Despite Club World Cup, Maxime Chanot thinks of FLF affair: « It was pointless to nominate Gerson »

Maxime Chanot, in Los Angeles there have been protests against migration policy for a few days. Do you get the riots?

You can tell it. There are many police officers on the streets and the national guard is in action. Still, I feel safe. In the USA everything is one size bigger, even the problems. I don’t live directly in a affected area, but of course I follow what happens.

Since Donald Trump has been back in the presidential office, significantly more has been talking about US politics worldwide. Do you also deal with it?

Yes, I am very interested in politics. Some things are going well, others less. I don’t want to participate in public debates, but I think that the presence of the National Guard has tightened the situation and has not really helped. I am not surprised that the president takes such measures, at most the way it happened.

They have been living in the United States for nine years. Has life changed there during this time?

When I arrived, Barack Obama was still president. Then Donald Trump came, then Joe Biden and now Trump again. For me personally, politics has not changed much. I focus on my family and football. However, it makes a difference whether you live in New York or Los Angeles.

Which city do you prefer?

Both cities have their advantages and disadvantages. I liked New York when I was younger. I could go out great because there was always something going on. In Los Angeles I have my family with my family more peace. The sun shines every day, it is a completely different life. I used to like New York better, now I prefer Los Angeles.

Now the club World Cup takes place in the USA. Los Angeles FC qualified as the last participant. What do you expect to go to the tournament?

I am glad that we are there. This is something very special, after all, the 32 best teams in the world take part. We first play against Chelsea and later possibly against FC Bayern or Paris Saint-Germain. I can also understand the criticism of the calendar that is too full. I once had a season with 70 games and in the end I was completely exhausted. Of course, it’s about money, that’s how it is in modern football.

According to media reports, there were disagreements between those responsible for the Major League Soccer and the players …

A lot of money is involved in this competition. We want a fair share as the main actors. It was worked together to find a solution.

Why have you been on the pitch in the past few months?

I got a knee against my head and suffered a heavy concussion. That was very bad. Since then I have only played one game. I’m slowly fighting back, but I’m not at 100 percent.

Were you afraid of the episodes?

That was the worst injury to my career. At my age I think of the time afterwards and about wanting to play with my children. After all, the brain is not a bone that is clear that it heals within a few weeks. You don’t know how it reacts. In the USA, the topic is taken very seriously by American football. I have three doctor’s appointments a week. Everything is observed closely.

Do you still spend a lot of time with your teammates at the age of 35 or do you only see them on the pitch?

I have a very tight relationship. I get particularly well with the French -speaking players. That is in the nature of the matter. I spend a lot of time with Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud – also with the families.

Has the MLS have improved in recent years?

The league has changed a lot. When I came, older stars such as Kaka, Bastian Schweinsteiger or Zlatan Ibrahimovic were hired, who approached the end of their career. This is how it is now done in Saudi Arabia. That helped make the MLS better known.

After Corona pandemic, the clubs found that they can earn money with player sales. That is why younger players from South America are increasingly obliged. These no longer necessarily switch directly to Europe, but only play in the MLS for a few years, learn English and then move on. This has dropped the average age. I am now an old hand.

Your contract expires at the end of the year. How does it go afterwards?

I’ve already thought a lot about it. The injury could affect the time of my career end. But my focus is currently on the pitch.

Has it become more pleasant for you since you no longer play for the Luxembourg national team and are not necessary to travel to Europe?

That was definitely extremely exhausting. The many flights and the jet lag were hard. I often couldn’t sleep, but I had to work on the match day. That was physically stressful. It was also difficult to defend my place in the club because it was continued in the MLS while I was with the national team. Now I have more time for my body and myself.

Are you still sad about how the chapter national team ended?

Yes, the problem was amateurous leadership. I have been playing at the highest level for 20 years and had many excellent trainers. I always tried, but at some point you get tired when you do it for someone who is not at your level.

The current example once again illustrates the big problem. Gerson Rodrigues Is a friend of mine and without him the national team would not be where it is now. After the conviction, everyone should have known what would happen with a little intelligence or mind. It was pointless to nominate Gerson. That was unimportant test games, and it was foreseeable that this would lead to problems.

One example is the French national team. Gerson is, so to speak, the Kylian Mbappé Luxemburgs, the best player and the man for the goals. Mbappé had this story in Sweden (allegations of rape, the investigation was later hired, editor’s editor). Didier Deschamps did not nominate him and waited. The situation has calmed down, he returned a month later and nobody spoke about it anymore.

Luc Holtz and the Association should have handled this more professional. In the end, Gerson is the loser because he was unfortunately the one who was booed in the stadium. In addition, it was dispensed with when he came to training too late, but not now. Does Luc Holtz only think of himself? Or is he not aware of what he does? A trainer should protect his players.

In my case, he said at a press conference that I was injured. A month later he said he lied. I didn’t want to participate anymore.

What is your relationship with the former FLF teammates?

I like the national team very much, look at all the games and are in contact with many players. This is an extraordinary generation for the size of the country. With Anthony Moris we have the best goalkeeper of the Belgian league, be Korac, who will put an excellent career, and an enormously strong midfield with incredible players such as Leandro Barreiro and Christopher Martins. Rodrigues is one of the best players in Luxembourg History. Then there are Danel Sinani and some others that I like very much. The mood within the team is also great.

I still support the team, but I think it’s a shame that the European Championship participation was only missed because of the poor leadership.