The OM midfielder is living proof that all things come to he who waits. For OMmag, he clears up a number of points. Notably about his first season at OM. Interview.

Karim, the winter break is upon us. Your performances in the first half of the season have been excellent …
For the moment everything is fine, I’ve been feeling good since the start of the season. The squad has as well. I’m happy even if I do regret the fact we haven’t been able to take more points in recent weeks. But on the whole I think I can be satisifed.

How do you explain your change in form compared with your difficult first season  ?
At the end of last season I went to Algeria for about a month to play some games with the National side. It did me a lot of good as things went really well. My mind was focused on something else. When I came back, I was in a different frame of mind. I said to myself: Karim, you’ve got nothing to lose. On the contrary you have everything to gain! I’m convinced that I went through the worst last season and that things could not drop any lower.

Did something click into place during the pre-season preparation in the Summer of 2008?
Right from the first friendly match, the coach showed me his faith. I took advantage of that game to show him that I was a serious contendor for a place in the starting line-up.

"It was up to me to prove to him (E. Gerets) that I had the qualities to be worthy of his confidence

Erik Gerets has always had faith in you …
A bit more this season than last season! In any case, It was up to me to prove to him that I had the qualities to be worthy of his confidence. You have to remember that the circumstances this season are different. Last season, we were in 18th position when the coach came in. We needed points and results quickly. As Erik Gerets didn’t have the time to wait and see if a player was going to explode onto the scene, things were delicate for him. This season, on the other hand, he was involved in the pre-season preparation and I have to admit that he gave me a chance for the first match at the Vélodrome (OM-Auxerre, 4-0) even though I was just back from injury. This show of confidence from him is very important for me.

How did you prepare for this first game?
As I always do. I didn’t ask myself any questions!

Let’s look back a little. You finally needed a full year to find your feet at the club …
In any career there are sometimes moments like that. It just happened to me for my first season at OM. It’s true that this is a special club. There is a lot more pressure. The context is different, but that is what gives the club a certain charm. You cannot neglect the fact that I was injured on three occasions last season, while I had never been injured in my career before hand.

A year to forget …
Everything happened at the same time. When I played we couldn’t get any results and when I was out of the side through injury, all of a sudden the results came all by themselves and we started turning things around. Everything was negative. So it’s a black year that I just need to forget. It’s all in the past now and behind me.

"Very quickly during pre-season I felt that the directors and staff were counting on me

This difficult season put a question mark over your future at OM. Did you ever have the intention of leaving the club?
If I felt that they did not count on me I would have considered it reluctantly, but that is football. I’m miserable when I’m not playing, I love playing more than anything and going through a season on the sidelines would have destroyed me. But, very quickly during pre-season I felt that the directors and staff were counting on me. I wanted to repay their faith out on the field. When you are playing with a sword over your head, you don’t put in the same performances as you do when people have faith in you.

Just like last season, OM didn’t manage to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League…
This season we were in a very difficult, homogenous group. I think that our performances this season were a lot better than last season. But we didn’t get any results. We have nothing to be ashamed about as far as our competition is concerned. Apart from the match at Eindhoven, we produced good football in each match. OM showed that they deserved their place there. The matches turned on small details each time. The final gesture can make the difference one way or another and majes the force of the top clubs. I often hear that the top clubs have been lucky. But why is it always them that are lucky? But it’s not just a question of chance. We are working hard to make sure that in the future the little details turn in our favour.

You spoke of the homogeneity of OM’s Champions League group. What do you mean by that?
When you look at the teams that we were up against, it’s logical to note a certain form of uniformity. Liverpool maybe have a little more experience than the three other clubs (OM, Atlético, PSV). When you look at the other groups, I always notice that there is always one weaker side. A club against whom ypou can take six points. It was the case for Bordeaux (with Cluj) for example or Lyon (against Bucharest). We didn’t have that opportunity.

Let’s get back to the League. What do you feel were the crucial moments in this first half of the season;?
Against Paris SG for example, losing in such conditions leaves its mark. When you are in front (2-1), you shouldn’t lose (4-2) like that. It’s a match that we have trouble getting over. But as far as I’m concerned, the match that really hurt us was the one against Lorient. We were 2-0 up and ended up losing 3-2 at the Vélodrome. We were really affected by this defeat. Happily enough, the comeback we made against Lille (2-2), did us a lot of good. Getting back on level terms was a great performance because Lille have a very good side. On a points question it wasn’t a great match, but for our confidence and our mental, it’s very positive because making a comeback like that is like a victory.

"Now, people look at Algeria with a different view. We are no longer a « little » side

Karim, a word about Algeria, who are in the process of qualifying for the next African Nations Cup. Can we speak of a renaissance?
We’re going to give all that we have in order to qualify. I think it is very important as Algeria have not taken part in an international competition in a long time. It’s a whole different situaton compared to OM. Algeria are under reconstruction. We are in a period of stabilization. But we still have a lot of work to do.

Algeria still remainin people’s minds a big footballing nation. How do you explain their absence from major competitions for such a long time?
Our country has been in great difficulty. The general situation in Algeria has repercuted on the football world. For the last 15 years our National team haven’t been able to qualify for competitions and our FIFA ranking has dropped drastically. After getting back into the 2nd hat thanks to our performances against some of the better nations we have gotten oursleves into the fight for qualification from our group along with Senegal, and we have a real chance of achieving it thanks to some great team performances. Now, people look at Algeria with a different view. We are no longer a « little » side. Our squad is full of good players  ; we have the qualities to acheive something.

In conclusion, how fo you see the second half of the season going for OM?
Just great things. Obviously, we are lacking a few points in comparison with Lyon. But the season is not over just yet and the League can be full of surprises. The Ligue 1 is a difficult League where the bottom club can beat the first placed side. It’s not like that anywhere else. Nothing is finished as far as the Vélodrome goes either, teams who come to Marseille don’t necessarily shut up shop, we found that out to our detriment, they do a lot more than defend. And it’ the same in the other grounds of the League. Afterwards my personal objectives are the same as those of the squad. What is important to me is to win matches!