Just after the 1 / 8th final match against Marseille (1-1) - won 4-3 on penalties - Montpellier coach Jean-Louis Saez gave us his impressions.

Football hearts - Coach, I imagine you're happy with this game. Certainly this result 1-1 is frustrating for you but in the end you get the victory, after the suspense?

Jean-Louis Saez: Yeah ... We'll say we mostly remember the qualification. We had a very good first half, we were better in the second half. A 1-0 for us we thought the hardest was done and on a set kick we got equalized. And then we were a little shaken on the end. Scoring a second goal could have allowed us to kill the match. I would say that when we managed to accelerate in the second half, my team was a little better but she finished the match tired. The match against Lyon last week in the league (defeat 1-2, ed) has a little weight in the legs.


CDF: Speaking of the first half, you have changed a lot of things in your training. You put Marion Torrent in the middle of the field, Sandie Toletti, Anouk Dekker were missing, two very heavy absences ...

Yes these are two environments that we are currently lacking so we "tinkering". I thought it could be enough against Marseille but it is true that the Marseillaises have a better face for two months. It's a team to take seriously. We took this game seriously but 1-0 for us I think we should have killed the match. But we did not know how to do it and suddenly we were almost punished. So we are very happy.


CDF - You have not been effective?

Yes but at the same time Sofia Jakobson has weighed heavily on the defense of Marseille. I'm expecting a few more players. Sofia was a little more struggling lately, she was absent a long time and on that match I think she weighed on the opposing defense and she used them.


Journalist - A word about OM. What is the difference between the team you faced in the first leg (4-1 victory, ed) or even the one you hosted in early January and this team this Sunday?

I believe that since their victory against Paris FC (remember) they lost only two matches and it was against us. First in the league 2-3 home and this Sunday we eliminated them on penalties. It's still a team that finished fourth last season so it is not in its true place this season (twelfth and last of D1, ed). I think there was an awareness on the part of the group. It's a group with very good players. I would not say that I do not worry about them but I think they are armed to get support.


CDF - Can we say that today you have a little "furnished"? The players were still struggling to find each other.

Yeah ... It's true we miss a little bit of ...

CDF - Experience maybe?

No, no, at all, it's the midfielder ...


CDF - It's true that when Virginia Torrecilla came back it made the difference?

Here. We had lost the battle in midfield. And if you do not win in the midfield ... Even if we had the technical mastery we also had a lot of technical waste. From there, you can not weigh on the meeting. Marseille is a team that defends well. They tried to upset us on the first raise. There is consistency in them. We should have folded the match by leading 2-0 but we must be able to fold it.


CDF - And what do you think of the professionalism of women's football? When you see that there are clubs like Soyaux or even Guingamp that have problems having a women's section that holds up, how do you explain that?

Well do not go too fast I would say. Women's football in France is progressing but we must give it time. I think that Canal + bought the TV rights for the men's D1 in 1984. We now see that men's football, thirty years later, took on a big dimension. For women it will start in 2018. So there are thirty-forty years of difference between men's and women's football. So it will not go too fast ...

CDF - But we're already going too fast I think ...

That is to say ... we can not complain. In France we have the best team in the world, Olympique Lyonnais. So everyone in France is looking to follow the best team, with astronomical salaries. The economy of women's football is based on that of men's football today. So it takes time, you have to fill the stadiums, put on more shows.


CDF - But why do not French clubs put more money in their women's section? Why do they get into women's football but after they do not know how to manage?

Money they pay attention! Good clubs like Montpellier, OM or Guingamp, they put 1 to 3% of their budget in the women's section. It's already good ! I think the effort made by the professional clubs is important. After for amateur clubs I also understand ... If Guingamp complains about professional infrastructure so I do not even imagine in amateur clubs. Will tomorrow's football be framed by professional structures? Yes I think because it brings a lot of resources. Beyond the financial aspect there is also that of working conditions. Today for example in Montpellier the players train on quality grounds, they have a doctor ... I believe that what is done today is good but it will go slowly.