Piquionne’s fit of pique

By: Jonathan | August 21st, 2008

You may have heard of Frédéric Piquionne. He played for St Etienne for two and a half seasons, scoring 23 goals before being loaned to Monaco. He now plays for Olympique Lyonnais and has decided to stir things up ahead of the derby with les Verts by claiming that even while he was at St Etienne, he “already felt at home at Lyon”. He would go to matches in Lyon, did his shopping in the city and took advantage of its nightlife. He is now looking forward to “shutting a few people up” when he returns to Geoffroy-Guichard with his new club at the end of August. There is no love lost between him and the people who run ASSE: “They didn’t want to let me leave and now that I have left, they spit on me. I will not be shaking their hands.” A full account of his comments is here.

St Etienne’s grands fromages have responded, publishing a statement on the club website accusing Piquionne of “defamation”. They also criticise him for claiming that St Etienne fans would throw things at him, noting that the club’s supporters have just been voted the best in the league for the second season in a row.

Best supporters in the league or not, Piquionne has certainly guaranteed himself a hostile reception in “the Cauldron” on the 31st. St Etienne have another game before that, of course, this Saturday, when they play at Le Mans, but supporters are already thinking about the derby with Lyon. There was a big queue for tickets when they went on sale at the stadium earlier this week.

In other news, Belgian striker Kevin Mirallas says that the deal to take him from Lille to St Etienne should soon be done. In his head, he is “already at St Etienne”. Christophe Landrin, who missed the game against Sochaux through injury, says it’s nothing serious and that he could be involved against Le Mans. Loïc Perrin, another absentee on Saturday, is also back in the reckoning.

According to France Football, St Etienne’s Brazilian striker Ilan could soon be returning home. Flamengo is his most likely destination, as long as the two clubs can agree on a price.