Foot: “Renard was not disrespectful towards women’s football”, believes Delphine Cascarino

“Hervé Renard was not disrespectful to women's football” by being interested in freelancing with Ivory Coast during the CAN, declared Tuesday in an interview with AFP the French striker Delphine Cascarino, returning to Les Bleues for the Nations League semi-final on Friday against Germany.

Question: You found Clairefontaine on Monday after your right knee injury in May (partial rupture of the cruciate ligament), what is your state of mind? Answer: “I feel very good and I am very happy to be back with the Blues and the staff. I had regular contact with all the staff and players, especially when I was in rehabilitation at Clairefontaine. Hervé Renard wrote to me very regularly to check on me, it was positive for me and it did me good mentally to be supported by the coach. I made four appearances with Olympique Lyonnais, I feel very good physically, I am getting back into rhythm little by little.

Q: How has your rehabilitation been since your injury?A: “I would say it went pretty quickly. I think that when you accept the situation, everything becomes easier and that was the case for me. I aimed to return in 8 months for the matches and I achieved this objective (...) In a month, a month and a half I think I will be at my best. I would love to be on top of the best right now but today I'm going to be on top for 30-45 minutes."

Q: How did you experience the announcement of the injury a few months before the World Cup? A: “It was difficult because I didn't know right away that the injury was serious. The next day, I wake up and my knee hasn't swelled so I say to myself: you cried in front of everyone for nothing because you have nothing at all. Finally I had a partial rupture of the cruciate ligaments.

Q: So you missed the World Cup last summer in Australia...A: "It was very frustrating to miss the World Cup, it's every four years... We've been preparing for years and on an action we lose everything, it happens, it’s part of football. We have to accept the situation because otherwise we put obstacles in the way of facing the operation and rehabilitation.

Q: The Olympic Games in Paris are one of your goals? A: “It is a goal to participate in the Games because I have never participated in the Olympics. And even more so in France, because it very rarely happens in an athletic career. It’s definitely my big goal.”

Q: Have you found the group changed since your return to Les Bleues and the arrival of Hervé Renard a year ago? A: "I saw that from the outside, it's sure there there are much fewer conflicts, there are none at all. Everyone is focused on the same goal and the group lives very well. I had noticed it before coming back and it has been confirmed since I arrived on Monday, living with the girls on a daily basis.

Q: How did you experience the episode of Hervé Renard being asked to freelance with Ivory Coast during the CAN? A: » It wasn't really a subject, if he wants to go and win the CAN with a team he can go as long as he is then available for us. Since it wasn't at the same time, frankly he does what he wants. On the contrary, let him go and win and like that, he comes back motivated and wants to relive that feeling of victory with us. It didn't bother me at all. If he came to women's football it is to advance women's football. He was not disrespectful to women's football, quite the contrary.

Q: You are at the end of your contract at OL in June, what are your desires since you have been at Lyon since 2009? A: "I don't really think about that, my goal was to return to the field, I did not think. I'm at OL for now until the end of the season and I also have the Games in mind, I'll think about it later. (...) I have always said it, I have been at OL for a long time and I have never hidden from the club that one day I would like to play abroad in my career.

Q: What is your view on the development of women's football in France and the arrival of Michele Kang at the head of Olympique Lyonnais? A: "We have fallen a little behind in France in terms of infrastructure. But in terms of level, we have two French clubs in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, this shows that even if there is a lot of effort to be made, the level still remains very good (...). The arrival of Michel Kang is positive, she has invested in women's football and wants to advance the cause of women. She is full of ideas and desires, it does us good to be supported by someone committed and sincere like her or Jean-Michel Aulas."

Comments collected Tuesday in Clairefontaine by Alice LEFEBVRE.