After seven seasons with Templemars, Justine Bauduin experienced "the transition" with the famous club of LOSC in 2015. A project born of the merger between her former club and the club of Ligue 1, which took the turn of women's football near at the same time as Marseille and Bordeaux. With the firm intention of playing in the big leagues quickly, without rushing. A bet that remains far from being a goal for this season. But luck seems to be in favor of LOSC, all due less at the beginning of the season, being current leader of group A of the D2. So what is it really? Interview.

You've been playing since you were 12 in a club. How did you get that passion of football on the pitch?
Since very small. I followed my family in fact, I had my big brother, my father, my uncles, everyone was playing football, so since I was very young I have a ball in my feet.

"to become the biggest [club] of the North"

You are one of the pillars of this LOSC team, you have evolved Templemars so you have experienced this transition, while keeping your coach Jeremie Descamps elsewhere. Do you feel that this project has a real meaning right now, that it's not just playing to play, but more strongly marking women's football with a club like LOSC?
Yes, we took a certain dimension by going to LOSC, with the club badge. There is a project to become a big club in the years to come, already to become the biggest of the North for women and then become a big club in France what.

It must also be said that there is a good pool of good players in the North?
Yes (laughs) there are still good players who evolve in D1 and who are northerners. It's good and then it would be nice if one day we can climb in D1 and some come back among us.

Do you think about particular players?
There are two or three. There is Claire Lavogez who is of the same generation as me, and then there is also Amandine Henry, Kheira Hamaroui, well there is not any good anyway.

"Finally never we, we said we wanted to finish first already."

When you play you know that there is an ambition behind, a "real" goal to reach, who is the elite, what does it do to you?
Yes there is the elite, but hey it's not yet for this year, because we see the journalists who say "Yes the LOSC their goal is to finish first". Finally we never said we wanted to finish first already. The goal is to be in the first three, but in no case we aim for the climb this year, it will be in the coming years [this goal]. Then we try to win the most matches possible, we try to collect points and we will see the end of the season where we will be.

Yet you are the leader of your group right now. It was a goal checked from the beginning of the season?
Honestly, no (laughs). There is no goal to be first. It was really about being in the top three places we were aiming for, but first place is not really our goal. Today we are there, we are really happy to be there, we will continue to work and if we can stay there all the better for us, but honestly it was not the first objective.

In your group A, you have only one Ligue 1 club as an opponent, Lorient, which is far from your position today, but do not you feel some pressure on that role in within your club, to wear the women's section in D1, whatever the cost?
No, there is no pressure in the club, not at all. Frankly we have only fun to play, there is no pressure at all, there as I told you we are really happy to be in this first place at the moment but ... we will try to keep it but for the moment there is no pressure.

In parallel of football, you are in IUT Chemistry Lille? How are you managing both? It is true that it is the counterpart when one is in a club as ambitious, as having to juggle between the two without flinching, you do not have to show anything whatever happens?
I have been in the habit for a few years (laughs). I go to class, I go back and I go to football and then bah we try to revise when we have free time actually.
Yeah yeah yes it's a rhythm of life to take, it's just knowing how to organize (laughs).

You played every game of this league start, you gave a lot, we felt that you were less present in terms of time on the last three meetings, can you tell us why?
Yes I had the chance to play every game, there are girls who were injured, others who come back. There's still [healthy] competition so after that it's normal that I have a little less playing time.

"I did not imagine playing a climb one day, plus D1."

You're young enough, you did not know the excitement at the start of your career around women's football, you imagined being there today, having to play your place for the D1?
Not at all (laughs). When I arrived at Templemars, for me it was always a hobby and it's true that if you go up in D1, I do not know if I would be more adventurous, so I really enjoy playing with the LOSC and more with the D2 team. So no I did not imagine playing a climb one day, in addition to D1. Already in D2, I did not think I was going to keep a place. For now I have it, so I enjoy.

"When we went to LOSC already there was a lot more media, there are many more journalists trying to reach us"

Did you feel this popularization of women's football by being a player first and foremost?
Yeah ... yes ... more now than before we'll say. When we went to LOSC already there was a lot more media, there are many more journalists trying to reach us. At Templemars, I was never called to write an article (laughs).

41 matches in Ligue 1 against 22 matches in D2 and 23 and 29 in D1 including the Champions League, do you think that the D1 Feminine will gradually build on the Ligue 1, to have benefits of games, benefits of clubs in D1, from 12 to 20 or should we keep this current spirit?
I think it's going to be hard to follow Ligue 1 because there are a lot more boys clubs. Finally I mean, all the clubs in Ligue 1 have teams in CFA etc and I'm not sure that girls, we can do the same. It's complicated to have a lot of women's clubs. We have a reserve team but they have not been able to climb in inter-region, because we are in D2 what. It's a little more complex than boys to get into higher divisions.

According to you, the future of the D1 will be played only with big clubs, linked to clubs of Ligue 1? Clubs like Juvisy, Soyaux, Rodez will lose their place in your opinion?
Yes it will be complicated because in a few years the clubs in Ligue 1, will have to have absolutely a female section, so they will do everything to make it into D1.

"We try to have a good training center for girls"

Besides we saw that there was a team DH, U19, U17, there is a real project behind the LOSC?
Oh yes, there is a real project. We are trying to have a good training center for girls in fact. This is really the big project we have for women at LOSC, it's really having good young players so that after they can go up and replace us in fact.

What did you think of the reform in D2 Feminine?
Well last year it was a little complicated because there were five runs. So it's true that it was a lot of sudden. There was more pressure to maintain we are going to say. But it's a little more interesting this year because the groups are a little beefier, it's a bit more difficult [compared to the level], there's more stakes etc. I think it's good, the groups are a little raised we will say.

The coach also said "we take pleasure but we do not have fun" that corresponds to your state of mind too?
Yeah well it's clear, yes, yes we take pleasure but we must still respect the other players, the rigor etc so it's not fun.

"we wear the name of LOSC, so we say" they want to ride in D1 "

You told me that the climb "it's not the goal", it's still surprising from our point of view, especially seeing your current place. Everyone is waiting for you at the turn?
I doubt when I see or hear on the radio or when I read some articles, which say that "the objective is to go up in D1" finally after I do not know the sources that have the journalists (laughs) but we've never been that way. We were told "to finish in the top three" because last year we were fifth. So really it was to do better than last year, that is to say the first three places.
We see us first, we wear the name of LOSC, so we say "they want to ride in D1" but it was not at the beginning.
If we go in D1, there will be recruits within the team, so why not. Me when I see Marseille, Bordeaux be ridden in 2016 and they manage to make draws against big teams, so we say "why not the LOSC" (ed).

THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE SHRINKERS
1. Jana Coryn, Rachel Saidi (+2) 9 goals
3. Maud Coutereels 5 goals
4. Charlotte Sailly, Justine Bauduin (+1) 4 goals
6. Marine Dafeur (+2), Camille Dolignon (+1) 3 goals
8. Héline Pégoraro, Leila Iloudje, Caroline The Villa (+1) 2 Goals

THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE PASSEUSES

1. Rachel Saidi (+3) 7 passes
2. Marine Dafeur (+1) 6 passes
3. Jana Coryn 5 passes
4. Justine Bauduin, Charlotte Sailly (+1) 4 passes
6. Silke Demeyere 3 passes
7. Leila Iloudje 2 passes
8. Camille Dolignon, Jennifer Bouchenna, Laurie Dacquigny, Caroline La Villa 1 passe

Photos : Nelson Fatagraf & LOSC