Angers: Interview with veteran midfielder Pierrick Capelle

In football, we sometimes use the expression “Veteran”. Now that you're 37, do you feel you belong in this category?

You could say I'm one, because I'm 37, but I don't really have that label. I'm still very young in my head. I probably don't use my experience as much as I should, because being an “old hand” is a quality, I think. An old hand plays from experience, plays with his head, probably more than I do today, because I'm more in the action, in the emotion of the moment... He's a player who controls the tempo of a match, who pays attention to a lot of little details, playing certain free-kicks quickly for example. I'm obviously capable of doing that, but maybe it's not quite in my nature.
 

What do you mean by that?

I don't know, but when I think of an old hand, I think more of defenders like Romain Thomas, Nicolas Pallois or Dante. He's world-class! It's funny you should ask me that question because, personally, I find it hard to define myself as an old hand, but my team-mates must see me that way.
 

If you find it hard to define yourself as an old hand, it's perhaps because you discovered the pro world late, at 25, and so you're perhaps fresher than a 37-year-old player with a more traditional background...

Exactly. That's why I still feel young in mind and body. And I hope that's reflected in my game! If you compare me with some friends my age who are still on the circuit but started at 18-19, it's definitely not the same thing.
“The added satisfaction of lasting”.
 

The SCO has long had a backbone with players of this profile, such as Romain Thomas, Ismaël Traoré, Vincent Manceau and Thomas Mangani. Was this a real advantage?
We always need experienced players, but the important thing is to find the right balance. We also need young players. We need to be able to count on all profiles. That's the most important thing.
 

Have you been enjoying yourself more in recent seasons than in the early years of your pro career?
It's hard for me to say that I'm enjoying it more now than at the beginning or in the middle. I still take the same pleasure. I get up every morning and tell myself that I'm living my passion and that I've been fulfilling my dream for 12 years now. I still enjoy it as much as ever. Now, it's true that there's an extra form of satisfaction in lasting, that's for sure.
 

You're the third oldest player in the league behind Dante and Steve Mandanda. How do you explain your longevity?

We often talk about invisible preparation, a somewhat abstract concept for people who aren't in the business, but that's what makes all the difference. As soon as you take care of your body, by eating well, drinking well and sleeping well, you give yourself the chance to last. The fourth parameter is mental freshness. To last, you need to be able to stay fresh in your mind, to cope with different situations, both positive and negative.
 

Coming back to the invisible preparation, was it something you attached importance to straight away, or did you change tack at a particular moment?

I managed to adjust things as I went along, but even before I turned pro, I was square, I tried to be as serious as possible, because I had this goal of turning pro. Once that came to fruition with my signing at Clermont, it confirmed to me that this was the right method. After that, I fine-tuned and perfected it, and I'm still building on that today.
 

To keep your mind fresh, do you see any specialists, either at the club or outside?

It might be a good idea to have some coaching within the club, it's an idea we've been talking about. The head dictates everything. You need mental freshness to last but, at any age, at any time, if a player is worried, if he has worries, if he doesn't feel well, he won't be fulfilled and he won't be able to perform. If you're not happy off the pitch, it's hard to be happy on it. Even so, I've never called in a mental coach. I talk to my wife, she's my coach after all (laughs). It's going very well for us this way, so we'll carry on.
 

“I was often told I was a mad dog”.

In which areas of the game have you progressed the most with age?

I try to analyze situations more, to play more with my head. When I was younger, I was much more instinctive. When I arrived at Clermont, I was often told I was a mad dog. I used to go off in all directions. After that, playing by instinct also worked for me, and it enabled me to score some great goals, like the one against Guingamp in 2016 (a pivotal volley from 25 meters, voted best goal of the season at the UNFP Trophies). Over time, I've worked to find the right balance and put more emphasis on match analysis. As you get older, you can't do what you did when you were 25 anyway, so you have to rethink certain things. Along the same lines, another area where I've made a lot of progress is in managing high and low points.
 

And, beyond the age of 30, do you continue to progress technically and tactically?

Every year, you learn something new, or rather, repetition makes you master things a little better. If you don't stay focused, with this idea of improving, you're going to go downhill in every respect. For me, it's a certainty that you can progress technically throughout your career. The aim of the game is to have as little waste as possible. Tactically, it's a bit different. If you play in the same systems, you end up being broken in because you've done it over and over and over again...
 

How do you find the balance between constant progression and physical regression? 

It's that balance that you have to try to maintain. You don't run as fast as you did at 25, the intensity is different. Instead of trying to control the ball in order to turn around and get past an opponent at your back, you're going to opt for a one-two to avoid a duel, you're going to find other solutions. That's why it's vital to know how to analyze situations.

"I feel even more legitimate"

In recent seasons, you've worn the captain's armband. It's a role that usually requires you to speak out on a regular basis. How are things organized on your side?

I don't always speak at the same time. I try to vary. There's collective communication, but there's also a lot of communication in small groups or on an individual basis. The idea is to keep to the SCO guidelines and the club's values. As long as your team-mates listen to you, it's easy, and I'm lucky enough to have a group that really listens and wants to perform, so it's easy to get the message across.

Do you operate in the same way in games where you start and in those where you start on the bench before taking over the armband when you come on as you did in Monaco last Friday?

Yes, it doesn't change anything. The coach (Alexandre Dujeux) makes choices. Himad Abdelli has the armband when I'm on the bench, but that's clear to the dressing room. In everyone's mind, I'm captain number 1 and, from a sporting point of view, the coach makes choices. They're two different things. Here, just because you're captain doesn't necessarily mean you're a starter.

How long have you felt comfortable in this leadership role?

I've always liked conveying messages and good energy. I'm someone who thinks first and foremost of the team, so I take a global approach. At the club, there were the five old hands we talked about earlier. When the other four left, I felt I had an even greater sense of legitimacy and a mission to pass on the SCO's values. That's certainly why the coach at the time (Gérald Baticle) chose to make me captain.

Are the values you're talking about still those of the “Angevine grit”, or is that a cliché that's outdated?

At the very beginning, we really focused on the “grit”, on never giving up. It's something we've kept, while adding to over time as the club has improved, whether in terms of structure or the quality of the workforce and therefore the quality of play. Still, it's better to have other assets than to simply hang on and manage to score a goal on the fly. The club has made great strides.

Do the younger players in the squad, such as Emmanuel Biumla, Yassin Belkhdim, Yahia Fofana and Esteban Lepaul, come to you for advice?

It's not exactly like that, there's no formal request. On a day-to-day basis, I sometimes feel the need to send a little message to certain team-mates. But you get the feeling that the youngsters are listening, and that's really interesting. I'm not someone who wants to be a rocket scientist, far from it, but if I can help others to progress, to move forward, I'm there. The aim is for everyone to feel good about themselves. For example, little Justin Kalumba has been injured for a while, so he's having a bit of trouble. When we see him, his face is closed. You can tell what he's going through is tough, especially as it's not easy when you're young. It's not much, but it can help.
 

At the SCO, you played with some very talented youngsters such as Sofiane Boufal, Mohamed-Ali Cho, Nicolas Pépé... Do you remember any particular exchanges with them?

There are different stages with youngsters: there can be advice, refocusing... That's important too. Another one I'd like to mention is Jean-Mattéo Bahoya. He sat next to me in the dressing room and, outside too, I tried to take him under my wing because I was convinced he could succeed. He did what he had to do, and today he's having the time of his life in Germany!
 

When you arrived in the professional world, what advice would have saved you a lot of time?
Maybe I could have been even better if I'd used a mental coach to get back to what we were talking about earlier. I'm someone who thinks a lot, who maybe thinks too much, so it would undoubtedly have helped me to be a little more supervised, a little more prepared for the pro world, coming from nowhere. When I joined Clermont, I felt that I was lacking a few things in terms of technique and tactics compared to the guys who were my age but had followed a classic curriculum. I needed twice as much energy to succeed.

“Some players step on your toes...”.

To conclude with the “old-timer” aspect, are tricks necessarily part of the package?

It's true that there's some good habits, like playing a free-kick quickly, staying in front of the ball to prevent the opponent from playing quickly, making an intelligent foul... There's also everything to do with talking to the referee. It's important to talk to him, to make him feel you're there. That's what Dante does very well, what he did against us at the start of the season, even if he doesn't really need to do that anymore because, with his natural aura, the referees will surely pay attention to what he says or does.
 

Do you ever try to get into your opponents' heads on the pitch?

I'm not really like that, although I did get into it a bit with Golovine during our last match in Monaco. I was talking to him and talking to him, but he couldn't understand what I was saying, so it wasn't very productive! But I could feel he was upset, so talking to him kept the tension up. In fact, it started with a touch where he grabbed my head, so after that, I titillated him, I grabbed his arm, I even pulled his hair a bit. It's stupid but it's annoying, little things like that are important. Some players step on your foot, on your heel... It's not something I've always done. They do it a lot, even in training!