In total, the 45-year-old from Toulouse has played for 11 clubs in his 22-year career, scoring more than 200 goals after more than 500 professional matches. Now coach of Union Namur, in Nationale 1, Fauré remembered his best and least good memories experienced throughout a very rich career. From Karim Benzema to Felice Mazzù including his controversial transfer to Antwerp.
Who is the strongest player you have faced?
“There were many but the one that stood out was Karim Benzema who I faced with Le Havre against Lyon. I remember a technical move he made along the touchline to put three players in the wind… I saw that he had enormous potential which he then confirmed throughout his career. You could already see from the way he played that he had what it took to become one of the best strikers in the world.”
The most party-loving player?
”I met a lot of players who liked to unwind a little after the matches (smile). Steve Savidan, who played in Valenciennes, was quite known for partying well. That didn't stop him from being a great player when he got on the pitch. Personally, I tried to be quite serious even though going for a drink or two from time to time was part of life. You have to stay human when you're a professional footballer… But I especially enjoyed the first ten days of vacation after the seasons: I went down with my family to the south of France and unwinded with aperitifs and barbecues.”
From time to time, it can come to blows in a locker room.
Biggest shouting match in the locker room?
”It happened in Reims with Alexandre Barbier who was captain of the team. It's not a shouting match, it's downright a fight after an argument on the field and words that were thrown from both sides. I thought the situation had calmed down but that wasn't the case: I was drinking and there he came from behind with a punch that I took in the face. This kind of thing is part of the job, we see our teammates more often than our wives so it's not uncommon for there to be big tensions in the locker room. And from time to time, it can come to blows. Some people sometimes forget that it remains a very difficult job psychologically with guys fighting to earn their place.”
The coach who had the most impact on you?
”Each coach has sincerely taught me things. For example, I had Jean-Louis Gasset who was very paternal and now coaches OM. But the one I got along with best was Felice Mazzù, in Charleroi. He has been going through a rather complicated period since his departure from the Union. His return to Charleroi? I often say that one day it ends up burning when you reheat it. It was logical for him to return to the club he loved the most but the current Charleroi was different from that of his first stint. The less good times experienced recently do not take away from his qualities as a coach, he just needs to find the right club.”
Your greatest goal?
”The most beautiful and most important was during a match between Reims and Troyes in 2012. In the 93rd minute, I put in an acrobatic volley to score the only goal of the match in this derby between two teams who were fighting for the rise to Ligue 1. Everything was there between the timing of the match, the importance of the match and the beauty of the action. The Reims supporters still talk to me about it today… I have always had a closeness with the fans in all the clubs I have been to. They are the ones who really keep the clubs alive. The presidents, coaches or players only pass through while the supporters are the soul of the club. They are the ones who make football beautiful.”
Your biggest regret?
”At the very beginning of my career, I trusted two agents. One of them was a friend and just starting out as an agent. I wanted to please him by agreeing to let him look after me but it was a mistake. If I had hired someone more experienced at that time, I would have had a different career. With their lack of experience, my two agents were eaten by experienced club presidents. After my debut in Ligue 1 with Toulouse, clubs like Sochaux, Nice, Southampton or Fulham and Middlesbrough wanted me… but I finally signed for Guingamp because of the incompetence of my agents. It's difficult to choose the right agent who can quickly forget about a player when he performs less well. A career is always about details so you have to manage to find the one who will be there even in difficult times and that is what is the most complicated.”
I lost money moving from the Union to Antwerp.
The best atmosphere in a stadium?
”I'm definitely not going to make any friends with my answer (smile). But I will say the atmosphere in Antwerp. This was partly why I left the Union for this club in January 2016. Unionist president Jürgen Baatzsch said that I left for the money but that is not true, I lost 2000 euros by passing through Antwerp. The Union had not given me the guarantees of access to D1A, unlike Antwerp where there was an extraordinary atmosphere. It was still in their old stadium, I still remember the 'You'll never walk alone' which gave me chills when I went on the pitch especially as a big Liverpool fan. It’s one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever played in.”
Is this your most controversial transfer?
”Yes, Union fans are still talking to me today about this transfer… The day training resumed, I asked for a meeting with management but the president had gone on vacation… He had better things to do than taking care of his team was a lack of respect on his part. I also didn't like the caricatures he posted on his Facebook page. Besides, I looked ugly in these caricatures and it didn't look like me (smile). In the first photo, he had drawn me with a speech bubble: 'I'm sad to leave the Union'. In the second photo, there were bills up to the top of my neck with a bubble: 'All things considered, I'm not sad'. Unfortunately, it didn't go as planned at Antwerp with an incompetent coach (Editor’s note: David Gevaert, currently without a club) who didn't make me play again after just one meeting. The conditions were difficult: I had to be at the club at 8 a.m. but I had to leave before 6 a.m. to get through the Vilvoorde traffic jams. I arrived at 7:30 a.m., stayed in the parking lot for half an hour and sometimes slept a little again in my car. But I don’t regret having played for Antwerp which remains a big club in Belgium.”
Your biggest laugh?
”When I was in Reims, the former Standarman Cédric Collet unfortunately had testicular cancer. The doctors had put a fake one on him and he went to make the club's physiotherapist believe that he needed to massage his fake testicle once a week to avoid problems. (laughs). The physiotherapist, who was a young beginner in the profession, turned red and almost started massaging him until he was told it was a joke. We all burst out laughing, it’s one of the good memories.”
The former Standardman made the physiotherapist believe that he needed to massage his false testicle.
The anecdote you never told?
”I think everyone knows everything about my career. There is perhaps just the fact that Antoine Kombouaré wanted to transfer me twice, when he was in Strasbourg then in Valenciennes. After a first refusal, he called me back and said: 'You are the only player I call back twice because normally I don't come back to a player after a first no'. But I told him no again (smile). So I was lucky to have been called twice by Antoine Kombouaré whereas he normally only calls the players once.”
