Mathieu Valbuena has experienced almost everything during his career. Failed by the Girondins de Bordeaux upon leaving the training center, the native of Bruges indeed learned his classes in CFA2 then in National before revealing himself to the world at the Olympique de Marseille and having the honors of the French team.
But at 41, the man who also played for Dynamo Moscow or Olympique Lyonnais is not done with football. Since last summer and his return to Olympiakos, the former Marseillais has continued the pleasure with the reserve of the Athenian club, in the Greek second division. For his greatest pleasure.
Mathieu Valbuena is also worried about the moment when he will have to say stop. “We’ll see in February-March, I don’t have any plans. I live these moments as if they were my last, my last training sessions, my last matches, my last habits. And it’s just happiness! Because quitting will be very, very hard, a huge void in a life dedicated to football”he also confided during an interview given to The Team.
“She’s scared”
The end of his career will, however, be a relief for his nine-year-old daughter, who does not necessarily enjoy seeing her father on the field. “She is very protective, she is afraid that I will get beaten. And when I’m on the ground, she can’t stand, he explained. Once there were fights between supporters here, she was a little scared. But she comes to see me for the holidays and I have a great relationship with her. »
Mathieu Valbuena is in fact separated from his former partner, which according to him allows him to fully experience the moments shared with his teammates. “I’m still full of energy. I do everything, maybe once or twice, if there were two or three blocks at the end of the session, I skipped the last one. This is the first time I haven’t had any updates and it almost feels weird. These are moments of intimacy, of sharing. My life has been… How can I put it? I live alone here. It all revolved around football,
he continued. And frankly, it never bothered me to be with the partners, watching the matches on Friday evening or Saturday evening. We accumulated so many memories in these moments. I even did twelve days of training this season and it was a great pleasure. »
