyon, it's really world class.

Journalist: Is that why you chose Lyon?

Renard: No, honestly no, because I really like to cook at home. So my thing is, I prepare whole meals, lots of fish, lots of seafood. Chickens well, because obviously a fox [renard = fox] likes chicken. [Audible groan from presenters] I'm not apologizing. Beyond that, I'm aware of where I am. I think this region has a wonderful heritage, so we try to take advantage of that as much as possible.

Journalist: We agree on that. We're going to return to the football discussion. We have another question -

Jules: No, no, I need food recommendations.

Journalist: We'll exchange recipes after the show. Another question from another teammate, but this relates more to things on the pitch.

Becho: So, Wendie. I repeat this quite often to you, I want you to play in at least the next World Cup [2027]. Do you think you will play in it? I don't know what's going to happen, if you want I can just put you in my suitcase and that's that. I hope you will be there.

Renard: She's nuts.

Journalist: She'll need a pretty big suitcase. What are your ambitions for the upcoming international tournaments? There's the World Cup, there's the Euros. Do you have anything in mind?

Renard: No. I think it's just too far out. It's difficult in that I've never hidden my love for my country and I've always wanted to win a trophy with them. And this disappointment from what happened this summer [2024 Olympics], it's still there. Now we need to move on. I need to move on personally as well.

Journalist: Was it hard coming back to Lyon after the Olympics?

Renard: No, because we had some time off - well I had time off, the players who played in the Olympics had time off. But when you've played in 2019 [World Cup] and then you played in the Olympics... I know we won't be experiencing that again anytime soon. It's the same for the upcoming young players. Hosting the World Cup and then hosting the Olympics, that's pretty unique. And then when you aren't able to reach certain stages, obviously you start to ask questions. But beyond that, that's just life. It's like that sometimes. It's part of what happens as professional football playing at the top level. But you have to always keep fighting. I will continue to work hard for that, but obviously you have to question yourself.

Journalist: Wendie, you need to come back very soon because we still have lots to talk about. I'm looking at the time and there are a lot of topics we haven't gotten to yet, such as the development of women's football in France -

Renard: Are you saying I talk too much?

Journalist: No, no, it's really good. You just have to come back soon and we can cover all that.

Jules: [goes over the schedule for October/November]. That's quite a busy schedule.

Renard: Yeah, those are things we like though, when you're playing every three days. Big games are coming up as well. There are higher expectations in those games. But I think we're ready, we have the team for it. But we know the game of the group stage is going to be really hard, it's against Wolfsburg [Lyon won 2-0]. We're used to playing against the Germans and it's never easy against those teams. Now we have the quality and we're ready to go to Wolfsburg and bring back the win if possible.

Journalist: You play two away games in a row. Then you have the home game, there's going to be PSG at home where you'll play in the Groupama Stadium. We're familiar with those games against PSG. Is that something you focus on from the start of the season?

Renard: It's not really something we highlight ourselves. Maybe you [the media] do. For the club's organization, yeah, it's important, and I'm going to take this opportunity to encourage everyone to come to the game and support us. You've experienced some great times with us, let's continue to do so. But for us it's just an important game, it's something we need to win, and we know that in the end it usually comes down to games against Paris [Saint-German], PFC, sometimes even Montpellier and Fleury. But honestly, we don't dismiss any team. Upsets can happen to anyone. It's not something - you shouldn't be a big team who looks down on lower teams. That's not what being competitive means.

Jules: In terms of surprises there's ASSE who is having a really good start to the season. The derby is coming up. We get that the games against PSG are the more important ones, but the derby, it's like the more it happens, the more there's a sort of -

Renard: Yeah, true.

Jules: Do you talk about it amongst yourselves?

Renard: It's true that compared to previous years - in the beginning - well the derby has always existed, okay. But not as much as on the men's side for example.

Jules: There's less at play.

Renard: There's that.

Jules: I don't think there's always stuff at play on the men's side either [ASSE is in the relegation zone and was in the second division last season]

Renard: Between the two teams, obviously we want us to be the one that wins. I'd say it should be a logical win but in football nothing is set in stone. We saw it one season when we drew against them in an away game.

Jules: That draw was a tipping point, you could tell that for the ASSE supporters, something really changed.

Renard: Yeah, it's a derby. There are tackles, there are a lot of things. You really have to honor the jersey you're wearing, and that goes for both teams. So it's up to us at Lyon to do everything to bring home the win. But like I've said, they've had a really good start to the season. Their playing style is really interesting. That being said, one thing at a time. First it's Wolfsburg [2-0], Paris FC [0-0], then PSG [1-0].

Journalist: We're going to focus on this week. It's an away game at Wolfsburg. It's the second match day. You had a good first game, Wolfsburg a little less [they lost 3-0 to AS Roma]. Wendie, that's all we have, it's been an hour. It flew by. I'd have loved to have even more time, you're welcome back anytime.

Renard: That works for me.

Journalist: Seriously, anytime. We're really happy to have had you. Thank you to everyone for watching. And maybe we can play some music to close out the show. And thank you again, Wendie.

Renard: Thank you for having me.

[redwineconversation]

hello. you left a neon pink post-it with pgs 194-359 due 9/12 in the book, by the way. it is now May 23rd and the library's printer is running out of ink. it jammed and tore my passport application. one of the librarians dutifully blacked out all my information (front and back!) before proceeding to use every unmarred inch as scrap paper.

i think maybe our (plural, inclusive) lives are connected. all of them. i have been thinking a lot about borrowing. about how people move through the world in waves, filling in the same spaces. i have probably stood on the same subway platform as you. we held the same book. all of us stand in the same line at the grocery, at the gas station. how many feet have stood washing dishes in my kitchen?

i hope you are doing well. the pen you used was a nice red, maybe a glitter pen? you have loopy, curling handwriting. i sometimes wonder if it is true that you can tell a personality by the shape of our letters. i'm borrowing my brother's car. he's got scrangly engineer handwriting (you know the one). it's a yellow-orange ford mustang boss. when i got out of the building, some kids were posing with it for a selfie. i felt a little bird grow in me and had to pause and pretend to be busy with my phone to give them more time for their laughing.

i have a habit of asking people what's the last good book you read? the librarian's handwriting on the back of my smeared-and-chewed passport application says the glass house in small undercase. i usually go for fantasy/sci fi, but she was glowing when she suggested it. i found your post-it on page 26, so i really hope you didn't have to read up to 359 in that particular book. i hope you're like me and just have a weird "random piece of trash" "bookmark" that somehow makes it through like, 58 books.

i wish the concept of soul mates was bigger. i wish it was about how my soul and your soul are reading the same work. how i actually put down that book at the same time you did - page 26 was like, all exposition. i wish we were soul mates with every person on the same train. how magical to exist and borrow the same space together. i like the idea that somewhere, someone is using the shirts i donated. i like the idea that every time i see a nice view and say oh gosh look at the view, you (plural, inclusive) said that too.

the kids hollered when i beeped the car. oh dude you set off the alarm, oh shit is she - dude that's her car!! one was extremely polite. "i like your car, Miss. i'm sorry we touched it." i said i wasn't busy, finish up the pictures. i folded your post-it into a paper crane while i waited. i thought about how my brother's a kind person but his handwriting looks angry. i thought about how for an entire year i drove someone to work every day - and i didn't even think to ask for gas money. my handwriting is straight capital letters.

i thought about how i can make a paper crane because i was taught by someone who was taught by someone else.

the kids asked me to rev the engine and you know i did. the way they reacted? you would have thought i brought the sun from the sky and poured it into a waterglass. i went home smiling about it. i later gave your post it-turned-bird to a tiny child on the bus. she put it in her mouth immediately.

how easy, standing in your shadow, casting my own. how our hands pass over each other in the same minor folds. i wonder how many of the same books you and i have read. i wonder how many people have the same favorite six songs or have been in the same restaurant or have attended the same movie premier. the other day i mentioned the Book Mill from a small town in western massachusetts - a lot of people knew of it. i wonder if i've ever passed you - and didn't even notice it.

i hope whatever i leave behind makes you happy. i hope my hands only leave gentle prints. i hope you and i get the same feeling when the sun comes out. soulmates across all of it.

[redwineconversation]

they made rotting a real human emotion, by the way. you too can experience an extant form of decay. just tell the truth and have nobody believe you. look a loved one in the eye and see the little flicker of doubt in there, the sad turn of the mouth. watch them weigh the significance of love, of trust. listen while they say i know you think that's true, but...

[redwineconversation]

Okay kids gather around and you are going to listen to mom scolding you. If you want to know what is going on with Lyon, you need to actually read interviews and listen to press conferences. Don’t speak French? Not my problem. Either learn the language or find someone who will translate whatever it is for you.

Item Number 1: Montemurro is not leaving this summer. He is not going to become Australia’s head coach. If you have a problem with that you are welcome to take it up with Football Australia who said, and this is a direct quote: “Joe Montemurro would have been a perfect fit, but he is at the biggest club in the world, Lyon, and he is on a two year fixed contract, and therefore we’ve pivoted on what we’re doing.” Quote in bold in the desperate hope that the arm chair analysts on Twitter will MOVE ON. He’s the head coach for better or for worse. Deal with it. Talk to your therapist about how to accept things you don’t like. Switch to a different team. Whatever helps.

Item Number 2: Montemurro offloading academy players is in line with Lyon. “OMG but we have to give academy kids a chance!” No, we don’t. If they can cut it then they are part of the team. If they can’t then they aren’t. Becho has been dropped for the group, I am celebrating like hell, I also know that is subject to change. If you want to see academy kids play more then tell them to step it up rather than demand Lyon drop their standards.

Item Number 3: Horan isn’t getting offloaded unless she asks for it. Could it happen now that she is married and Tyler is in San Diego? 💁🏼‍♀️ But as of right now there is zero indication Lyon is even willing to sell, we know there will be a massive price tag on her if she does, and unfortunately for the Twitter arm chair analysts, she is liked in the locker room and liked by the locker room leaders so she isn’t going to be kicked out by the players. Again, you’re just going to have to deal with it. If you don’t like it then you’re welcome to DM Hegerberg and Renard and see if you can convince them to kick her out but I confess I am skeptical about your success rate should you choose to do so.

Item Number 4: if people would take the time to either read interviews and/or listen to press conferences, they would know that Montemurro said that all the international players would be on managed minutes, especially those playing three games (Horan and Carpenter at the She Believes Cup) and those playing League of Nations. They would also know that national teams asked Lyon to give said international players managed minutes leading up to the game.

Hegerberg isn’t being pushed aside, she isn’t being disrespected, there isn’t an ongoing dispute between her and Montemurro or her and the club. Norway asked for her to be on managed minutes so she would be fully fit for them. Montemurro/Lyon said yes.

Look I know reading comprehension and critical thinking isn’t the strong point for some of you but Jesus fucking Christ I refuse to believe the bar is that high.

If there was a conflict between Hegerberg and Montemurro, Montemurro would be gone. He’s still there. It is literally that simple. For better or for worse Hegerberg is one of the players who has the power to dictate who is or is not coach. You don’t like Montemurro you are welcome to DM Hegerberg or her agent and see if she can get him to leave. Alternatively, have a chat with your therapist and stop. bitching. about things which aren’t going to change.

Item Number 5: I am sorry but I am SO FUCKING SICK of Benyahia’s idiot stans. She isn’t kicking Horan or van de Donk off the team sheets. She has neither the experience nor the level to do that. Someone was bitching on Twitter that Lyon had refused to loan Benyahia to Dijon in January so she could playing time, overlooking the fact Benyahia was still injured in January and has only just, in mid February, started playing with the group again. Lyon’s next game is on March 1. Absolute most optimistic scenario, she comes on as a sub in that game, and that’s truly counting on all planets being aligned. I mean seriously. Why would Lyon send out an injured player on loan just so said injured player can get playing time? Can someone please explain the rationale behind that mentality? Is critical thinking really that optional in life?

I hate stans and I hate arm chair analysts so fucking much. I’m sorry you need to speak French to get Lyon, I am. But holy fuck am I so sick of certain individuals spreading absolute bullshit because they can’t be bothered to read a fucking interview or listen to a press conference. If you don’t speak French then fucking shut up about Lyon’s dynamics.

[redwineconversation]

I've counted all the days since you walked away (Montpellier - Lyon Postgame Thoughts)

I am on such a Gracie Abrams kick right now. 100 percent recommend listening to that artist.

Anyway, let's talk about the game.

As things stand we don't know the extent of Damaris' injury. It doesn't look good, but sometimes things look awful spur of the moment and end up simply being "not bad". I'm not totally convinced that's the case here, if only because of the reaction of the team, and of Damaris. We're in a wait and see situation.

But - but it also highlights how much Lyon dropped the ball by not recruiting a "pure" backup DM. Out of all the current midfielders, Dabritz is probably the one who can slot into that spot the easiest but she is not a natural DM and eventually that is going to be exposed. Our only backup DM option cannot be Dabritz and a prayer. There is rolling the dice and there is flirting with disaster.

It wasn't Lyon's best performance of the season but it wasn't the worst either. The constant shouts of "Montemurro Out" are quite frankly irritating at this point. The results - for the most part - are there, he hasn't lost the locker room, they're playing decent. At this point I feel people are bitching simply because he isn't starting/playing who they want. You want to see what it looks like when a coach overstays their welcome? Just watch the second part of last season.

The defense was kind of frustrating. I think Carpenter did pretty good. That Huerta was able to come on and the right side didn't drop in quality really just highlights the importance of having decent rotation players in the first place. Carpenter isn't being run into the ground and is playing better for it. Cause and effect I guess. Svava, for the most part, was good, but that defensive error which lead to the goal genuinely made me grind my teeth. Gilles was uncharacteristically sloppy at times but also was solid at others. I think it's fair to place some of the blame for the goal conceded on her, just as it's fair to place some of it on Svava's reluctance to commit defensively on the play.

Dumornay was frustrating, but the rest of the midfield I thought was pretty decent once they settled in. Twitter screamed about Horan's missed penalty, which is fair, but I think if you take away the missed penalty, you're left with a goal, assist and overall solid performance. Pick your battles and have a leg to stand on. Dabritz did well when she came on and I have to admit Lyon settled down after Damaris' injury faster than I was expecting. Sometimes when there is a serious injury like that Lyon can get a little rattled, but they were able to keep their composure and got the job done.

I hate having been knocked out of the Coupe de France so early because there are so many breaks in play right now that I think it affects Lyon's rhythm a little bit. This is a team used to having to play every single weekend and when the schedule is disjointed like this I think it does affect them a little bit. We'll see what things look like in March when they're back to their normal routines.

Was it their best game ever? No. But it was a decent game, they got the job done. Now we wait to see the extent of Damaris' injury and are bored for another 2 weeks.

[redwineconversation]

I practice speeches in private, I was impressed with my every line. I think we call that "performing".

[redwineconversation]

I see you every night in my sleep, anticipating every bad dream

[redwineconversation]

Extract from Joe Montemurro/Wendie Renard Press Conference (January 16, 2025)

It's a 30 minute press conference and I have a full time job and billable hours to meet so I can't/won't translate the whole thing especially before Saturday's game.

However, I also really like the discussion between Wendie Renard, Joe Montemurro and the journalist about intra-team dynamics, so I'm translating that part. You can always trust Lyon's resident Bad Catholic to have a decent philosophical chat.

Journalist: Moving on to a different topic. We thought at the beginning of the season it could be complicated internally for PSG. We get the impression that's less the case at Lyon. I'm sure there are issues in the locker room just like everywhere else but it seems like it's handled better. Who manages the team cohesion? Is it the club, it is the players, is it the coach? How do you do it so there isn't any fallouts like we've seen and see frequently like at Paris Saint-Germain?

Renard: [sighs] I want to say that what happens at PSG isn't really our problem in the locker room. Obviously it affects teammates in the French National Team [cf Geyoro vs Diani spat]. We sometimes have to talk about it when we're with the national team. But in any case, no, I think it's important to be conscientious that we are a team. We live together, we see each other more than we see our families. We have a pretty big team whether it be the staff, the players. So we see life differently, there are different personalities as well. You have to know how to respect each other. You have to know how to say things even if they aren't going to like it, but do it with respect. And then when there's a problem, you have to tear the bandaid off. You can't let it linger. And it lingers, then it's the role of the coach, the role of staff - the staff, the club, they consult with the leaders and we talk about it. We try to find the best solution so that everyone feels good. Because the only thing on our minds is to win trophies. I'm not here to have problems with anybody. I'm not here to like everybody. But if we like each other, if we appreciate each other, it's even better because we're going to spend more time together and we're going to - we'll learn different things about each other off the pitch so we can be even better on the pitch. That's my way of thinking about things. I think it's important for me personally that everyone feels good, that we get the best from each player to win games because that's what matters.

Journalist: Can you elaborate on what you mean by ripping off the bandaid? How do you handle tension? Is it something you try to defuse quickly?

Renard: I try to. After, the coach sees it as well. There are members on the Board of Directors who see it as well. And if it continues then it's the role of the club and the coach to step in. Then as players, the leaders, myself as captain, I also have an important role in that. I know my teammates, a little less the new ones who arrived but I know my teammates. I know the core of the team. And I think we are big people, big women. So it's up to us to hold ourselves accountable and say things to each other. And I don't want to hear any "they said" in life. "Someone said this." Who said that? Let's go see them and we'll sort things out. That's it. Simple as that.

Journalist: And you, coach? How do you feel about the spirit of the team? The fact that there is no fighting within the team?

Montemurro: Yeah, I understand what you're saying. The squad, the staff, the group, is a solid unit and outside noise, what happens outside, is not really of any concern to us. It's really about having a clear direction, having clarity on (A) the football and (B) the characteristics in this group. And the characteristics for me are humility, honesty, and to be selfless, to work for the team. And if we have those things as a base, each character has the opportunity to be part of this group. I think the biggest thing for me is that there's a real family that's been created over many, many years. So I can't take the responsibility. [Montemurro points at Renard] People like Wendie [Renard] and the people who have been here [for a long time] are the ones who have created what it is to be Olympique Lyonnais, what it is to be part of this family. And it's a special family. And I think that is always in the base in why the team has been so successful and why the team is a leader in women's football. So I can't really answer that. Wendie answered it perfectly because she understands what it means to be part of this club. And each player and everyone that comes into this group, whether you're a staff [member], whether you're a player, understands the importance of being part of this special organization.

Journalist: Is it easier for you to work in this atmosphere?

Montemurro: Absolutely. Absolutely because I think the biggest thing for me is clarify of everything, having a clear direction on what we want to do and how we can achieve that. And when that makes sense, there's no confusion. There's no confusion. And when you have this idea of going forward that everyone's on board, that we - obviously you have situations every once in a while, you sway a little bit here - I think there's a clear direction on leadership as well. There's a clear direction on what we want to do. And for me that makes it very, very easy.

[redwineconversation]

time can do something funny, it can change my mind

There was some pseudo uproar about Lyon sending Maeline Mendy and Liana Joseph out on loan. Some saw it as an outrage. I see it as a topic of conversation. So let's kick back on our couch with a glass of wine and, like, talk about it.

Look, I know my stance on academy players is super well documented by now. I don't think there should be a direct pathway between being a talented academy player and getting playing time with the pro team. I'm not alone in this. Selma Bacha, a Lyon academy product herself, has said there is a massive gulf between the talent pool in the academy and what it takes to get playing time. Don't believe me? Leave French and listening to the Twitter Space for yourself.

Just because you've performed extremely well with the U-19s does not mean that will automatically translate to the professional level. I think that's what really grinds my gears about this. Yes, Lyon's talent pool in the academy is really, really impressive. They have a good eye for young talent.

But that doesn't mean they necessarily have the level to make it as a professional player, and it also doesn't automatically mean they have the level to play for a team like Lyon. Might they, at some point, have the level? Maybe. We don't know. And while I am semi-sympathetic to the argument we won't know unless we give them a chance, I there is also a rather important counterargument to consider: why is it Lyon's responsibility to find out if they can make it or not?

Well, it's Lyon's academy who found them, for starters. Sure. And Lyon did give them all the tools to succeed. They gave them coaches and an environment specifically designed for them to succeed. They made them grow up in a culture where you are taught that a hatred of losing must be greater than a desire to win.

But here's the thing: that last sentence comes from being serial winners. Blood lust is innate. Either the thought of losing changes you or you are indifferent to it, there is no in between. Either you're already a killer or you'll never be one.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: you cannot be a team who competes for trophies and focus on developing academy players at the same time. There comes a time where you have to choose whether you want to win a UWCL trophy or you want to find out what the U-17s have to offer. The reality of the situation is a group of U-17s players are not going to win you the UWCL. They're just not.

To win the UWCL, to win domestic trophies, you need players with experience. You need players who have been in that situation before. And not only that, you need players who have been in multiple situations before. You need to know they know how to handle a situation and the reason you know they know how to handle it is because they have been there before. You don't get that kind of experience of problem-solving at the U-17 or U-19 level.

Teams who compete for trophies have to know how to handle pressure and expectations and the fact of the matter is, academy players don't. Experienced players don't. There's some pearl clutching ("but how do you know this???") but like, I know it because we've already been through this. We saw what happens when Lyon doesn't have experienced on the field. Just look at Lyon's results when half the normal starting line-up was out injured throughout the first half of the 2022-2023 season. This is what I find so frustrating. We have been here before and I for one am in absolutely no rush to live through that time period ever again.

Now, I also think it's worth talking about. If Lyon's results in that time period weren't so catastrophic - and let's be honest, they were - would Lyon's Board of Directors maybe be more lenient about giving academy players a chance? Maybe. But I do think there is lingering trauma about what happened in that 6-month period and I think that's why both Bompastor (who maybe was too lenient towards certain academy players) and Montemurro have become gun shy about giving academy players playing time.

I am bitterly opposed to the playoffs and will continue to bitch about them as long as they exist. But I also think they play a role in the lack of playing time for academy players. Right now Lyon has a 5-point lead over PSG. Depending on how the game goes on Saturday that could either go up to 8 points, stay the same, or drop down to two points. Now I know people will clutch their pearls and say the league is as good as over if Lyon wins on Saturday but if the game against Reims proved anything it's that Lyon can put us all on suicide watch at any time if they so desire. Yes, a 5-point lead is nice. But it is January 15th. There are a lot of games left to be played and Lyon can fail to close out a game if history proves itself to be accurate.

And that's the main thing, isn't it? Lyon isn't in a position to fuck around and find out. Playoffs reshuffle the deck but if you want home advantage throughout you need to finish first. The teams who made it out of the UWCL group stages have to be taken seriously in theory. I refuse to live through the 2022-2023 season again, and that means having your strongest squad on the pitch. It means not fucking around and finding out.

Numerically it makes sense. Does that make it fair to academy players? Not really. But as I said - blood lust is innate. Either you have it or you don't. You can't teach a player to have a killer instinct. I truly do believe that if the likes of Mendy or Joseph or even Benyahia - whom I have legitimate concerns about - have what it takes, then they will make it. But good lord it's not up to Lyon to find out if they will when Lyon is supposed to be competing for trophies.

"omg I can't believe you're snarking about Benyahia!'" Yeah, well, not only am I doing it, I'm doing it with ease. Do I think Benyahia has potential? Sure. But good lord do I have reservations about her. It makes me so incredibly nervous when a 21-year-old player says about themselves that no other player sees the game the way they do. Don't believe me? Plug it into Google Translate and/or learn French and Read it for yourself.

I don't want a player who thinks they are above the team. I don't want a player who thinks of themselves as a savior, I want a player who thinks the team saved them. Maybe it's morbid. Maybe I have a thing for broken players. It's not impossible. But I think Lyon works best when they operate under the assumption that burying bodies is a love language. I'm not sure how well they would take it if someone told them where/when to bury a body not of their own choosing.

The other thing which really frustrates me is people acting like Lyon isn't selective about what type of players they are willing to take a risk on. They're actually selective. But if Lyon is going to roll the dice on a young player then they're only going to do it they've already rigged the outcome. Let's talk, yeah? Lyon likes players they can mold into their own image. Lyon looked at Amandine Henry, at Ada Hegerberg, at Wendie Renard, at Selma Bacha and said "hey, let's talk, do you want to grab a cup of coffee?" Lyon was willing to gamble on them because they saw something in those players. No, that's not quite right. I think they recognized something in those players. Monsters recognize monsters.

So that's also why I am okay with Lyon taking a step back with academy players. I am okay with Lyon wanting someone else to find out if a player has what it takes to make it with the professional team. They get an answer either way: at best, Lyon passed on a player's growing pains to someone else, at worse, the growing pains were someone else's problems.

[redwineconversation]

please be honest, are we better for it? (Lyon - Reims Coupe de France Postgame Thoughts)

Yes, I am on a Gracie Abrams kick. Yes, I know "I Miss You, I'm Sorry" is an old song. Whatever. It's broody and depressing, which kind of sums up how I feel right now.

So, what did we learn today? A painful lesson which we already knew.

I'll concede the ref wasn't great and this team hates playing on artificial turf but neither of those excuse the performance in this game. Lyon played incredibly badly, especially in the first half. The passing was catastrophic, there was little to no press to the extent that Reims was actually bodying Lyon players. No one in their right mind should look at those first 45 minutes and say "this team / that player played well." Well, maybe if you're an unhinged stan you can say that, but rational people won't.

Lyon wasn't really at full strength but had a strong enough squad that they should never have lost on penalties. Benkarth will get a fair amount of blame and I think it's fair, but there's also a caveat. Some of the penalties could have been saved (top corner ones probably weren't going to be saved). She didn't score the deciding penalty, but that's basically Bouhaddi's specialty and not anyone else's. I don't think anyone can/should say with absolute confidence that Endler would have scored the winning penalty. I do think people can say Endler would have saved some of those penalties.

And look, there is a drop in quality between Endler and Benkarth. I think Lyon is a difficult situation when it comes to goalkeepers. Endler is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, if not the best. It's a genuine argument you can make. Realistically you're not going to bench a goalkeeper like Endler, which means the backup goalkeeper isn't going to be playing a lot. Which means you have to have a goalkeeper who is "okay" with not getting a ton of playing time, and no top goalkeeper is going to be okay with sitting on the bench. That's an issue. Because Lyon isn't going to let Endler sit on the bench, but your backup goalkeeper isn't going to be playing a lot, which in turn raises questions about the match day fitness of said backup goalkeeper.

Benkarth lacks confidence. The way you gain confidence is by playing, and that's ... not going to happen if you have Endler on the team. So how to fix that problem? Rotation in certain games? But Lyon doesn't have breathing room, not really. Yes, there's a current 5-point lead over PSG, but there's the entire second half of the season to go, and Lyon still has to go through its traditional annual injury crisis. There's not breathing room, not really.

I don't think the defense was necessarily "great" but when your comparison is the midfield and front line, that's not exactly a great point of comparison. Reims was held goalless (low bar). The defenders scored all their penalties (medium bar?) Gilles was sloppy at times but made good saves. Svava was a little off but again, the entire team was so it's not really fair to call her out on a bad game when everyone else was mediocre as well.

The midfield was so mindblowingly mediocre it was genuinely painful to watch. Substituting van de Donk at half time was the right call because she was so shockingly invisible in the first half. Horan was slightly more awake but her accuracy was way off, even if the intensity was there, something which we have not said a lot this season. Dabritz only started to play well once she got pissed off, which only happened in about the 60th minute and she was subbed 15 minutes later. Damaris sleepwalked her first 10 minutes or so, had some sort of issue with her shoes (?), got carded, and then finally decided to take things seriously. By then it was too late.

And now for the front line. Jesus. Fucking. Christ. At what point can we acknowledge that Becho is not a starter, should not be a starter, and is a bench player at best? It really grinds my gears how there is a direct correlation between Lyon playing badly and Becho starting, and then Twitter Armchair Experts still watch said games and come to the conclusion that the obvious solution is to give Becho more playing time. There is a noticeable lack of chemistry between Becho and Carpenter, in part because the latter is more used to playing with Diani, and Cascarino before that.

When the Sports Gods Montemurro finally showed viewers mercy and subbed Becho and put Diani, the right side started showing a bit more teeth. By that I mean they had the teeth of a toddler, but it was still teeth. Diani missed a major chance she should have put away. But there was intensity and Lyon was more physical and showed more will power once she was on.

Chawinga is starting to prove that Kang shouldn't have a say in the recruitment process. I know Lyon had to do their annual shopping at PSG but - we're starting to see she doesn't fit the profile of a Lyon player. Will she eventually adapt? Who knows. But we're running out of time to find out. She can't play on the wings because her technique doesn't hold up for cutting inside. She can't really play as a pure 9 when Hegerberg is on as well.

Hegerberg missed the penalty which is genuinely annoying. Now, I know, why is it fair to give Hegerberg a pass at the moment and not Becho and Chawinga? Truth is, I do believe Hegerberg's grace period has an expiration date. I also believe we haven't reached it yet. I think we're - very slowly - starting to see the old Hegerberg creep back, but we are a very, very long way from seeing vintage Hegerberg.

Which finally leaves us with Montemurro. This is his first loss with Lyon and I am curious how he handles it, how Kang handles it, and how the team handles it. Lyon is so used to winning that it honestly doesn't take much to lose the locker room. That being said, I don't think this was necessarily a loss due to tactics. No one was being played out of position. Lyon just was... bad, especially in the first half, and by the time they decided to take the game seriously, Reims had parked the bus with zero intention of moving it.

Coupe de France also only allows a team to have 16 players in the squad. If you think that two of those have be goalkeepers, it does make the team selection quite limited. Personally I would have started Diani instead of Becho, but maybe Montemurro was also being a bit conservative ahead of the PSG game next week. I don't think there was necessarily anything purely "wrong" with the players he selected. They just collectively played badly for a majority of the game.

Usually when there is a loss like this Lyon gets pissed off and reacts accordingly. Lyon/PSG games usually have quite a bit of bite to them. I'm glad it's being played at Parc des Princes, it's a gorgeous stadium. That being said I think I saw that the Ultras will not be attending, something which will disappoint Bacha more anything. It's not the same when you can't deliberately rile up opposing fans.

Hopefully Lyon gets pissed off, hopefully what happened against Reims is not to be repeated for the rest of the season. I think it's too early to call for Montemurro's head, but I think it's fair to say this was also a warning shot. Losing is unacceptable. Don't let it happen again.

[redwineconversation]

[redwineconversation]

Lyon losing in the Round of 32 against a relegation team just really sums up how this week has gone ✌🏻

[redwineconversation]

I swear to God, I haven’t thought of you in ages. I’m pretty sure - I mean I’ve heard - you never faced it.

[redwineconversation]

Selma Bacha L'Equipe Interview (December 29, 2024)

Me: I'm going to finish translating Renard's OLPlay interview before Thanksgiving.

Also me: well technically I didn't say Thanksgiving 2024.

In the meantime, a good and proper chat with Lyon's (reluctant?) child prodigy. If Hegerberg is the People's Player, and Carpenter the most loyal of foreigners, Bacha is perhaps the embodiment of a player tethered to the club in every sense of the term. Telefoot mused wistfully back in 2015 if certain love stories are predestined. Maybe they weren't wrong. Maybe that's what makes a proper love story: a player who thought about leaving and genuinely considered it only to realize that maybe that's actually what loyalty means. Love a club who could live without you. Love a club who understands that just because they could live without you, doesn't mean they want to. Love a club who says to you "hey, let's talk." Love a club enough to tell them, "okay, yeah, let's."

Blah blah standard disclaimers apply; go outside, get fresh air, go for a walk, idk just do something to break your CREEPY AND WEIRD parasocial trends; if OL Comms Dept want to chip it in for wine or Starbucks to compensate for all these free translations whom am I to say no; y'all know the speech by now.

SELMA BACHA L'EQUIPE INTERVIEW

Mid-December, the day after the draw for Euros 2025, Selma Bacha granted us an interview to talk about her contract extension through 2029 with Olympique Lyonnais. The 24-year-old left back sat down several hours before the last game of the year against Wolfsburg (1-0, played on December 17) in the UWCL to precisely explain her decision for her career.

What made you want to extend?

Last season, I seriously thought about leaving. I was in two minds because I really wanted to challenge myself elsewhere. Having discussed things with my captain (Wendie Renard) and my loved ones, I realized that the best thing for me was to stay here. I'm from Lyon, I was born in Lyon. Wearing this jersey always made sense to me. In terms of a sporting project, it was what was best for me. I want to be a part of this club's history.

"I still have records to beat."

Is this desire to play elsewhere tied to the fact that more and more French players are moving abroad?

Yes, they tell us things and it makes us envious. But everyone makes their own choices. Me, I'm 24 years old. I told myself I was at a turning point. I made the best decision. I know the club has a real project for me. I had a meeting with the board of directors to really understand what the project was. I didn't hesitate for very long. The club has principles and values which really align with me.

Are you still open to the possibility of one day playing abroad?

I live day by day. I don't know what will happen in four years. I still have records to beat (at Lyon). Wendie [Renard] is an icon, an example, and I love to, why not, after her, become my club's captain.

Your first half of the season was basically blank because of an operation on your left ankle back in August (5 appearances). How did you experience those months away from the pitch?

It was really hard mentally. But my club, my teammates, the staff never gave up on me. The coach (Joe Montemurro) is really human, I was able to talk with him. The hardest part is coming back 100 percent and being back to my previous level, and trying to be even better.

Was it an obligation to be operated on?

I got injured before the World Cup (2023). I waited a year. I didn't want to continue like that because my ankle was becoming more and more unstable. I wasn't in pain, it was just annoying because my ankle kept turning. I wasn't able to last a whole week and physically, it was hard for the weekends.

"At Lyon, the foreign players bring a different mentality. We need to change our mentality in the French National Team, as Marie-Antoinette Katoto put it so well."

Recruiting as cover for you during your absence, Sofie Svava has been performing really well. Did you ask yourself if she was going to take your place?

Honestly, not at all. The coach does a lot of rotation. We are there for the team, we are all working together to go win trophies. There is competition for every position but at Lyon, it's very serene. When I came back, my competitor came to see me and said "welcome back." All the other players congratulated me. They're my family.

Did this team help you overcome the disappointment after the Olympics?

It's comforting to go back to this club because I told myself there are other objectives. That defeat remains the hardest one of my career. You're at home, in France, and you get knocked out (by Brazil, 1-0, in the quarterfinals). (She exhales) I really cut myself off after that huge disappointment.

At Lyon, you're the favorites all the time and you manage to live up to the expectations. What's the difference with the French National Team?

At Lyon, the foreign players bring a different mentality. We need to change our mentality in the French National Team, as Marie-Antoinette Katoto put it so well. I want to make my captain (Wendie Renard) happy, and Eugenie (Le Sommer), and be able to contribute to them winning a title. For the Euros, everyone is talking about a Group of Death (England, Netherlands, Wales). Okay, it's tough, but we can do it. It will put us right in it.

[redwineconversation]

taking her hair down like, "oh, my god" (Lyon - Wolfsburg Postgame Thoughts)

It wasn't a good game and maybe that's the whole point. Good teams have to find a way to win even when they're playing arguably their worse game of the season. It was slow and boring especially for a Lyon - WOB game.

I thought Renard was unusually sloppy. Gilles was solid because Gilles is solid, and I am now terrified that she will become The One That Got Away if Kang doesn't buy her out of the Angel City contract. Carpenter was somewhat different to the outcome in the first half but definitely woke up in the second. Bacha - and I will talk about her extension soon - was good, but what I really like how there wasn't a noticeable drop in quality when Svava was subbed on. I can't believe Real Madrid chose to prioritize Olga and let Svava walk away for free. Maybe she is Real Madrid's One That Got Away.

I thought the midfield was bad. Part of the season it was bad was because we had arguably three of Lyon's slowest midfielders on at the same time. Marozsan was back to the Marozsan I know so well, by that I mean slow and indifferent to both the outcome and defending. Being technically gifted isn't a pass for indifference. Damaris was sloppy too. I'm not sure if it was tiredness or something else, but she's usually a bit more clean than she was today. Horan made some good decisions and some really bad ones. Van de Donk seemed to remember that winning is fun and in order to win you actually have to score. But it also goes back to what I'v just said, in order for Lyon's midfield to work you need at least one of the midfielders to have pace.

Hegerberg was kind of sloppy but wasn't getting great balls either, so I'm tempted on giving her a pass on that. Diani had a bad first half and much like Carpenter, woke up in the second. Chawinga is running out of time to justify her price tag. Now again I think you can't always be selective about tiredness - if a majority of the squad's senior players get a pass for a bad performance due to exhaustion, then that excuse has to be eligible across the board for the starters. But as I also said, exhaustion isn't a free pass for indifference.

I also want to raise an interesting discussion point: Lyon is singlehandedly carrying France's UEFA coefficient right now. By winning all the group stage games, Lyon overcame the points lost by Paris Saint-Germain and Paris FC failing to qualify for said group stage. Now in order to maintain the overall coefficient Lyon will have to win the UWCL, but at least the first challenge is over with.

I'd love to get Real Madrid in the quarters because I am a sucker for a good Case of The Ex (@Bruun come home, the kids haven't been the same since you left). However I don't think the Sports Gods are that merciful and we will end up getting one of Barcelona or Love Island FC, two teams with equally morally reprehensible fan bases.

[redwineconversation]

writing letters addressed to the fire (Galatarasay - Lyon Postgame Thoughts)

What did we learn about this game? Quite a lot, actually, even though it was at times a little boring.

Hegerberg got a decent amount of minutes, scored, and didn't get injured. Is it safe to say she's back? Not yet, but she is definitely getting there. There were a couple of bad misses which I am willing to excuse as rust, but the grace period isn't indefinite. The moment which really made me smile was when she tapped her imaginary watch as the Galatarasay players were rolling around during yet another break in play. Hegerberg has no patience for blatant time wasting, especially so early in the first half.

Both Dumornay and Diani were really bad this game. They both held onto the ball too much, made bad choices, and let the frustration of having a bad game get to them. If Diani gets in her head and goes quiet when things go wrong, Dumornay gets more erratic and the frustration becomes more visible. It's frustrating because I think she can be a really good player but she has got to start learning to manage her emotions better.

Carpenter was uncharacteristically sloppy in the opening 10-15 minutes of the game, but got better as the game progressed, and her cross for Hegerberg's goal was really good. She has improved a lot this season, be it because now there is genuine competition for her spot with Huerta, there is actual rotation, or maybe just the coach is good. Who knows? I will take it either way. But I think we're really seeing her grow as a player this season.

Renard was solid except for one nervy moment, which was also uncharacteristic. Sombath did good but isn't on the same level as Gilles. That being said, I'm curious what the lineup will be against Nantes. Lyon plays Nantes in Lyon on Saturday, and I think we will see more rotation ahead of the big Wolfsburg game next Tuesday.

Two comments about the substitutes: I'm surprised that Huerta came on for Bacha instead of Svava but will let it pass considering Lyon has two more games to play in the next 6 days; if Horan had missed the bicycle kick the way Becho did Twitter would have had an absolute meltdown and demanded Horan be sold effective immediately. Since they would never have double standards, I take this as they will join my incentive to get Becho to transfer to another team in the January window.

The biggest football crime is people pretending that Becho is good that Le Sommer plays on the same team at the same time as Hegerberg. I still feel to this day that Le Sommer doesn't get the recognition she so rightfully deserves. She is everything you could ever want in a footballer (barring maybe height?), and I just wish people would appreciate her more. As a romantic I would have loved her 50th UWCL goal to have been against Wolfsburg but I guess not all love stories happen when you want them to.

I keep thinking back to the start of the season when Mbock wasn't replaced, the Svava signing was announced, Bacha's surgery was announced, and Huerta was signed (not in that specific order). But I remember the absolute (and in my opinion, justified) outrage at what Lyon's defense would look like. There was a ton of doom predicting. There was absolute head loss. But look at where we are now: Lyon is top of the group, guaranteed to finish first, has only conceded one goal so far in the UWCL (TBD if that changes against Wolfsburg), two goals in the actual league.

We have to give credit where credit is due: Montemurro may not be a perfect coach, but he has done a really good job so far with Lyon. He has managed this team well and got them playing well. I am not certain that anyone can say with absolute confidence that they predicted Lyon's stats would look like they are now in Summer 2024.

[redwineconversation]

and there you are with sitting as usual with your golden notebook writing about someone who used to be me (Le Havre - Lyon Postgame Thoughts)

Yes it's a long song lyric but whatever, the whole line is needed for it to make sense.

Anyway. We can chat about The Alcott later, let's talk about me avoiding doing laundry the Le Havre game.

There was a fair amount of Twitter outrage at Montemurro's comment that academy players would get playing time only for him to only take Belhadj, who did not play at all, Sombath, who played 45 minutes and a lot of that was because of the knock Svava received, and Becho, whose contributions I refuse to acknowledge. "This was the perfect game to play academy players!" Twitter armchair experts exclaimed.

Yes and no.

Rotation is important and there were definitely players who should not have played 90 minutes: van de Donk's performance was somewhat mediocre but she is going to be playing with the Netherlands this break; Marozsan was slightly more engaged in the game's outcome but isn't exactly the definition of youth; Gilles played 90 despite being selected for Canada. Renard I'm not thrilled about playing 90 but it's also not a hill I am interested in dying on.

So it was a pretty strong lineup considering the opposition was Le Havre. But people are misreading it. The opposition wasn't really Le Havre, it's PSG. Lyon only has a 1-point lead over PSG. They can't afford to risk dropping points unless and until PSG starts dropping points too. Yes, there are playoffs at the end of the season, but even then you want to be in the best position and that means hosting it. To do that, you need to finish first in the regular season.

Right now Lyon is poised to do that, but there are a lot of games left and not very much breathing room. So I get why Montemurro went back on his word about academy players getting minutes. If you look at it from the point of Lyon conserving their advantage, it makes sense. Lyon just doesn't have enough breathing room to fuck around and find out what academy kids may or may not be capable of, not with only one point between them and PSG.

This game will be forgotten about and rightfully so. Lyon won, cool. Was it their best game of the season? No. Was it realistic to believe it could/should have been? Also no. Lyon always gets a UWCL hangover and this game was no exception. The intensity and pass accuracy wasn't there, it took way too long for Lyon to actually get shots off and even longer to get one on target.

Part of that is because of how well Le Havre was playing. They're currently in a relegation battle but I think it's a Nantes/ASSE situation where if you give this team a little bit of time to gel - and maybe a bit more funding - then you could see something really interesting. Le Havre's intent was there, you could see what they were trying to do, but realistically they just didn't have the physicality and technique to beat Lyon. That doesn't mean they made things easy for Lyon. But Le Havre showed promise and intent and I think we have to give credit where credit is due.