Fabinho, Gignac’s former teammate in France, tells how the French striker got close to one of Brazilian football’s greats.
Andre Pierre Gignac is the big star of it Tigers, rival of Palmeiras in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup, next Sunday at noon in Mexico City.
Author of the two goals that qualified the Liga MX teamthe French attacker has a long-term relationship with Brazil.
He was a partner at the start of his career Toulouse (between 2006 and 2008) from Fabinho. The former midfielder from Corinthians, Santos and Cruzeiro recall being impressed when he met the French striker.
“He was very young and always took his job very seriously. He really wanted to train and play. In the beginning he had a little problem, because he was the starter. [delantero] Swedish Elmander, ”he said.
According to the Brazilian, the attacker’s personality is one of the main reasons why he has had a successful career.
“He argued and questioned the coach. You see that with trained players, not with a boy. He has a lot of presence in the area and fights a lot for the ball. He has a lot of physical strain,” he said.
Off the field, the attacker is seen as polite and a good teammate. “Gignac liked to play with people to get everyone involved,” he said.
Corinthians
In 2018 Fabinho was the technician’s assistant coach Fábio Carille and Corinthians and considered becoming the striker after selling Jo at the Nagoya Grampus of Japan.
El CIFUT [Centro de Inteligencia de Futbol], responsible for performance analysis, searched for players and the name of Gignac and two other attackers appeared. When I saw his name, I said, ‘Master, you can sign it with your eyes closed,’ ”he recalled.
“He would be the face of Corinthians. He’s a tough player, he even plays injured. He always fights for the ball … He’s very competitive,” he analyzed.
Despite the name being discussed, the recruitment did not materialize. “We haven’t even made him a proposal because his salary at Tigres is unreal,” he said.
Gignac receives approximately 4 million euros per year. The French became the top scorer in the history of the royal team. For his part, Fabinho, 15 years after playing together, is still in touch with the Frenchman via a WhatsApp group.
“We joked, ‘And what about Palmeiras? I said if necessary I would pass him some comments from the team. They have a lot of quality.’ Everyone because it’s an opportunity they’ve been waiting for a long time. ”Get ready because it’s going to be difficult for everyone because it’s an opportunity they’ve been waiting for.
Fabinho He warns the Brazilian team not to stop following his former teammate.
“Palmeiras must be concerned about the whole team, but he is the reference. He is a goal-scoring attacker, a champion of the French team and a benchmark. Palmeiras must be vigilant, ”he said.