Speaking in an exclusive interview with\u00a0Get French Football News, 27-year-old French striker Alexy Bosetti who is seeking to make a return to France following an experience in the United States with El Paso Locomotive, discussed his plan for the future.<\/p>\n
How do you look back on this experience at El Paso?\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first year was great, then for the second one I can\u2019t really judge since it wasn\u2019t a normal season. It wouldn\u2019t be fair to judge my time there based on that, it wasn\u2019t their fault. Honestly, in the way they conducted themselves they were great. We had pre-season from January to March, and then our first game on March 6th \u2013 and right after that, we stopped. We were off for 10 days, and then we went back to training because we were supposed to start again a month later. A week later, they told us that starting again wouldn\u2019t be possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then we were training individually, and for the last month and a half we were back in normal training since the league is restarting this week in the USA.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A few months ago you were saying that the physical aspect was a problem for you back in Oklahoma, were you feeling better going into this campaign?\u00a0<\/p>\n
For sure, when I got to the end of pre-season, I was feeling good, I was at a top level. Things haven\u2019t gone right though, but that\u2019s life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What affected us the most was COVID-19. I would have been fine on my own, but with my family here too it was too difficult. They arrived here in early March, and it really wasn\u2019t easy \u2013 it’s the reason why I left. Otherwise I would have stayed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How did you experience it as a team?\u00a0<\/p>\n
We had to take it as it came. The club were great, they did everything they could for us to feel good, they gave us gym equipment that we could use at home and exercise bikes. Everyone tries to make the best they can out of the situation, but it wasn\u2019t easy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, it was an interesting experience abroad overall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was strange, because the first year was amazing \u2013 I was looking forward to starting again this year, and honestly if all of this hadn\u2019t happened, I would have stayed for as long as possible. I could have seen myself staying there over the long term.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeing how the season had turned out, I wanted to return before the summer window in Europe, and in France especially. With what my wife and daughter lived through; they don\u2019t want to leave France for the next few seasons, or Italy if it\u2019s not too far from Nice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The market must be quite difficult right now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ten days ago I got an offer from Laval, we sent them a counter offer but in the end it didn\u2019t happen, they signed Moussa Sao instead. It\u2019s a shame, I would have liked to go back there, but I guess that\u2019s the way football is. Right now, I\u2019m in talks with a few National [French third tier] teams, I\u2019m looking for a team that has a good project to go up to Ligue 2. We\u2019re waiting for responses from some clubs, and then we\u2019ll see.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll leave myself until the start of August to make a decision, because I don\u2019t want to arrive once the first matches have already been played. On Monday, I\u2019ll start training with RC Grasse, a good CFA team who are going for promotion to National.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Do you feel as if you\u2019ve improved as a player from your time in the States?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve had the opportunity to work under Claude Puel, Lucien Favre and Manu Pires \u2013 and then at Laval with some good coaches. Then at El Paso, I was lucky to have a coach [Mark Lowry] who was exceptional. Honestly, he was at the same level as the ones I had before. He would have us watch a Liverpool match every week, he wanted us to play like them \u2013 as a forward, that means you have to work defensively.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019s close to the players but there\u2019s a lot of work in training, a lot of tracking back in defence. He never lets go of us, he\u2019s always behind us and he is big on management. He\u2019s really a top coach, he wanted to involve us in the team\u2019s project, it wasn\u2019t just nine players defending and us forwards up top. In training, when he saw that we weren\u2019t training hard enough he would stop everything. Overall, I would say I learnt to help the overall team more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I learned a lot there \u2013 I can speak English now! In terms of football, I improved physically \u2013 I would do matches where I ran 11-12km so I increased my physical level. Now I\u2019m 27, I\u2019m virtually at my peak \u2013 hopefully for the next 3-4 years I\u2019ll be in my best form!\u00a0<\/p>\n
What do you make of the project at Nice right now?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d want to see it on the pitch first, but it does sound good! I\u2019m looking forward to seeing it when the league season starts again. When you see them signing [Morgan] Schneiderlin and [Amine] Gouiri who has just arrived, and then there\u2019s another big signing on the way apparently! Two guys who won the World Cup with me, it seems \u2013 Kondogbia and Thauvin. I’m not sure about Thauvin, but I can see Kondogbia happening. I don\u2019t see Thauvin leaving Marseille and the opportunity to play in the Champions League, it seems strange to me. Getting both of them would be some deal.\u00a0<\/p>\n