Posted: Feb 25, 2011
After three and a half seasons in England, Nigeria Super Eagle John Utaka is back in Ligue 1 and the former Lens and Rennes ace can't wait to fire new club Montpellier to new heights, starting this weekend against Sochaux!
Ligue1.com: First of all John, welcome back to France because you left a very good impression here, scoring over 30 goals in the last three season with Lens and then Rennes...
John Utaka: Thank-you! Yes it's great to be back! It's a nice feeling that people in France remember me and what I achieved here so I can honestly say: I'm really, very happy to be back!
Do you remember your last match in France before you left to join Portsmouth?
Yes, unfortunately I remember it very well! We were away to Lille and it was the final match of the season and I scored to give us a 1-0 lead but it finished 1-1. If we'd won we would have qualified for the Champions League and in the end we dropped down to fourth...
[Pause]... Yeah, Nicolas Fauvergue scored [in the 93rd minute]...
Well, to leave on such a sour note probably meant you were destined to come back! I guess we could say, you've still got some scores to settle!
[Laughing] That's right! That's how it is, unfinished business! I really believe that this Montpellier side is going to something good. It's a very good young team, lots of potential and
talent. I hope we can achieve things, because I've still got some unfinished business.
Why did you choose Montpellier?
You know, whenever there's a transfer window, there are always offers flying around for players, some of the interest is just rumours and even you, the player don't know if it's true or not. A few times I had my agent on the phone telling me about this club or another, but until it's done, it's never a done deal! In the end it got done with Montpellier. I played against them when I was in France before so I knew that they were a good club and I've watched them a bit recently so I knew that they had a really promising team this season...
They do have a very promising team and some excellent you attackers like Olivier Giroud, Karim Aït Fana, even Younes Belhanda who is more of a midfielder but scored the winner against Lille last weekend. But they are very young, and perhaps your role will be a bit of a leader in the attacking sector. Is that how you see things?
The club has a very strong offensive force and in training and in the games, I'll be trying to bring my experience and a little bit extra to the team in an attacking sense. You know football is a collective effort and I'll bring my own ideas and way of playing with the aim of making the club's offensive sector even stronger. I've watched them play since I arrived and Olivier Giroud is an excellent player. What strength! He's strong enough to hold the ball up for the other players to join the attack and he's a clever player too. I spoke to René Girard about how we play and it's a classic 4-3-3 with three forwards: a single central striker and two wide men who can both come inside. I know the system very well because we played that way at Portsmouth with Crouchy [Peter Crouch] the point of the attack, me on the right and Niko Kranjcar on the left. The good thing about it is that we are versatile players and can interchange our positions.
Do you think Ligue 1 has changed much since you've been away?
Yes, I think it's changed. You know, a lot of players have left since I was last here but some are still around, but overall I think the standard of the Ligue 1 improves every season. There are lots of new talented players from overseas and the young French players coming through and I think it's improved a lot. I've been watching a lot of the teams recently, the likes of Lille, Lyon,
Marseille... lots of good players and some that I've played with before as well!
Well you play your two former clubs in Lens and Rennes in the next few weeks, but I don't think you'll recognise too many faces...
No, I don't there's anyone left at Lens, but I played with Jérôme Leroy at Lens and he's now at Rennes. Jires Kembo Ekoko, Sylvain Marveaux... they're still there.
I think people forget what a good side that Lens side was, with yourself, Leroy, Adama Coulibaly, Alou Diarra...
... Carrière, Assou-Ekotto, Seydou Keita, Jussie, Cousin, Itandje. We had a really good team and that was one of my best experiences in football, playing in the Champions League against AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Deportivo La Coruna! It would be great to qualify again and savour those big European nights again. I hope and I really believe that with this Montpellier side we can do it.
You signed a two and a half year deal in January but haven't played yet due to a slight hamstring strain, but that should change this weekend against Sochaux...
Yeah, I can wait to just be out on the pitch again, back playing in the first division, the top flight, because that's where I feel best, playing with the best and against the best. I'm looking forward to it, I'm confident I'll bring something extra to the team and on a personal level, I hope to play every week and do what I can to help the team move forward because it's important to keep the club moving forward. I hope I score a lot of goals and win trophies because that's what we train for every day.
Ligue1.com: First of all John, welcome back to France because you left a very good impression here, scoring over 30 goals in the last three season with Lens and then Rennes...
John Utaka: Thank-you! Yes it's great to be back! It's a nice feeling that people in France remember me and what I achieved here so I can honestly say: I'm really, very happy to be back!
Do you remember your last match in France before you left to join Portsmouth?
Yes, unfortunately I remember it very well! We were away to Lille and it was the final match of the season and I scored to give us a 1-0 lead but it finished 1-1. If we'd won we would have qualified for the Champions League and in the end we dropped down to fourth...
[Pause]... Yeah, Nicolas Fauvergue scored [in the 93rd minute]...
Well, to leave on such a sour note probably meant you were destined to come back! I guess we could say, you've still got some scores to settle!
[Laughing] That's right! That's how it is, unfinished business! I really believe that this Montpellier side is going to something good. It's a very good young team, lots of potential and
talent. I hope we can achieve things, because I've still got some unfinished business.
Why did you choose Montpellier?
You know, whenever there's a transfer window, there are always offers flying around for players, some of the interest is just rumours and even you, the player don't know if it's true or not. A few times I had my agent on the phone telling me about this club or another, but until it's done, it's never a done deal! In the end it got done with Montpellier. I played against them when I was in France before so I knew that they were a good club and I've watched them a bit recently so I knew that they had a really promising team this season...
They do have a very promising team and some excellent you attackers like Olivier Giroud, Karim Aït Fana, even Younes Belhanda who is more of a midfielder but scored the winner against Lille last weekend. But they are very young, and perhaps your role will be a bit of a leader in the attacking sector. Is that how you see things?
The club has a very strong offensive force and in training and in the games, I'll be trying to bring my experience and a little bit extra to the team in an attacking sense. You know football is a collective effort and I'll bring my own ideas and way of playing with the aim of making the club's offensive sector even stronger. I've watched them play since I arrived and Olivier Giroud is an excellent player. What strength! He's strong enough to hold the ball up for the other players to join the attack and he's a clever player too. I spoke to René Girard about how we play and it's a classic 4-3-3 with three forwards: a single central striker and two wide men who can both come inside. I know the system very well because we played that way at Portsmouth with Crouchy [Peter Crouch] the point of the attack, me on the right and Niko Kranjcar on the left. The good thing about it is that we are versatile players and can interchange our positions.
Do you think Ligue 1 has changed much since you've been away?
Yes, I think it's changed. You know, a lot of players have left since I was last here but some are still around, but overall I think the standard of the Ligue 1 improves every season. There are lots of new talented players from overseas and the young French players coming through and I think it's improved a lot. I've been watching a lot of the teams recently, the likes of Lille, Lyon,
Marseille... lots of good players and some that I've played with before as well!
Well you play your two former clubs in Lens and Rennes in the next few weeks, but I don't think you'll recognise too many faces...
No, I don't there's anyone left at Lens, but I played with Jérôme Leroy at Lens and he's now at Rennes. Jires Kembo Ekoko, Sylvain Marveaux... they're still there.
I think people forget what a good side that Lens side was, with yourself, Leroy, Adama Coulibaly, Alou Diarra...
... Carrière, Assou-Ekotto, Seydou Keita, Jussie, Cousin, Itandje. We had a really good team and that was one of my best experiences in football, playing in the Champions League against AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Deportivo La Coruna! It would be great to qualify again and savour those big European nights again. I hope and I really believe that with this Montpellier side we can do it.
You signed a two and a half year deal in January but haven't played yet due to a slight hamstring strain, but that should change this weekend against Sochaux...
Yeah, I can wait to just be out on the pitch again, back playing in the first division, the top flight, because that's where I feel best, playing with the best and against the best. I'm looking forward to it, I'm confident I'll bring something extra to the team and on a personal level, I hope to play every week and do what I can to help the team move forward because it's important to keep the club moving forward. I hope I score a lot of goals and win trophies because that's what we train for every day.
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