still in love with his ex / One day, a transfer / Episode 53 / SOFOOT.com
This summer during the transfer window, So Foot returns every day of the week to a transfer that marked its time in its own way. For this 53rd episode, we tackle the arrival of Giovane Elber at OL. In 2003, when Sonny Anderson had just left, Lyon was looking for a new star in attack. The Gones finally throw their evolution on Giovane Élber, just top scorer in the Bundesliga, but pushed out by Bayern Munich. A transfer that everyone will regret.
In 2003, while summer temperatures are raging in France, there is a place in France where you sweat particularly. Crowned champion of France for the second consecutive time, Olympique Lyonnais sees the head of the gondola of its project go away. Sonny Anderson packs his bags for Villarreal. Jean-Michel Aulas a fine saying that “Sonny is irreplaceable” on the evening of the second title, OL must find someone to replace their star. While they managed to reach an agreement with Monaco for the transfer of Shabani Nonda, the Congolese refuse to fly a few kilometers further north and join Les Gones. The latter turn to Fernando Morientes, but end up dropping the scorer Real Madrid to finally fall back on Giovane Élber, the Bayern Munich striker, top scorer in the Bundesliga, just champion for the fourth time with the Bavarians.
“Sagnol and Lizarazu advised me to go to Monaco instead. But when I chose Lyon, they told me that I was coming to French Bayern! » Elber
An OL-Monaco match
“Bayern wanted to sign Roy Makaay, and my contract expired the following yearhe explained to the Brazilian site Trivela. They thought if I stayed one more season I would leave for free. So they did everything to make me angry and decide to slam the door. That way they got some money back with my transfer. They clearly told me that if I stayed, it was to be on the bench or in the stands. I said to myself : “I don’t want to be paid to be in the stands. I want to play football.” » But the club holding the rope in this case is none other than… AS Monaco, which is now looking to replace Shabani Nonda, seriously injured at the end of August. It was ultimately the Lyonnais who broke the line first and at the last moment to steal the Brazilian international (15 caps, 7 goals). “Let’s say that in this match, Monaco led for 88 minutes, before Lyon scored the decisive but in the last moments. Lyon’s utmost professionalism made the differenceperfectly summed up Elber in Soccer France. Sagnol and Lizarazu advised me to go to Monaco instead. But when I chose Lyon, they told me that I was coming to French Bayern! »
Thus, Lyon announces the arrival of the Brazilian international, August 27, 2003, for the sum of 4.2 million euros. “We are all very happy to have managed to recover it. We needed a striker to compensate for the departure of Sonny Anderson. We try to integrate it as quickly as possible. He is an experienced player, and we have the help of the Brazilians who explain to him the functioning and playing habits of the team. , rejoiced Paul Le Guen, the Lyon coach, before a match at Guingamp. The 31-year-old striker even takes over the number 9 that Sonny Anderson had left vacant. “Sonny made OL history, but I promise to wear number 9 well, the same as his, and to do as well, if not better than him” , assured Élber during his presentation. All false.
“I didn’t think when I left Bayern. And when I arrived in Lyon, I regretted it. For the style of play, for the French league as a whole. » Elber
Regrets and teardrops in Munich
While he came out of the best exercise of his career in accounting terms with 31 goals and 10 assists in 48 games, he scored 15 goals for his inaugural season at OL. It is the first time since 1995 that he has shaken the net less than 20 times. Quickly, he began to miss Munich and took a dislike to the French championship.“I didn’t think when I left Bayern. And when I arrived in Lyon, I regretted it. For the style of play, for the French league as a whole.” , he analyzed a few years later. With Lyon, he still won a title of champion of France and offered himself the luxury of scoring the goal of Lyon’s victory in Munich against Bayern (2-1), in the group stage of the Champions League. He celebrates with tears in his eye as the Olympic Stadium screams his name and gives him a standing ovation as he leaves.
The following season goes even worse than the first. Injured and in conflict with Jean-Michel Aulas over the treatment of this injury, which he went to treat in Brazil, Élber amicably breaks his contract with OL, remaining on a record of 17 goals in 43 matches.“If I had the opportunity to go back, I would have changed my decision to go to Lyon. Not that it was bad, but I was used to a different rhythm of football and life. My family suffered a lot. It would have been better to stay at Bayern or go to another club, maybe even go back to Brazil. It’s a shame that I came back old and riddled with flaws. If I had come back a year earlier, I could have done a good job” , he finally admitted in 2006. After a very short stint of four games at Borussia Mönchengladbach, Élber returned to the territory of the motherland and played six months at Cruzeiro. Crippled with pain, he finally hung up his crampons at the end of 2006 and returned to Bayern as a recruiter/ambassador. Like a prince, Elber.
By Leo Peat