After more than three months without putting on crampons due to the health crisis, the DFCO footballers returned to the pitch this Thursday, June 25 to start the new season. For its 6th elite year, the club wants to pass a course.
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The masks have fallen. After three months of abstinence, DFCO footballers were able to return to the training grounds. “We were very impatient, it’s nice to meet again“released at the end of the session, defender Bruno Ecuele Manga, all smiles and already sharp, like the majority of players. A long-awaited return to normal life for these professionals.
In mid-March, a few days after a precious success against Toulouse, the season stopped because of COVID. Guaranteed maintenance, championship definitively stopped, 2019-2020 season ended. The DFCO can now project itself into the new season. After performing COVID tests on Wednesday June 24 and while certain players passed other batteries of medical examinations, a small group of players (14) resumed, by a few small workshops and a session of sheathing, training. The players arrived at the center masked and do not yet have access to the changing rooms, they change under a barnum to respect a health protocol.
Stéphane Jobard, the coach, admits, it will be necessary to compose at first: “We will first have to prepare the player individually, then after we will take care of the collective. We will have to pay attention to the risk of injury after such a long inactivity“For this, the club has bet on a long preparation of almost two months, with two courses including one in the Alps and a small break in the middle to recharge the batteries. Five friendly matches are also on the program for the moment.
Side effective, so far little change, if not on the departure side, the non-renewals of Cadiz and Mavididi and the retirement of Balmont. On the arrival side, we will have to be satisfied for the moment with that of the goalkeepers’ coach, Grégory Coupet.
A lot of young people from the center have also been promoted for this preparation. For future transfers, 5 positions are targeted : two side, a defensive, a midfielder (the Lyonnais Diop seems the closest) and a striker.
????️ Peguy Luyindula: “The real work is going to be to consolidate what was well done during the last season.”#RepriseDFCO pic.twitter.com/PvKhd3KvF2
– Dijon FCO (@DFCO_Officiel) June 25, 2020
Brief job for the new sports director, Peguy Luyindula. “We must first think of consolidating our group, our players who excelled in the second half of the season, we must build on what we have done well“. President Olivier Delcourt presses the recruitment policy:” le most important is to have players who will wet the jersey of DFCO and who will fighters on the ground. These character players are essential to help the youngest“With what objective? The maintenance, obviously, initially as the president concedes.
“We are a club which is planned to fight for the maintenance, but we must be between the 10th and the 20th place, each year, we do not refrain from looking higher, more serenely“explains Olivier Delcourt. For this, thanks to finances in the green despite the health crisis (positive balance during the last transfer window of 20 million), to a revaluation of TV rights, an increasing budget (around 50 million), the DFCO wants to cross a course.
We often had an eye in the rear view mirror. It would be nice to look forward to see how far we can go.
Stéphane Jobard makes no secret of it: “we must remain humble of course, but we will not apologize for being in Ligue 1, this is the 6th season. We must stop looking in the retro but rather towards the hood, look forward to see how far we can go“A departure on the hats of wheel is therefore hoped, it will be at the end of August, for the official return to the fields of Ligue 1.
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