The former Monaco players are once again on the same team, this time for OM in season 2007-08. Good friends off the pitch, the two defenders gave a double interview.
Both players are products of the Monaco Youth Academy, and have known each other for some time; they grew up together on The Rock.
They played their first 5 professional seasons side by side, from Gaël Givet’s arrival in the pros in 2000-01 until Julien Rodriguez’s departure in 2004-05 for Glasgow Rangers.
| JULIEN RODRIGUEZ |
GAEL GIVET |
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Which one of you is nastier on the pitch?
Ah! He is, and I think everyone knows it. When he grows his hair and beard, he turns into a hooligan.
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Which one of you is nastier on the pitch?
I think it’s Julien, probably because of the way he attacks the ball. He can do more damage than I can, even though he doesn’t mean to do any harm.
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Your best memory together?
The semi-final of the Champions League when we knocked Chelsea out. At the end I found Gaël and Sebastien Squillaci on the pitch and we savoured the moment. |
Your best memory together?
For sure it was our Champions League epic when we knocked out Real Madrid and Chelsea. We both played in central defence and at the final whistle we hugged each other. I think that was our happiest moment at Monaco. |
Which one of you lifts the squad’s spirits more?
We’re both capable of doing so. Gaël’s a bit shyer than I am but he can certainly crack a joke. After that I can’t say, because they are personal anecdotes. But I think that during the year, we could see him on OMtv in the dressing room making everyone laugh. |
Which one of you lifts the squad’s spirits more?
We both can do it but Julien’s really good at it.
“Juju” is less shy than I am, it takes me some time to be able to let myself go. At any rate, Juju is a good singer, he loves it, and I hope he gets stuck in this season. |
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Who scores more goals?
He does, I’ve hardly ever scored. He gets 3 or 4 a season. I remember his scoring a double against Metz when we were at Monaco. We won 2-1. He won it for us. |
Who scores more goals?
I think it’s me but anyway neither of us are regular scorers.
He scored against Lyon 2 or 3 seasons ago with a great scissor kick. We didn’t win but it was a good goal. |
At training do you guys stick together?
He just got here and he’s a bit shy… he’s getting into it and I’m helping him do so. Yes, we do have a certain complicity. |
At training do you guys stick together?
We’re happy to see each other again. We were mates at Monaco and meeting up again here is really cool. |
A message for him?
He is very welcome here at Marseille and I hope he does as well here as he did at Monaco and that helps us win trophies and titles.
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A message for him?
That he remain the same “Juju” who I’ve known for years, but there are no worries on that score. I hope things go well for us on the pitch this year. |
