Dijon FCO have been cutting the mustard so far this season with a perfect two wins from two – something all the more impressive when you consider they’ve been doing so without injured midfield talisman Florent Balmont…
The Côte-d’Or club have been flourishing so far in what is their third campaign back in the French top flight, with victories over Montpellier Hérault SC and FC Nantes under their belts already.
Balmont – a Ligue 1 Conforama champion with LOSC in in 2003 – was rolling back the years last season until an Achilles tendon injury in March ruled him out for the remainder of the campaign. Racing to be fit in time for Dijon’s clash with OGC Nice on Saturday, Balmont still found time to catch up with the Ligue 1 Show on beIN SPORTS recently…
Florent Balmont on…
…his best goal
“I scored my best goal for Lille, against Nice. [Ludovic] Obraniak crossed it in for me, I chested it down and hit it on the volley! I don’t do that every day, so that’s definitely my best goal in Ligue 1!”
…his best moment
“It’s got to be when I won the title with Lille. The party we had at the Parc des Princes when we were confirmed as French champions, and everything that followed. Those are exceptional memories for a footballer.”
Watch: Dijon’s best moment this season? Highlights of their 2-0 win over Nantes!
…his worst moment
“I don’t have many bad memories, even when I was involved in a relegation battle it ended well, so it’s tough, but of course losing 8-0 last season to PSG was a low point. You just want to get home quickly!”
…the best player he has played with
“There have been a few, but I think that really, the most complete player is Eden Hazard. The immense ease with which he played was quite something! Equally, when you needed to keep it simple, he kept it simple. When we needed him to beat a man, he did it. So, it really was a pleasure to play alongside him.”
PSG’s Marco Verratti has similar style to Balmont
…his toughest opponent
“I would say [Marco] Verratti, because we occupy a similar zone of the pitch. I have a similar build to him, and perhaps the same short fuse, but his technical ability is way above others. He’s really difficult to track!”
…his favourite teammate
“There’s Cédric Varrault, I’ve met a great bunch at Dijon, but of course at Lille, there was Rio Mavuba, Marvin Martin, Nolan Roux. It was a really close-knit group!”
…his favourite coach
“René Girard! I say so often, because I felt our personalities, and our actions were very similar.”
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