BARCELONA - After a training session culminating in a penalty shoot-out with Dika Mem and Melvyn Richardson, Vincent Gérard sat down with Flashscore France to talk about his new status as a Barcelona player.
Flashscore: In football, Wojciech Szczęsny came out of retirement to join Barcelona as a joker. You did the same with the handball team. What an unusual coincidence!
Vincent Gérard: That's true, it's funny (laughs). I didn't follow his transfer when I signed, but we drew a parallel even though I arrived a lot later. It's funny, but it's also sad for the injured goalkeepers in the Barcelona football team.
It's unusual to come out of retirement to take up a temporary contract at Barcelona: how do you feel about it?
I stayed fit all year. In my mind, I was retired, but in good shape. There were offers. Everything had to fit together, it had to be feasible from a family point of view, and the project had to be incredible. And when Barcelona calls you, you can't turn it down. It was really impossible to say no.
Was your position in the hierarchy in relation to Emil Nielsen clear from the start?
It's very clear: I'm here to help Emil perform, to make sure he's good. If I have to play, I play. But if Emil is doing well, we already have a chance of winning the Champions League. My role is not to try and get more playing time, but to help Emil and the team.
How do you get back into the competitive mindset?
I stopped playing handball because the negatives outweighed the positives. Now, over two months, it's all positive. It's true that there may have been some apprehension about doing specific movements and getting back into competition, but I'm not here to play for an hour a match, I'm here to help. Maybe I won't play at all, and that would be great because it would mean that Emil is doing great. The club has put in place a progressive programme so that I can get back into the swing of things and get a feel for the game. And you don't just forget. I quickly found my bearings, my automatisms, my pre-training routines... I'd also missed life in the dressing room.
Having French players must have helped you integrate?
Yes, it's true that having French players in the team for me is very good. Dika (Mem) helped me find my flat. Tim (N'Guessan) explains how things work and so does Melvyn (Richardson). They can translate what the coach says to me as soon as somet. When you need to integrate, in two months like that, even if France and Spain are very close in terms of mindset, it's even more practical.
Did you get on well with Emil Nielsen straight away?
Yes, very good indeed. We were very clear about what the club wanted from us. I was really willing to go down that road. Emil understood my state of mind straight away. He speaks a bit of French and things are going really well. I'm not here to take his place. On the contrary, I want Emil to do well. At 38, I've got experience and I can adapt to a lot of situations.
No doubt it's also an opportunity to show the kind of mutual support that is typical of the brotherhood of goalkeepers?
Absolutely. For him, the fact that he feels there's someone with whom he can discuss his feelings can help him and give him confidence in his performance. It's going really well. We hope it will be a success.
How did you feel on your debut? Did you make a lot of saves against Helvetia Anaitasuna (39-25)?
Yes, it's true that it had been eight months... And it's back! I haven't had too many muscle aches. I've been pleasantly surprised that I've been making good saves and that things are going well. So, for the moment, everything's positive.
What's it like to discover a new championship?
I was happy to play at the Palau Blaugrana as a Barça player and not as an opponent. It's the first time, I've won there, having lost with Montpellier (in 2006, but MHB qualified in the return leg, editor's note). It's a pleasure to see your name written on the stadium screens. People welcomed me and applauded me, I was very happy! I can't wait to see what happens in the Champions League!
Szeged is the next stage in the Champions League...
When you get to this stage of the competition, it's always difficult. On the one hand, you tell yourself that even if you get a good result away, you'll have to be careful at home. We'll have to play a serious match, with the desire and determination to reach the Final Four.
The 30-31 loss to Granollers was a wake-up call.
We've lost two games this season, something that hasn't happened for a very long time. Nothing can be taken for granted. But when you're able to put some intensity into training, it's pleasing.
What happens after these two months? Do you have any new goals in mind?
No. Right now, I'm only thinking about mid-June and the Final Four is on the weekend of 16 June. Then I'll stop. In my mind, it's decided, I'm stopping.
You always set yourself big challenges.
That's what you need when you've been through it all, to continue to build up the pressure and motivation. When you see the players here, it makes you want to play. It makes you happy that people are thinking of you and it makes you want to be good too.
You have an impressive list of honours, but you've only won 'one' Champions League, with Montpellier. That just goes to show how difficult it is to win this competition.
Barcelona have won a lot in recent years. But it's true that among French clubs, only Montpellier has won two. It's a tough competition, very demanding, and you have to be in the right place at the right time. I'm already very happy to have won it. Mikkel Hansen, for example, wasn't so lucky. Everything can come down to one goal, and Barça won last year on penalties. It was a real pleasure to be on the winning side.
How do you explain the fact that there is a real school of goalkeepers in France?
I'd say there's more of a Danish school than a French one, but we're lucky to have had some very good goalkeepers. Thierry (Omeyer) played for 15 years and I played for eight. We hope that the rest will follow suit.
Goalkeeping is a very specific job. Looking back, do you realise all the efforts you've made during your career, particularly the mental ones?
You start playing at a high level when you're in the second year of secondary school, which was 2000-2001 for me, so that was 25 years ago. After a while, you get a bit tired of it. That's probably why I stopped. I was lucky to have had a career full of goals and titles, but it's complicated to get back into it, to go back to the drawing board every day. That's what makes a great career.