Paris FC’s Captain Cyril Mandouki Talks Playoffs, Team Dynamics, and Dreams of Ligue 1

The defeat on Tuesday in Rodez (1-0), first away since September 2023, Paris FC (5th) host this Saturday (7pm) at the Charléty stadium Angers (2nd) on the 34th day with the aim of winning to position them as re- play to consolidate (from 3rd to 5th) To get into L1. Coming from nowhere, the Parisian club, finally on the evening of the 10th, could be deprived of its best player Ilan Kebbal fought hard twice against the Aveyronnais. This return to the front is due to a collection full of oil organized by captain Cyril Mandouki. The dean of the team (along with Julien Lopez), the 32-year-old defensive midfielder talks to us about his hopes for this exciting end to the season.

How did you experience this important game in Rodez?

CYRIL MANDOUKI. We feel like we’re abandoning the team (editor’s note; canceled). My teammates had a great game and they deserved better but that’s football. This season, we have also won games that we didn’t deserve to win. We now have to make up for it against Angers.

Are you approaching the Angers ceremony as a sure match?

There are 4 championship games left, so 4 finals. At the end of January – the beginning of February, we said to ourselves that we had to give ourselves a way to play something and now here we are. There should be no regrets. The ranking is so tight (4 point difference between 4th, Rodez, and 8th, Laval). You have to do everything to win every game.

Why would the PFC be eligible to compete in these affiliation playoffs?

The stats! We have a good run, we haven’t lost much (twice since January 1st). We know where we come from. After our complicated start to the season, we managed to climb to this roadblock position on our own merits. There is no magic in football. Over 38 days, no luck.

On the evening of the 10th, you were living in the last place with 7 units… What were you thinking then?

This might make you laugh, but between us we weren’t panicking. We had confidence in our coach, we weren’t disappointed in the game… After that we conceded too many goals and didn’t score enough. Despite this last place, there was calm in the club from the president (Pierre Ferracci) to the players and the coach.

What is the income from this increase in the ratings?

We never threw stones at each other. We have a great group. No one said such is the fault… The coach gave us confidence, he also told us what was wrong. We should not forget that there were changes in the offseason. It took a while to get going, but we all had confidence in ourselves and it showed.

What did the coach give you?

Despite the losses, he never changed his game plan, he never asked us to swing. He said guys what we are doing is good but now there are things to improve. He also told us that if we lost it was not always bad luck, but also our fault. We gave gifts to the opposition, we lacked aggression defensively and offensively. Today, when we see Paris FC play, it’s not Barça, far from it, but people like to watch us.

You are the oldest in the team along with Julien Lopez. What did you dream of when you arrived in 2017?

I play football, I love what I do… Above all, I was able to see the evolution of the club. At the time we trained in Choisy-le-Roi. The land was not ours and we could arrive on a public holiday with the fence closed because the town hall staff were not working that day (smile)… Now we have our own landour own dressing room, our traveling conditions are better… It’s great!

How are you looking at your journey?

I’m proud but I keep my head on my shoulders. I went for my chance, but I also had it because I could be marked as a National player. When I signed for PFC in National, we took advantage of Bastia’s relegation to move up to L2. Otherwise, I probably would have spent my entire career in National.

Is your goal to find L1 with Paris FC?

I was born in Paris, I grew up there, my family lives there… Of course my dream is to reach the L1 with Paris FC! We are the only European capital without two clubs in the first division (Editor’s note: There is only one club left in Berlin after Hertha was relegated last year).

Is it possible this season?

I believe it! This will go through the 4 games and possibly the play-offs. We were talking about it with Julien (Lopez). Since the introduction of the dams, we have always lost every time we participated in them. Maybe it will be this year.

Are you excited about this money period?

No, we are very relaxed. If we start thinking about dams… it is far from certain. We never looked for excuses despite the injuries, the problems on the pitch or those home games played on neutral grounds. Every concern brings a group closer together when no one is cheating. Our bad start to the season has made us stronger! Teams need a year to completely rebuild. For us, it took 10 days.