Pro League: Generation Football, very far from being ready

Late resumption and very young squad, constantly renewed: a few days before the start of the championship, the coach of the Grenats of Deni Biram Ndao, Pape Boubacar Gadiaga, believes that his team is far from being 100%.

“We encounter a lot of difficulties in our game, because our demands are high: we have to run more, keep the ball, commit fewer technical fouls and be less tired than the opponent,” he reacted after the heavy defeat against Guédiawaye (0-3) in preseason. Serenely, he reminds us that the group is in a learning phase. “There is still work to be done and steps to be taken,” he acknowledges. He puts forward two explanations: the late resumption of training and the constant renewal of the squad, with the rise of nuggets in the A team. Physically, only a few players can last 80 to 90 minutes at high intensity.

“Our starts to the season are often difficult because we have a very young squad, constantly renewed, and we never have the eight weeks of preparation necessary to be at 80% of the pace from the start,” he insists. The club only has three to four weeks of work. When preparation spills over into the first official matches, he warns, the team loses points on details and confidence erodes. However, he promises a better group within two weeks, time to correct the shortcomings. On the podium then 4th during the last two seasons, Génération Foot, which will receive the As Pikine in the opening, will not be left out in the race for the title. But his trainer does not make it an obsession. “In Senegal, all the teams think about the title, because the championship sometimes lacks logic and the last can beat the first at home with style,” he notes. The priority remains the training of young people and a good performance in national cups, with the hope of seeing the young people promoted take their responsibilities after the departure of real leaders.