Cabaye Interview! Brilliant

Protein Cheik · Sep 30, 2011

Checked and am pretty sure this hasn't been posted already but there's an interview with Cabaye on the Daily Mail website. I know its the DM, but surely thats worth looking at for this:

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Some highlights:

'On the first day I arrived I only knew the basics,' Cabaye said. 'It was like schoolboy English. I could only say hello and goodbye or ask very simple questions.

'Gregory told me to get some language CDs and put them on in the car. He told me it worked for him and although he is back at Lille now, when he was at Celtic he was the same as me. He was there for two years and now he is nearly perfect in English and he can also read English books.

'I also tried to put myself in someone else's shoes. If a foreign player came to France I would appreciate him making the effort to learn the language. As soon as I signed we found a home so we could settle in quickly and wouldn't have to live in a hotel. I like the northern mentality. It is a nice warm environment, similar to Lille.'

So would he expect Joe Cole to do the same now he has moved to Cabaye's beloved Lille, where he spent more than a decade as man and boy?

It is one of the few questions Cabaye is confident enough to answer without the interpreter and in the English he has picked up since his Â£4.6million move from the French champions .

'I think he knows a few words already,' he said. 'But he will need to learn French to communicate with all the squad. It is a tight group at Lille and they all get on really well, so it would be good for him to integrate with the squad.

'He will do well there. He is in a team which really wants to play football, he is a good technical player, so he should settle in very well. They have not started winning yet but he scored a beautiful goal last week. I am sure he will bring all his quality and experience to the team.'

Quality and experience. Cabaye has it in abundance, and while the sales of Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton caused much consternation among the Newcastle support, the arrival and early impact of the 25-year-old has more than compensated for their loss.

He can tackle, he can pass and he can certainly shoot. Shay Given's hands are still warm from the 25-yard strike the midfielder unleashed in the final minute at Villa Park two weeks ago.

'I knew the name and I knew he was a good goalkeeper,' Cabaye said. 'But it was a very good save.

'I like to shoot from long distances and I like to score goals. I am pretty sure my first goal will come soon.'

Cabaye was brought up in the northern town of Tourcoing near the Belgian border, in a house obsessed with football. His grandfather played for Tourcoing FC - the team Yohan joined aged six before he was snapped up, aged 12, by Lille's academy.
Up for it: Cabaye wanted to test himself in Premier League

Up for it: Cabaye wanted to test himself in Premier League

His father Didier also had a spell as player and coach with Tourcoing after his dream of reaching the top flight with Lens was ended when he suffered a double leg fracture, aged just 17.

There is also his younger brother Geoffrey, banker by day and footballer in his spare time. The midfielder - left footed to Yohan's right - is playing in the French fifth division with Croix.

Cabaye said: 'My mother Louisa was the only one in our family who did not play football, but she loves football. And it's just as well.

'We played almost every day and then every weekend when I was younger. My brother would have his matches on a Saturday afternoon and then my father was my coach and we would go to our games on a Sunday. My dad was never too pushy. He just encouraged us.

'Because he played and he was a coach, he always knows when I have had a bad game. If I have played badly, I don't ask him what he thinks because he knows how I am feeling. I like to think I am living his dream. The dream for all of us is for me to play in the same team as my brother. I keep telling him to work hard.'

Not even a French league and cup double and return to the Champions League could persuade Cabaye to stay with Lille for an additional season once Pardew and Newcastle came calling.

'I wanted to discover the Premier League and see if I could play here,' he explained. 'Newcastle were the only club to offer me the opportunity.

'It is a great club and for me that was enough. I believe we can get Newcastle back into Europe.'

So what did Newcastle United mean to Cabaye before June?

'David Ginola,' he says and he beams. 'I can just remember watching him when I was a kid and he played against Manchester United and scored when Newcastle won 5-0.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...aye-destined-hit-Newcastle.html#ixzz1ZOhgPW7V

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Full story here

I Sit Next To A Badger-Leazes Corner · Sep 30, 2011

I love Cabaye!!!

I'm With Colo · Sep 30, 2011

I never doubted he'd excel this season with us, and sure enough he's demonstrated his quality straight away. I hope he catches a break and scores soon - he's earned it. Between him and HBA, it's great to have several long-range strike threats in the side again (that was missing last season).

Protein Cheik · Sep 30, 2011

I Sit Next To A Badger-Leazes Corner said: ↑

I love Cabaye!!!
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You're not alone there mate haha

Cabaye Interview! Brilliant

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Cabaye Interview! Brilliant

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