"I see a close match": Manuel Amoros speaks out before Monaco-Lyon this Saturday evening

Manuel Amoros is a legend. He is a legend of AS Monaco and the French national team, among others. For Nice-Matin , the former full-back immediately agreed to pick up the phone to give his opinion on the evening's match and expand on his memories of Monaco and Lyon. A witness to a flamboyant era.

The weekend match is expensive, how do you imagine it?

Monaco are still favorites. They're in a better position, and Lyon really missed out on a positive result last week (losing to Lens). They still have a little hope. I see a close match between two good teams.

Tolisso's absence?

Unfortunately, that's part of the game, part of a footballer's daily life. He's a great player, who brings a lot of experience. If a youngster replaces him, he'll have to bring his energy and his will to show that he can replace someone important.

Your opinion on the ASM season?

Monaco is having a very good season, even though they've dropped quite a few points stupidly, especially at Brest (2-1 defeat). They find themselves in a situation that isn't catastrophic, but it's still complicated. They have the means to finish second or third.

How can we explain the numerous defensive errors?

It's mostly a team effort: when the team scores a goal, it's the team that counts, when it concedes one, it's the same thing. If the attackers don't make the effort to get back into position when they lose the ball, it doesn't allow the defenders to be competitive.

This team moving forward, is that in the club's DNA?

Yes, but it's difficult to compare. I think football has changed compared to our time. Monaco has a great team, which plays well, looks forward, and scores a lot of goals, even if it's perhaps not yet at the level of some clubs that play in Europe all the time. The two remaining matches are very important, especially with the TV rights issue.

Are there any similarities between your two French championship titles won here (1982 and 1988)?

These two titles are important for the club and the players, but they are two different teams. There was a time when we trained in Èze Village, we only had half a pitch for the entire season. That wouldn't be possible today! If I have to make a link between the two, it would be cohesion. To play a full season and reach the title, you need a healthy group. At the time, there weren't as many substitutes on the bench. That taught competition. For the 1982 World Cup, for example, Jean-Luc Ettori wasn't the favorite, it was (Dominique) Baratelli. But Michel Hidalgo asked (Ivan) Curkovic (goalkeeping coach) who had done the best preparation, and it was Ettori. So, cohesion was needed, among the players but also with the coaching staff. Those who grumbled, we quickly brought them up to speed, and they got back on track!

Why did your duet with Bruno Bellone work so well?

Already because we learned to play together at the training center, we had a lot of automatisms. We knew how the other played. I knew that when he came into the center, he left me space on the side. Or when he stayed well on the left, I had to give him the ball so that he would go and provoke and cross... We had lots of little tricks. But if we are not friends in real life it can't work.

What was this story about balloons being sent over the cliffs of La Turbie?

Oh yes! (smile) At La Turbie we trained on the back field and at the end of each training session, we tried to kick the ball over the cliff. I think only Bruno (Bellone) and Didier Christophe managed it. It was fun. I don't remember how we managed to get them back. The worst was when we trained on the other side of the road. When we made a bad pass, it wasn't easy to get the ball back as it fell into the valley (smile).

Your time in Lyon was less memorable. What do you remember from it?

It was fabulous! We already had three Marseille players: Pascal Olmeta, Abedi Pelé, and me. And then Jean Tigana was the coach. We mentored a group of incredibly talented young people to teach them professionalism. I think we brought a stability that the club didn't have before. Gerland was almost always full; we gave Lyon fans hope. Aulas may have made a risky bet by bringing in Marseille players, but a bet that paid off...