Odsonne Edouard, the 27-year-old striker for RC Lens, spoke to L’Equipe ahead of Saturday’s match against Olympique de Marseille. It was an opportunity for the Paris Saint-Germain-trained player to look back on his professional debut before going on loan to Toulouse in 2017 and then Celtic in 2018.
“I was under a lot of pressure during the first training sessions, but they immediately put me at ease. When you leave the academy, you play for fun, but once you’re with them, all that is over, losing is not an option. There was a winning mentality and you had to soak it up. But whether it was (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic or (Edinson) Cavani, they were both very protective of me and gave me a lot of advice.
We did finishing exercises where I tried to imitate them. I’m not like them today (laughs), but they made me better. As soon as I lost the ball or missed a chance, Zlatan would tell me to stay after training to work on it again and again.”
Rentrer dans le groupe professionnel est une énorme étape. C’est gratifiant, c’est une fierté. Mais c’est également la découverte d’une autre dimension et une certaine pression. Il y a une opportunité à saisir et beaucoup de choses à apprendre en même temps. Le niveau d’exigence monte, d’autant plus dans un grand club.
On se doute que des joueurs comme Zlatan Ibrahimovic ou Edinson Cavani ne laissaient pas passer un relâchement. Cependant, Edouard souligne qu’ils savent aussi accompagner les plus jeunes afin de les aider dans leur adaptation et leur progression. Des points appréciables et plus rarement soulignés à propos de ces joueurs.
