Valbuena: “I love Olympiacos and Marseille the same – Only for Olympiacos I would play in the second division”

THE Mathieu Valbuena expresses his love for him Olympic and Greece in an interview with L’Equipe. Having turned 41, the French midfielder is still enjoying football in the club’s second team in Super League 2, but he knows the end is near. He spoke in detail about:

-his “bond” with Olympiakos: “I love Olympiakos and Marseille the same. The people here in Greece have given me so much love. Only for Olympiakos would I play in the second division. I have some teammates who were born in 2007!”

-how he came to Olympiakos: “Everything is due to Jose (s.s. Anigo, sports director of the academy). He is the X factor in my career. He brought me here for the first time when I was 35, and I played in the Champions League when I was 35 or 36. I was coming from Fenerbahce and came here reluctantly. I imagined an old city and fell victim to its magic. I love the people, the culture. And when Jose called me for the second team, I didn’t hesitate. Reuniting 20 years later is magical. And I’m having a great time. Sometimes I’m a little tired, but it’s a good kind of tired. Some mornings are more difficult. There are muscle aches, knee pain, ankle pain… But a warm-up, a good little massage before training and all is well. I’m always motivated. It’s all about mindset. I can say that the second division of Greece is very difficult. All teams want to avoid relegation and it is difficult to achieve that.”

-whether he is thinking about the end of his career: “I don’t think too much about it. We’ll see what I do in February or March. However, I approach it as if it were my last moments as a footballer. Certainly when I stop it will be very difficult, I will feel a huge void.”

-his love for Marseille: “Marseille is my favorite team, I played 331 games there. It is a legendary club, with a unique history and their world has given me everything. I have now reconciled with some of their organisers. Here in Greece when I talk about Marseille they tell me it’s dangerous but I say ‘stop, it’s a fantastic city with great fans'”.