The Transfer Market: The Inside Stories by Alan Gernon

Author:Alan Gernon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pitch Publishing
Published: 2018-12-01T00:00:00+00:00

The Imports

WHEN Frédéric Gounongbe landed in South Wales it didn’t take him long to realise that his school-level English wasn’t going to get him far. However, that was the least of the Belgian-born Benin international’s problems. The striker was Cardiff City’s first signing of the summer 2016 transfer window, with fans of The Bluebirds hoping that he would follow in the footsteps of international team-mate Rudy Gestede.

Gestede won the Championship in the 2012/13 season with the club before moving on to Blackburn Rovers and there were high hopes that Gounongbe could repeat the feat and fire Cardiff back to the Premier League.

‘Rudy is one of my best mates as we’ve played together for the Benin national team,’ explains Frédéric. ‘We’re maybe not the same type of player but because of the link there were great expectations for me.’

There is often huge pressure placed on new signings to hit the ground running, disregarding any personal issues that players may be facing off the pitch. Danny Rose’s admission before the 2018 World Cup that he had been suffering from depression following a family tragedy, among other things, was a potent reminder that professional footballers, however well paid, are human beings first and foremost.

‘You can’t blame the fans for not knowing,’ reasons Frédéric. ‘That’s part of the game. Fans are fans. They just want you to perform on the pitch and you are not supposed to be affected by your personal life. That’s the difficult part of the job.’

It was his first move away from Belgium and his first time away from his family, including his daughter. His contract had expired at Belgian side Westerlo and he was eager to ply his trade abroad. A relative latecomer to the professional game, at 24, Frédéric’s student background had instilled in him a desire to learn English, which influenced his decision.

‘When I got to Cardiff I realised that my English was about as much use to me as my Chinese!’ he jokes. ‘In day-to-day life, it’s quite frustrating when you can’t express something quite specific. We had a player liaison officer who spoke French and he helped a lot with all the French-speaking players because I was not the only one. But, of course, you can’t really express your feelings. But that was not my main issue when I came here.’

Frédéric had always harboured an ambition to play in English football but other options were tempting. He had finished his final season in Belgium near the top of the goalscoring charts and was in demand, particularly as he was available on a Bosman transfer. ‘I had a lot of competition from clubs in Belgium and abroad,’ he recalls.

Frédéric has eschewed an agent throughout his career, relying instead on a friend he played with in the lower leagues in Belgium.

‘I’ve stuck with him since the beginning until now,’ he explains. ‘Because I don’t like agent people. I don’t trust them. I’ve met lots of agents and I have had some bad experiences. So I stuck with my friend and we did all the deals together, which is a good thing but can also be a bad thing.

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