"I do not like the United States, it's political"

During a long interview in Ouest-France, the goalkeeper Romain Salin spoke about his experience in Portugal and his desires for the United States at the beginning of his career, which are not relevant at all.

Where do you find the end of your career?

I do not know where he is. I'm very happy to play again and if I was told it must stop, it would piss me off. I'm not ready at all. At home, I have the best conditions to think only football. When I see some, I have never had a family destabilization. At one point, I wanted to start thinking about something else intellectually, to anticipate the post-career and I was even advised against it: "Roman, go to the end, we have time to think about the after." I thank my wife and children because I will not be frustrated.

You have sometimes mentioned the envy of the United States …

That was in a first throw of my personality, at 20 years old. Today, I say it right away: I'm not going! At 20, you have the right to love what shines. Today, I do not like the United States, it's political. I'm going to Japan, yes, but not to the United States, they have nothing to bring me. Neither culturally nor intellectually.

At the political level, exactly, how did you feel the context in Potugal?

The Salazarist dictatorship stopped in 1974. Until the 2000s, the boss was the god of the family. I understand it my first season in Portugal. The first three months, I am not paid when I come with a baby and a child of 2 years. Oh, I do not have a crazy salary! Some players laugh because because for them, it's normal. If the boss has decided not to pay, we do not ask. I ended up in court. It's a bit complicated because the day when there are no results, the boss feels he does not have to pay. And no one complains. Me, as a Frenchman, I fart a cable after two days without pay. I finished the season with four months late. I did not want to continue obviously, but I learned this authority. In my education, it was not the child king, but I was not really imposed limits, in a large setting. My parents were bosses. So I was confronted with the acceptance, at that time for the first time, of being employed. I felt that people 40-50 years and older, never questioned the boss. Today, the Portuguese society has evolved, there is an incredible progress. Until 1974, they were stuck, did not look internationally. In Lisbon, there was long only French high school. Today, foreign institutions are flourishing everywhere. They had a big boom in the early 2000s and then a terrible economic crisis, many banks closed. I learned a lot, I had friends playing in Greece, I liked to understand why all this happened. Today, Portugal is much more open, on new technologies, health, energy medicine … We have things to learn from this country. I am impregnated with Portugal. But I totally accept their way of working. I look and take things, but by no means am I here to give the word of God.

When you are at Maritimo Funchal with fourteen nationalities, it's rewarding.

Every week we would eat together. The coach's wife stayed on the mainland, he was pissed off, so he organized meals in the evening. But already, the Portuguese eat at 22 hours, the Dutch at 18 hours, the German at 18:30 … (Laughs). It's really rewarding, even to talk about taxation. At the football level, we crossed different personality, the one who is the real soldier, the one who likes to have responsibilities. It went according to nationalities. I will go see some friends in Cape Verde, I will dig their way of being. But it's a post-career thing.

How did you help your children with homework?

(He explodes with laughter). It was a galley! We were on Google translation, with the dico too. What would take twenty minutes, it took an hour!

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Rennais Stadium. Romain Salin: "I do not like the United States, it's political"Ouest-France.fr

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