OM had finished playing ... Real were about to win at Ajax Amsterdam ... The Lyon players returned to their rooms after dining upon their return from Gelsenkirchen. A hotel in Dusseldorf. [We got] about twenty minutes with Yoann Gourcuff, who had immediately accepted when we asked to spend some spend time with us just before training.
The Breton was relaxed and recognized it. "Yes, just like the rest of the squad. The victory in Lens did us a lot of good by finishing the match with a quality second half performance. This helps us avoid thinking too much...." Thinking too much? Putting pressure on myself? "I tend to do it consistently before matches. But right now, playing every three days, I do not have time ... It's better like that".
It’s almost three months since Yoann arrived at OL. So? "I have been remarkably well received. I had to adapt to the team. Me, I need the team, the collective so I can show what I can do, to have fun. My game feels it, especially since I have not reached my best form without it being a matter of fatigue. I have become used to playing frequently over the last two seasons. But I do not agree with journalists on the analysis of my performances. They were not either good or bad as they have said, written ... There have not been highs and very low points... One thing is sure, we have not yet seen the real Gourcuff".
And his position on the pitch? "I can play in different organizations as I already did at Bordeaux, notably in a diamond formation. After that, it mostly work in training that brings understanding with your partners...." Once again, Yoann says he does not attach special importance to his statistics. "It can make you selfish. It's not just goals and assists. There is also a run that can put your opponent off... there are passes that create overlaps... I'm not a player that can eliminate an opponent in a one against one...." And when things don’t go well collectively on the pitch? "I'm not going to say, it must be like this or like that...even if there are discussions between us. This is not in my temperament. I am very reserved. I tend not to speak out..." I'm shoocked
The Breton talks again about a need to mature in the expression of the team. "We must be able to play 90 minutes at the level we only manage to produce at times... We have no certainties, even if the results are now better in the league... When we get there, we will be able to say that we are making progress".
The Ligue 1 and the Champions League. "We have the opportunity to qualify on Wednesday night against a Schalke 04 team that I do not really know. Obviously, they can rely on Raul, Huntelaar, they must have built up confidence in recent weeks following a number of good performances. If we put one in, it would also help us in our approach to the game against PSG...."
The most beautiful stage in Europe, he has experienced it now with three different jerseys. He will play against Schalke 04, his 30th match in the Champions League (6 goals)... his 36th European game. Is Europe any different in terms of these jerseys? "At AC Milan, you really feel there is an obligation to go as far as possible. It's in the club culture ... In Bordeaux, we were glad to achieve certain results, like beating Bayern... At OL, it is between the two. There is a demand for results greater than Bordeaux and not as much as at AC Milan...."
The evening in his room, Yoann will spend it reading a book that has nothing to do with football..
Ligue des champions OL: "Pas grave" pour Gourcuff ("Not serious" for Gourcuff)
Plus de peur que de mal pour Yoann Gourcuff. Sévèrement taclé par Metzelder et sorti sur civière à l'heure de jeu de la rencontre de l'OL contre Schalke (défaite 3-0), mercredi soir en Ligue des champions, le meneur de jeu des Gones ne souffre d'aucune fracture. "Je pense que ce n'est pas trop grave", a expliqué le président Jean-Michel Aulas, rapporte le site du club.
Basically this article says his supposed injury against Schalke isn't serious at all, he didn't suffer any fracture. Aulas said he didn't think it was very serious, and it's been reported elsewhere that it's just a hematoma (nothing to do with an actual injury).
EDIT: Apparently he's out for 3 weeks! So much for thinking it wasn't at all an issue... although 3 weeks isn't that bad.
Source
Bonus: there's been lots of rumours going around about his possible move to Spurs... a lot of the sources are unreliable but it's been going around in the French press a bit too (though none of the really reputable ones have reported it yet I don't think). Good move or bad move?
P.S. the first article was taken off the OL's English site as it was easier than translating it myself so it may be kind of weird at certain points but you get the general idea...
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