The disappointment of the OM defeats in the Coupe de France in 2006 and 2007 has boosted the motivation of the Ligue 1's top scorer.
Is it more important to win on Saturday to keep the current dynamic going or to actually win the trophy?
Both! We have to win and continue our run. The draws against Lorient and Toulouse were bad results for us, but now we have to keep avoiding defeat. That’s our dynamic and I hope it lasts.
Can you feel the importance of winning a title and ending a 17 year drought?
It’s important for us, especially as Taye Taiwo and I have lost two Coupe de France finals with OM. We were really frustrated and disappointed by these defeats. We’d like to reverse the tendency and win a final at the Stade de France with Marseille.
Can you feel the expectations of the supporters, of the entire city?
Yes, just like each year and we will give our maximum. We give our all in each match for them.
"Nothing at all like our Ligue 1 matches "
What do you think of Bordeaux at the moment?
They are a solid side, you can see that in the league, they are strong and difficult to play against. We’ve played them twice and know what they are capable of. We will do our best to stop them playing.
Can this match be different from your encounters with them in the league?
It’s not the same at all, it’s a final on neutral ground. It will be totally different from the league games.
Have you felt anything that suggests to you that this will be your year?
Luck and success … Things that we didn’t have in the other finals. We hope that we will have them on Saturday. On each occasion we were favourites, against Paris, we deserved to win but they had more success than us and we lost. We were the better side against Sochaux but they got one over on us, they pulled level twice and then won on penalties. We are a stronger team than we were before. Then, there were a lot more individual talents with Franck Ribéry or Samir Nasri for example. We are a lot stronger together now
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"I hope that Didier Deschamps will bring us his experience"
In recent games we have seen you more in the centre of the attack, with Brandao on the left …
Brandao has a lot more endurance than me, physically he is stronger, so sometimes, it is him who asks to move out on the left. With all the defensive work he puts in for the team, he is more important than me.
You have already won this cup with Strasbourg in 2005, but winning it with OM would be more special …
For sure, I desperately want to win a trophy with Marseille. We’ll try and do that on Saturday.
Didier Deschamps has won this competition as a manager and won everything as a player. Do you feel that you are being guided by a coach who is used to these big stages?
Yes, but Bordeaux and ourselves are managed by two coaches who won a lot of titles when they were players. I hope that Didier Deschamps will bring us his experience of victories in finals.
