As a guest on “Décrassage”, Salomon Olembe looks back on the Nantes match but also discusses his return from Qatar, the CFA2, the Cameroon national team and OM’s upcoming challenges in which he hopes to “strike a psychological blow” against OM’s rivals.

On OM-Nantes…
It’s a big disappointment but we’re focusing on the future now. We wanted to get a bit closer to Lens on the table before receiving them at the Vélodrome. We started well but we were missing a goal. Nantes took confidence from this and defended much better. Spaces were closed down and we had to play much better on the ball. We pushed so hard that we’re really disappointed with the final result. But we didn’t give up, and next time it will go better.

On Fabien Barthez…
He played a perfect match, he was solid and efficient on certain shots. He was helped by luck though. We hit the post but he was responsible for Nantes leaving with a draw.

On the standings…
we didn’t lose, but after the match, it was like we had. We knew the importance of this game for the rest of the championship. We missed this chance but there will be others.

On the upcoming matches…
We know we’ll go to Toulouse with victory as our goal. We know we have to win and we will approach the game differently. We have to bring something back from Toulouse.
In the weeks to come, we will meet some of our direct rivals and it will be important to strike a psychological blow against them. We did it against Lyon but couldn’t follow it up.
Toulouse is a direct rival in terms of points although they haven’t touted their ambition like some clubs. Mathematically, they’re definitely in the running. This match will be a real six-pointer.

On his start to the season…
Since my return from Qatar, the club has been very clear: I had until August 31 to find a club, or rejoin the pro squad at the beginning of September. That’s what happened. From outside, people thought there was a conflict but it was an arrangement, it was something planned. In playing with the reserves, I stayed in shape and practised my chops. In Nantes, there is almost no barrier between the reserves and the first team, and I made the most of this.
So I rejoined the pro squad and now I’m part of the manager’s plans, like all the other players.

On the CFA 2…
In a team, you must be heard but also know how to hear others. It’s reciprocal. This period allowed me to find new aspects to my mental game.

On the Indomitable Lions
It means a lot. It’s the Cameroon national team and it’s very important to the country. We are always fighting our past. When I was first capped, the benchmark was the team from 1990. We had to do as well as they did. My generation did as well as they did by winning the African Cup of Nations twice. All the big teams have a past that the new generations try to perpetuate. It’s the same for OM. The club’s objective is the league, but the dream of every Marseillais is to equal the club’s greatest feat, that is to say, win the Champions League.

On Marc-Vivien Foé…
It was a real shock. He was almost like a guide for us because he was the lion of the group. We miss that at the moment. We try to forget, but it’s difficult…