"We had Laurent Blanc in a toro at Lyon": Johann Lepenant on his favorite training memories
FC Nantes midfielder Johann Lepenant recently spent some time telling l'Équipe some his most memorable anecdotes from training across his spells with his current club as well as Lyon and the French youth sides.
"Which training session left the biggest impression on you?"
My first with the pros, in Caen, when Pascal Dupraz arrived at the club (October 2019). You're with the best, the players from your youth club, like Jessy Deminguet, and it's a bit overwhelming. The reserve coach, Fabrice Vandeputte, told us that morning: 'Do your best, you never know, if you can stay with the pros, that would be great.' I never left the first team. The first training session with Lyon, too, with coach Peter Bosz (in 2022). We just started again and, straight away, opposition, two thirty-minute sessions on the full pitch! We were a bit surprised; it was incredibly tough. It was super hot too. I had a cramp at the last minute (smiles). I think he wanted to get to know us, and with a match, you're directly in the middle of things. That was his working method. Most of the time, you still start with a prep session before playing matches. In that first training session, I'd never experienced that. There was just a warm-up.
Are there any exercises you don't like?
"Running in preseason a no-brainer, because you have to be ready, and you need that for the whole season. But passing drills without opposition... When you're without an opponent, you have trouble getting into reality, and you tend to play slower, to apply yourself a little less. Your passes aren't as good, and your finishing isn't as good. Nothing could be simpler, but since there's no one there, it becomes tough. You're in a comfortable situation, and even if the coaches tell you, 'Act as if you're in a match situation,' you don't have the adrenaline pumping."
A tense training session?
There are a lot of them, and in all clubs. I get angry, but I quickly move on. Sometimes, Antho (Lopes, Nantes goalkeeper) leaves quickly. He's a bit of a sore loser. You shouldn't press him, you shouldn't tease him too much, you shouldn't touch him too much. Because if you press him and touch him... He doesn't appreciate it too much and he gets angry! It makes me laugh. I like playing with Matthis (Abline, FCN striker) too. If he loses, I quickly get into his head. I can say a few things, and he can quickly get angry. But if everything's fine, everything's rosy, it's not crazy. It's good, sometimes, for there to be a little tension.
The funniest moment?
It was during a bullfight in Lyon, with coach Laurent Blanc. He lost the ball and went into the middle. There was Castello (Lukeba), Malo (Gusto), Bradley (Barcola), we made him spin around, and at one point, he fell to the ground. He got up, I gave him a little stepover, and he fell back to the ground (he laughs). I often see Castello with the French teams, and we still laugh about it. He (Blanc) took it well, he laughed too. What's also funny is when the coach repeats it four times and the guy doesn't understand. The problem is, it happened in Nantes (smiles).
A complicated tactical session?
Last year, we tried a tactic (under Antoine Kombouaré). We said to ourselves, "But it'll never work." It was way too complicated. It was a whole-team move to get the opponent moving. We rehearsed it one day, and in the end, we didn't do it in a match. There are tactical choices that can surprise you a little. Right now, we're working a lot on video with the coach (Luis Castro), and he wants to change tactics. For example, he tells us to press in a certain way, and I sometimes reply: "If we do that, I won't be able to get here on time." Afterward, he'll guide me; it's better for the team.
A memory of a training session when you were little?
At US Granville, when we were 12 or 13, our coach asked us, at each session, to do 50 juggles with our right foot, 50 with our left, and 30 with our head. But really, at every training session! And for everyone, because in the regional finals, juggling counted. At the beginning, only 6 or 7 of us could do it, and by the end of the year, we all could. I was more comfortable with my head than with my left foot, so he stressed me out a little more.
A video session that stood out to you?
First of all, I consider video to be a form of training. And I like it. But it shouldn't be too long. If it lasts an hour and a half... I've had a few sessions, not in Nantes, where they lasted a very long time. You'd go over matches where you hadn't been good, and the coach would replay the entire match (he sighs). It's good to show the negatives, but a twenty-minute video session, two or three times a week, is enough. Afterwards, it's still useful, especially on corners. I almost always know what the guy in front of me is going to do. There's always a risk he'll come out of nowhere, but at least you're warned.
Your dream session?
We'd start with a passing circle! It's fun. And I think it's important. We can have a laugh, but if you're not at least a little focused, it will amount to nothing. If you are, it can be a really good exercise in technique and information gathering. Normally, I don't go into the middle too much. Whereas Mostafa Mohamed (FCN striker), he does (smiles). He doesn't lose the ball, but he wants you to go into the middle, so he sends real passes, like mines. And in the end, he's the one who goes there because he overdoes it. But once in the middle, he runs well. Then, we do a little passing exercise to warm up, but not too long. Then, a finishing game. The midfielders work on their long game on a wide player, nice control and cross for the forwards. It's a bit of a treat for everyone. And then, a tournament! Five-on-five. It's fun, I enjoy it. You score, you stay, you lose, you go out, I like that. That's where I get the most pleasure. And you can try moves you'd never do in a match, like stepovers and nutmegs. We'd want to do that on a pool table, of the quality of the Parc des Princes. And the losers of this tournament pays for dinner at a restaurant. Perfect!"
Read more:
