OM's Brazilian recruit went through a week of work with his new teammates in Evian. We get to see an inside view of a perfect integration.
SUNDAY : DAY 1
«We arrived at 16h00 via Geneva, we were then welcomed to Evian by the rain … We went out for a 30 minute run in the rain, it was a good way if getting over the voyage. Then, during the meal, Rudy Riou went through the obligatory hazing session, he was made to sing in front of the squad, it was a French song that I didn’t know, then Hilaire Munoz had to do the same thing.
MONDAY : DAY 2
«We trained in the morning, working on our fitness and some ballwork. In the afternoon we concentrated on our style of play with the coach, then some more fitness work with Christophe (Manouvrier). It was hard but that is normal, we’re in pre-season training. It’s always hard to put in th physical work after the holidays but it’s very important to prepare for the League. It’s the only time you can put in such intensive work as afterwards the competition has started.
In the evening at the table I sang a Brazilian song by Ivete Sangalo, who has become huge in Brazil this summer. I wasn’t nervous, I felt good and just thought let’s do it.» Erbate and Nepogodov sang as wellé.»
TUESDAY : DAY 3
«There were also two training sessions on Tuesday. In the morning we worked with the ball and in the afternoon it was fitness work. The training camp is also a good way of getting to know your new teammates. I’ve just arrived and I’m really getting to know the other guys, which is important. At the start I was close to Renato (Civelli). Now I’ve gotten to know Zenden, Lolo (Bonnart) or Benoît (Cheyrou) and Gael (Givet) as well. That night, Erbate once again sang in his native languae, Hatem (Ben Arfa) did a rap and the fitness coach (C. Manouvrier) sang as well.»
WEDNESDAY : DAY 3
«We put in a light session in the morning, working with the ball. I got to discover the coach a little more, he was watching us to start with then he started to talk to us a little. He’ll soon be talking to us more and getting more rigorous with the work we put in, in training and in a match. It’s normal and important as he is a coach who wants to win things with OM, just like the players.
That night we played against Nantes (a 0-2 defeat). The first half wasn’t bad both tactically and technically. In the second half we dropped the pace a little as we were very tired, there were a number of changes made as well. We were a little disappointed to lose and we hope xwe’ll manage to win our first game of the season on Sunday against Neuchatel. I played both games (Bastia and Nantes) with three different players at centre back : Renato, Ronald (Zubar) and Gael. We are lacking automatisms but that is normal. We have a lot of work to do but I felt really good with each player. Before the League starts we’ll have gotten to know one another and we’ll be ready as there is quality in the side.»
THURSDAY : DAY 4
«We put in a lot of physical work in the morning but it went well. We ahd the afternoon off apart from a photo shoot at the hotel.»
FRIDAY : DAY 5
«We started the morning session off with some ball work then chaged to physical exercises with Christophe. In the afternoon the session was tough as well but it’s normal at this point of the season. The rest of the time we manage to have a sleep between the two sessions.
Other than that, after we’ve eaten we try to stay together downstairs at the hotel. Some of the guys play poker; I prefer to play a game of pool. Afterwards when I’m in the room I go onto internet and look at OM.net, check out what is going on back home and chat with my family.»
SATURDAY : DAY 6
«On Saturday morning we tried to recuperate. We did 12 minutes of sprints then a foot-tennis just to get over the work we put in yesterday. I like foot-tennis; I was with Bolo (Zenden) and Renato (Civelli). We won both of our games. In the afternoon we relaxed an ddid a lot of stretching.»
SUNDAY : LAST DAY
«We had a short session in the morning and also did a bit of muscular work. We then went back to the hotel for a siesta. That night, we played and won a game (2-0 against Neuchatel). The win was a good way of finishing up the training camp.
Things went well in the centre of defence with Erbate, but it was the same with the other guys as well. We had to talk and communicate a lot as we had never played together before. The weather was terrible but it was a good game and we can go back to Marseille with a win in the pocket. We’ll be heading back to the Commanderie to continue the work and better what needs to be bettered.»
On Monday morning the OM squad did a warm down session at Evian and headed back to the Commanderie in the afternoon.
