Nedim Remili: 'I'm going to suffer, I know it - and I love it'
Parisian right-back Nedim Remili talked to us about how he has made it through the last two months of confinement before looking ahead to his impending return to action with the capital club.
PSG.Fr: Hello Nedim, how has isolation been?
Nedim Remili: "Rather good overall. We stayed in our house during the whole confinement period. As we are lucky enough to have a garden, we had nothing to complain about, with our dog and our cat. We always had something to do.
My girlfriend continued to take her distance education classes. I had a lot of time to play video games. I also tried to make myself as useful as possible: in particular, by offering my time to the associations I work with throughout the year.
In the end, I was starting to crack and as soon as we could deconfine I took the opportunity to go and see my parents. Today it feels good to be able to go out again - taking the necessary precautions, of course."
You'll soon be back on the training court. You must be impatient...
"It's pure happiness! I was already super-happy just to have some appointments [laughs]. I know that on such and such a day at such and such a time, I have to be present at Coubertin and that really makes me feel good. For two months, I had nothing to do, there was no imperative, my schedule was empty and I have to say that I missed it a lot. Who would have thought that I, who likes to sleep a lot, would say one day that I'm happy to have to get up [laughs]?"
How did you spend your many days off?
"As I was saying earlier, I gave my time to associations that are important to me. I also linked business with pleasure, since for one of them, I had to play video games. I also thank the organisers of this event because it allowed me, I hope, to help people. We know that in this period of health crisis, these charitable associations, who get by mainly from donations from companies and communities, need us even more.
I also took the opportunity to recharge my batteries and take a step back. I'm passionate about my job as a professional sportsman, and the confinement reminded me how much I wanted to progress further. But it has also opened my eyes a little more to what I can do to help the people around me."
Physically, the confinement didn't leave too much of a mark?
"My muscles are officially gone! Just like that! Never in my entire career as a professional athlete had I gone so long without doing anything. I could even say never in my life!
Even when you get injured, you rehabilitate and you also use the time to work other muscles. It was a two-month break and personally, physically, I had a very bad experience.
Afterwards, of course, I tried to do sports at home, but it's not the same as the high intensity running in a handball match, or the weight training that we can do between our training sessions in Coubertin.
It also hurt a bit in terms of morale. I know that when I'm at home I like to rest because usually outside I do sports all the time: basketball with friends or handball and weight training in Coubertin. But now, having to train at home has put a strain on my morale. I did some sport, but not that much. I wasn't like some of the players, Adama Keita, who turned into a fitness trainer during confinement [laughs]."
Do you have any apprehension about going back to physical work next week?
"Apprehension? Not really. I know it's going to be very difficult, although given the particular situation we're going through, the workload will ramp up gradually. I'm especially looking forward to going back to work at Coubertin. I'm going to suffer, I know it and I love it."
How did you feel when you learned that the championship had ended and - at the same time - Paris Saint-Germain Handball were awarded the title of 2020 Champions of France?
"It's my fourth title in the Lidl StarLigue with Paris and it's the second time we've won it without being on a pitch. It's a really strange feeling. But we welcome it with open arms. We didn't steal this title. We're undefeated in the league and we've been consistent throughout the season.
Afterwards, the context is obviously special. We won the title in the midst of a health crisis that affected a lot of people. It puts a lot of things in perspective and it's hard to be excited about this title when you see all the people that have been affected by this virus."
Weren't you very disappointed not to be able to complete the sporting milestones you had with the club and the French team?
"It's true that March is often the turning point of our season: a first title to be won with the League Cup, the knockout matches in the Champions League, the TQO... We knew this was the home stretchof the season and we couldn't wait to get into it. But it stopped quite abruptly and for good reason, so it put us into a lot of perspective."
The early end to the season also meant an early departure for some of the players...
"It's too bad we can't say goodbye to them in the best possible way. Rodrigo [Corrales] and Sander [Sagosen] have been with us for several seasons now. We've shared a lot of great moments together. We would have liked it to end differently.
When you also think of Gogi [Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson] ending his career, we would have liked to celebrate it properly. But that's the way it is, we have no choice and I know we'll see them again in Paris soon."
There has been a lot of talk about the economic impact that this health crisis could have, especially for the sporting world. How do you see things?
"All clubs and all sportsmen and women, whatever their sport, have been or are still being impacted by COVID-19.
French handball lives off TV rights, sponsorship and subsidies. You can imagine that the companies that were supporting the development of our sport might have to refocus on themselves for a while, so you're bound to be worried. But I also have the feeling that we very quickly became aware of all this and that the governing bodies have taken the right decisions. Now it's up to us to continue to abide by the rules that we're given."
What other sports and competitions do you miss the most?
"I realised that I miss all sports. Football, volleyball, basketball. I love to see people giving their all and I miss it. I miss seeing that. I miss listening to a commentator who gets swept away by a goal or a stunning move. I miss everything about sports.
I didn't want to watch a rerun on TV, though. It would have hurt too much. But I've had dreams and nightmares about sports. To tell you the truth, I even saw rowing in one of my dreams [laughs]."
How do you think next season will go?
"It'll be amazing. We'll have to marshal our resources and rest and recover when we can. We're all competitors and even more so here in Paris. But next season, we're all going to have to put our feet up a little bit. We'll have to manage the matches, the travel, the rest periods. The players and the club will grow from this event. Paris was already doing a lot for us in terms of recovery and we'll have to do even more.
In any case, it's going to be an exciting and difficult season, both physically and mentally. But the most important thing, as always, will be to win as many games as possible and to go as far as we can in all competitions. Even though it will be a special season, with many more matches, the goals of the club and our goals as players will remain the same: to play handball and win titles!"
(Credits photos: TeamPics/Schlosser/Azouze/PSG)