Le Garcon Garcin
LE GARCON GARCIN:
Regular correspondent John Creighton recently took time to write to French signing Eric Garcin to ask him a few questions about French and Scottish football. Eric kindly took time to answer the questions and the answers (along with the questions) are printed below!!
JC - Which clubs in France have you played for apart from Toulouse and Le Mans, which did you enjoy playing for the most?
EG - I played for 7 years in Nimes (in the South of France), 5 years in the second division and two years in the first division with Cantona, Blanc Laurent etc. The best team for me was Le Mans, in my last season (95/96) I finished as the best player of the year in the second division.
JC - Why do you think so many French players are now playing outside France, when only a few used to play in Italy or for one of the Wallonian Belgian clubs?
EG - Because it is a very good experience when you're a player to go to another country, you get to know another football and another style of life. In Belgium they prefer to take players from Holland, Nigeria, Sweden and Norway
JC - How do you find the style and pace of the game in Scotland compared to France?
EG - Its more technical in France, in Scotland its very fast.
JC - How do the training routines and schedules differ between Scotland and France?
EG - Generally in France we had Monday off, Tuesday is training twice in the morning you run and in the afternoon is working on technique. A Wednesday is very hard without the ball, and in the
afternoon the Osteopath. Thursday is cool and Friday is sprints. Ihaven't done a lot of training with MFC because I have an injury.
JC - When you played in France you rarely missed a match through injury. Is the Scottish game so much more physical or are the tackles badly timed in Scotland?
EG - In France, the medical is very important and more on health - each team has an osteopath. Its not more physical in Scotland but more mental.
JC - Which French ground did you enjoy playing on apart for those you played for and why?
EG - in PSG (Paris St. Germain), Strasbourg - because there is a lot of people in the Stadium.
JC - Have you had to change your lifestyle greatly since moving to Glasgow? Do you miss cafe society? Do you understand the Glasgow/West of Scotland accents?
EG - It's a big change for me, it's very difficult to understand the Scottish accent. The food isn't the same, in Scotland i'ts very important to eat for the breakfast and the dinner whereas in France there is breakfast, lunch and dinner and all are important.
JC - Who do you think will win the League in France this season?
EG - I think its Monaco
JC - Does Aime Jaquet have the correct balance to win Mondial 98 for France?
EC - I don't like this man because if some players have a character, like Cantona or Ginola, he doesn't like or pick them. For me he's not a good coach!
JC - Is he correct to leave out flair players such as Ginola?
EG - For me he is incorrect, I know Ginola and he is a good man and a very good player.
Many thanks to Eric for taking the time to answer the above questions, it always much appreciated when the players take time to keep in touch with the supporters.
Merci Eric et Bonne Chance a Motherwell!!
....John Creighton
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