Matsima's temporary declaration of loyalty

Set at FCA: Chrislain Matsima. IMAGO/Krieger

Mario Krischel reports from the FC Augsburg training camp in Kollerschlag (Austria)

Chrislain Matsima spent his vacation watching football, at least in part. In Miami, the tall FC Augsburg center-back unwinded after a long season, watching the Club World Cup match between Real Madrid and Juventus at the Hard Rock Stadium. "It was great," he says now in English, refreshed and ready to attack.

"I feel very good," Matsima asserts, "I had a crucial break after the season and the U-21 European Championship." He and France were crushed in the semifinals by Germany , albeit through no fault of his own. Due to a lip injury, Matsima was supposed to be rested for the final – but that didn't quite go according to plan.

Now he's "happy to be back with the team. With the new coach, the new staff. I'm ready."

Matsima is considered one of the discoveries of the last Bundesliga season. On loan from AS Monaco, FCA exercised the five-million-euro purchase option in the winter, and Matsima's market value continued to catapult upwards.

The now 23-year-old impressed with his athleticism, good timing, and tackling ability, finishing eight of his seventeen second-half matches with a kicker rating of 2.5 or better. "I couldn't have predicted that before the season," he admits. "My teammates helped me tremendously to improve, both on and off the pitch."

The coach told me he likes my style of play. He wants to keep me.

Matsima is one of five French-speaking players in the FCA squad; he already knows new signing Han-Noah Massengo from Monaco's youth system. While this makes integration easier for everyone, coach Sandro Wagner still insists that every player learns German. Matsima himself emphasizes: "We try not to be together too much, and to spend time with the others. For example, to learn German faster."

Next week, lessons will continue with a teacher. Matsima can already understand a little, but not much more. "You guys speak too fast," he says, laughing.

The conversation takes place on the pitch anyway, and that's where the Frenchman feels right at home – in Augsburg. "The coach told me he likes my style of play. He wants to keep me," says Matsima. "I'm still a young player, in the middle of my development, and I still have to improve in certain areas. That's why I believe the coming season will be important for me to take the next step – as a player and as a person."

The plan isn't to take the famous "next step" until next summer, after the 2025/26 season. If Matsima can confirm his form from last season, there should be no shortage of suitors. He even sees plenty of room for improvement. "For example, I could score more goals," says Matsima, who managed just one last year. "And I want to take more of a lead. With the new style of play, I also want to show that I can adapt."