In his column, Samuel Umtiti recalls his first weeks of the World Cup as a consultant. The atmosphere in American stadiums, a look at football and the discovery of a new profession: the former Blues defender talks about his experiences.
After three weeks of competition, I have enough perspective to share with you my personal impressions of this World Cup. To begin with, I discovered a well-functioning organization.
And if there’s one area it’s hit hard, it’s stadiums. Very high level. Everything is done to make the show happen. I was truly amazed by the quality of these speakers. Phenomenal noise, huge screens, shows… everything is very American.
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As for the atmosphere around, the excitement increases on the days of matches between the Canadian and US national teams – I did not go to Mexico. But the excitement is created, rather, by the countries visited. This World Cup will allow the United States to “learn” soccer. The Americans are gradually entering the game. The fact remains: we are still far from the great atmosphere of hockey, for example.
A new adventure closer to the field
I was looking forward to taking part in the World Cup as a consultant. I wanted to discover this world. As a player, this environment was part of my daily life, but I was kept on the sidelines. What I like is the provision of analyses. I want to talk about football. I talk to some players who tell me that I’m quite happy with it. They are quite surprised – in a good way – at how I am doing.
I can allow myself to put myself in their shoes to understand different situations. I don’t need the label of a journalist. At a certain moment, we may feel their supporters and have difficulty understanding the moment. They interpret too much. My role is to share my experience. I don’t want to criticize or denigrate, I’m in exchange. I want players to feel comfortable discussing my analytics with me.
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I found that I could finally talk about football easily. It’s intense because there are a lot of matches, but I enjoy it. When I played, I had adrenaline. Now everything is different, but I have a different excitement before the match starts. The only downside is travel. This is all quite long. Sometimes we drive for three or four hours in the rain and thunderstorms. You don’t experience that when you’re a player. But I am so passionate that I live this moment to the fullest.