Toulouse. Edouard Kempf: “Paris? We will try to tickle them”
Excellent against Créteil last Saturday, the right winger of Fenix knows that the end of the Toulouse season promises to be strewn with pitfalls against the first three in the standings. Starting with PSG tonight.
This victory at Créteil (35-36) must have done a lot of good for the morale of the team after a bad pass?
It’s true, it was complicated and winning in the end is good. It hasn’t been easy lately. We saw it again in the first half in Créteil where we were amorphous before recovering in the second half. That’s good, we were able to raise our heads. We displayed a good state of mind, wore the club’s colors beautifully, we didn’t panic, that’s to be remembered.
Personally, you sign a 9/12 on your wing, your best total of the season. You obviously had fun.
Yes, when you have a lot of balls on the wing, you enjoy it. But what matters is the end result and the team’s collective performance in the second half. As for my 9 goals, it’s good but if we lose in the end, it’s useless. Well, there, it ends well so it’s nice.
Especially since in Toulouse, the game on the wings is a reality.
Yes, we try to come on the outside. In Créteil, we touched a lot of balls with Nemanja (Ilic, editor’s note). But one or ten balloons, you have to put them at the bottom, you have to be as efficient as possible because it relieves the collective.
Toulouse lost fifth place (qualifier in the European League, editor’s note) and to hope to recover it, you will probably have to achieve a clear round over the last three days against the first three in the championship.
We know the schedule. We come out of a big game in Créteil with a lot of commitment. There, we leave for a series of three matches in eight days where we will have to play perfect matches, commit ourselves fully because we are not allowed to make many mistakes.
3 out of 3 it seems mission impossible…
Maybe, you know, in handball anything is possible. We know it will be very difficult but it’s time to do something. If we lose against Paris, no one will blame us.
Paris precisely is still undefeated after 27 days and vice versa without fault. How are you approaching this game?
Even if they are the best, we will try to hold them, tickle them and then have fun, it’s still a gala match. Afterwards, we know that we are no match for PSG, that it will not be easy, but we are not going away beaten. Individually, PSG have great players but they remain human, it must be said.
PSG wants to end the season in vain after 30 days. A comment ?
Only they can do it. We, I repeat, we will try to tickle them. OK, they have their goal and we have ours. We will try to make the best match possible.
Since your elimination in the European League by Benfica (8th final), then your defeat in the league in Chambéry which made you lose 5th place and finally, elimination in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France against PSG, do not worry not end the season empty-handed?
Everything is going so fast. I admit that we did not see it pass but whatever happens, this season will be beautiful. We still want the icing on the cake with this fifth place. If not, it will not be an unfinished season. On a disputed 51 matches in all competitions. We can be proud of what we have achieved, I am thinking of the successes against Berlin, Benfica, Montpellier, Aix. We must not forget all that. If we don’t manage to get this fifth place, it will be infuriating, there will be a hint of bitterness, especially since we have been racing for a long time behind the leading trio (4th or 5th, editor’s note) before this setback at Chambéry (April 23, editor’s note).
A rumor and circulating indicates that the sixth place could finally give a European ticket with the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian clubs from EHF competitions next season. You are aware ?
Yes, I heard that. But nothing is done. Which means that with Nîmes and Chambéry, we will all want to go for this fifth place. And for us, that means very strong performances over the last three days.