Valbuena : "I want to be decisive"
06/05/08 - Le Mans-OM
Coming back from injury against Bordeaux, the former Libourne Saint-Seurin player has great ambitions for the end of the season with OM. He wants to finish the season "on a roll".
Coming on during the game against Bordeaux, Mathieu Valbuena returned after an injury to his groin. An absence which has been difficult to deal with for the midfielder who has not been spared by injury these past two seasons. «I was really determined as I was injured and at times like that I am really frustrated. I saw my teammates playing, I wanted to help them out but i couldn’t. It’s not easy ». Despite his desire, Mathieu Valbuena was unable to stop Bordeaux getting back into and finally winning the game in the last minute. «We were unable to keep the one goal advantage that we had built up just before halftime, but Bordeaux have a very strong group. They have a solid base and up front they have the players capable of making the difference. Tactically, they dominated us ».
Now, the Bordeaux page has been turned. The OM players now have only one idea on their minds : finishing in third place. The calculation is quite simple, Marseille are two points behind Nancy. OM go to Le Mans and receive Strasbourg. «We’re more at ease away from home. I hope that we can bring all three points home from Le Mans. We’ll be putting everything in to winning but it is never easy to go and get something at Léon-Bollée. We had a chance to build up a lead but we didn’t take it. Now we can’t mess up anymore».
Nancy have to go to Lyon and will then play Rennes at home. If you look at the fact that Nancy have not lost at home in 13 months, it is more likely that they slip up at Lyon. «Between Nancy and OM, it’s going to be all about mentality, tactics but also details ».
Called up by Raymond Domenech for the game against England, Mathieu Valbuena was unable to join up with the National side because of injury. However, he could stil figure in the extended list that the coach wil announce on the 18th of May...
"I’m not thinking about it... I’m concentrating on my club, at the end of the season we’ll see what happens to me ".
Last year, it was Mathieu Valbuena who scored the decisive goal against Saint-Etienne which gave OM second spot in the League and gaurenteed them a spot in the most prestigious of all European competitions. The idea that he could once again contribute during "money-time" isn’t a bad one for him. I’m going to put in a good weeks training in order to be ready for Saturday. I really want to finish off the season on a roll. For the squad, I want us to qualify for the Champions League and for me, I want to be decisive. That’s all I’m thinking about. It’s great playing, but nothing is better than playing and being decisive at the same time ».
