Fabinho, Gignac’s former teammate in France, narrates how the French striker was about to sign with one of the greats of Brazilian football
Andre Pierre Gignac is the big star of tigers, rival of the Palmeiras in the semifinals of the Club World Cup, this Sunday at 12:00 in Mexico City.
Author of the two goals that qualified the MX League team, The French striker has a long-standing relationship with Brazil.
He was a partner at the beginning of his career in Toulouse (Between 2006 and 2008) of Fabinho. The former midfielder of the Corinthians, Saints and Cruzeiro remember that he was impressed when he met the French striker.
“He was very young and always took his job very seriously. He was very eager to train and play. At first he had a small problem because the owner was the [delantero] Swedish Elmander, ”he said.
According to the Brazilian, the personality of the striker is one of the main reasons why he has had a successful career.
“He was arguing and questioning the coach. This is seen in trained players, not in a boy. He has a lot of area presence and fights a lot for the ball. He has a lot of physical imposition,” he said.
Off the court, the striker is seen as polite and a good teammate. “Gignac really enjoyed playing with people to get everyone involved,” he said.
Corinthians
In 2018, Fabinho he was assistant coach of the coach Fabius Carille to Corinthians and considered taking the striker after the sale of Jo at the Nagoya Grampus in Japan.
“The CIFUT [Centro de Inteligencia de Futbol], In charge of performance analysis, looked for players and the name of Gignac and two strikers appeared. When I saw his name, I said, ‘Master, you can sign him with your eyes closed,’ “he recalled.
“He would be the face of Corinthians. He is a tough player, he even plays injured. He always fights for the ball … He is very competitive,” he analyzed.
Although the name was commented on, the hiring did not materialize. “We didn’t even make him a proposal because his salary at Tigers is surreal,” he commented.
Gignac receives around 4 million euros a year. The Frenchman became the top scorer in the history of the regional team. For his part, 15 years after playing together, Fabinho still maintains contact with the Frenchman through a WhatsApp group.
“We joke: ‘And the Palmeiras -I said that if he needed, I would pass him some comments from the team. He has a lot of quality’. All because it’s an opportunity they’ve been waiting a long time ‘. If you ask me who they have of worrying he would say, ‘get ready because it will be hard for everyone because it is an opportunity they have been waiting for a long time’ ”.
Fabinho warns the Brazilian staff not to follow his ex-partner.
“Palmeiras has to worry about the whole team, but he is the benchmark. He is a striker who scores goals, a champion with the French national team and is a benchmark. Palmeiras needs to be vigilant, “he said.