LIVE – Rennes: Mandanda confirms his international retirement

The Stade Rennais press conference is over.

On the eve of welcoming PSG with Stade Rennais, the Breton goalkeeper Steve Mandanda (35 selections) therefore confirmed this Saturday the end of his international career, at 37 years old. After Hugo Lloris, the Blues say goodbye to a huge goalkeeper whose adventure in the France team began 15 years ago.

“He’s one of the best players in the world, he knows how to do everything, he’s fast, he’s very smart in the game. We’ll have to have a collective response with a compact unit, guys who make the effort, catches in two, to have the ball as much as possible. An individual solution is very complicated.”

“It’s frustrating to concede goals almost every game. The coach tries to find the most solid hinge. I talk a lot with my defenders. Of course it’s up to me too to adapt to help the guys in front of me the best we can. We have to be able to do better without the ball. Everyone.”

“The draw could have been more affordable, we would have preferred it to fall later, but we will have to do what is necessary to pass.”

“It’s not our best period, we’re losing important players to injury or suspension. But from the start we’ve been bragging about the quality of our squad, it’s up to us to find the resources to play a full match against PSG. It won’t take not ask too many questions. (…) We chain bad things between injuries, suspensions, but it’s part of football and we have to accept it. We have to stand together to take the maximum number of points.

“I’m announcing it because I saw it this morning, it wasn’t my first idea to talk about it today. I had spoken to the coach about it. Now that it’s out, yes I’m saying it, the announcement is made today because you are well informed… The timing was not calculated at all.”

“It is above all a great pride, a great honor. The French team is the highest you can see, I touched what is best with the world title, there was a lot of emotions. I represented my country, it’s strong. It’s with a lot of emotion that I speak about that, I was a great privileged person.”

“It’s never easy to see all that, concerning the president we are all aware that his remarks were inappropriate towards a football legend like Zidane. An audit is in progress, we will wait until the end to fully debate, but it is not never a good thing.”

“I read what Hugo (Lloris) said, I agree with the names he was able to cite (for the future of the Blues). Maignan has a big head start, then there is has a lot of young people like Lafont, Areola, le petit Chevalier, Meslier… I’m not worried about the France team.”

“Deschamps’ extension? Of course it’s a good solution. He’s a coach who knows how to win, he’s proven it. He fully deserves to continue, I’m sure they’ll still win titles. “

“I felt privileged to participate in the World Cup, I was no longer called up too much, then I found playing time in Rennes. There was also Maignan’s injury. It allowed me to live this last great competition. We did something great, but it’s good to know when to stop. The fact of having found playing time here and performing well has helped me in the fact of to be in the group for the Mondial and to live this great experience.

The greatest moment? In Russia, in 2018, it was huge. We had an amazing group. There were negative and positive moments. Unforgettable emotions, I will always be proud and grateful.”

“I was surprised to see that this morning. Now it’s true that it’s a decision that was taken at the end of the competition, I had great moments with the France team. Today it’s time for me too, at 37, there are young people coming.”

“It allows us to come full circle with Hugo Lloris. It is with great pride and emotion that I experienced all of this. Today the France team is stopping for me.”

“We talked about it with Hugo, we came to the same decision. Me, it happens logically, I’ve lived a lot of seasons, I’m also older. It was time, it was normal to stop.”

“He is affected (by his suspension), he is the first unfortunate, but he is still young, he has had two major injuries, he needs it at all, there is no question of overwhelming him.”

“He is so unpredictable and exceptional… It’s up to us to do everything to cause them as many problems as possible.”

“If Galette is fair play, he should be without two important players because we have two important players who will be absent (laughs). Galette is for me the best French coach, I get along very well with him. We have a similar profile, even if he has much more experience than me. He was also an assistant, before becoming number 1. He grew little by little. He fulfilled the objectives and even better in each of his clubs.”

“It’s positive and it’s important to say it. In terms of points it’s very good. Other teams are doing even better but we’re having a very good run, we mustn’t blacken everything, even if things didn’t work out in Reims and Clermont. We have the qualities to achieve our goals. The problem is that we hear a lot about goals, about the European Cup… We have to fight against that. shows that there is a higher expectation.”

“We are still waiting for different opinions to know if he will need an intervention or not. Is it a serious injury? Yes.”

“We are not going to deny ourselves, but we will have to be lucid, we will have in front of us the best team in the championship, the best coach and the best individuals. We will have to defend well and play our game. We will not have to play the 0 -0, that’s not my way of seeing football, we’ll play to win. I’d rather lose 1-0 trying to win than going for example to the Park to play 0-0 without passing the midfielder . We’re not going to deny ourselves, by being smart.”

“He has the opportunity to play in different positions, on one side, behind the striker, in front of the defense… He has a lot of qualities. But you have to give young people some benchmarks, his best position is behind the striker. “

“He shouldn’t have been suspended. But I really like Mr. Turpin, he missed his game a bit but it happens, I don’t want to overwhelm him. We must first look at each other in an ice cream. (…) Benjamin is a very important player for the team, especially for the tactical balance. He would have preferred to celebrate his birthday with a start tomorrow. He has progressed, his state of mind is irreproachable. “

“I thought a lot, there are several possibilities, you will see on Sunday. We do not have the same characteristics of Lens. It is not comparable. How to do without Terrier and Bourigeaud? We can say to ourselves that we do not I’m unlucky, but the solution is to work with different players, who also have strengths. We’ll have to perform collectively on Sunday, that’s what made our strength last season. It was extraordinary .”

“It’s good to welcome a great team here, it’s an extra motivation.”

“We always have the impression the next day of having taken a 33 ton full face, but our job is to find solutions to bounce back. I left the next day with the intention of correcting certain things.”

Bruno Genesio did not at all appreciate what he saw on the lawn of the Gabriel-Montpied stadium. And he wanted to let it be known. While Stade Rennais lost, nine against eleven, in additional time Wednesday in Clermont on a goal from Johan Gastien in the 94th (2-1, 18th day of Ligue 1), the Breton coach appeared very annoyed at a press conference.

“Obviously I’m very upset by the scenario of the match, dropped Genesio in the face of journalists. With a low block in front, you have to be patient, tire the opponent and at some point it opens up but when you concede a laughable first goal, we put ourselves in an additional difficulty. We manage to come back but there are two exclusions and we don’t even manage to have the values ​​of aggressiveness to defend this point which would have been a lesser evil. The second goal is just as questionable with deplorable defensive attitudes despite a miraculous save from Steve (Mandanda) and we watch Gastien adjust quietly.”

After Hugo Lloris, soon the turn of Steve Mandanda. 2018 world champion in Russia, the 37-year-old goalkeeper should announce the end of his international career with the France team, according to information from RMC Sport confirming that of The Team. His 35th and last match with the Blues could therefore have been against Tunisia during the group stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar (1-0 defeat).

Stade Rennais goalkeeper Steve Mandanda will be at a press conference this Saturday from 2:15 p.m. Will he confirm the end of his international career with the France team? Bruno Genesio will also answer questions from journalists on the eve of facing PSG.