Pitroipa: « Something clicked in Rustavi »

Questioned in Le Parisien’s columns, the winger Jonathan Pitroipa asserts to be « satisfied » with his season start. Pitroipa, who will leave Brittany during several weeks in order to play in the AfCON, revealed himself as one of the main attacking weapons of Stade Rennes. He is one of the players the most used by Frédéric Antonetti (29 matchs out of 30, and 25 in the starting eleven).

« I improved my game, I think that I am now able to create many occasions », he notices, referring to his six goals and three assists since the beginning of the season. He also admits that he will « continue to work in order to be more decisive ».
In Ligue 1, he already imposed himself as the player who succeeded in completing the most dribbles, but also suffers from the most faults. This « preferential treatment » is caused by an increased surveillance. « He is now more marked, but this allows his partners to gain more freedom », Youssouf Hadji notices, on the subject of his attacking partner.

Pitroipa doesn’t ascribe his few uneven performances to the vigilance of opposing defences. « The problem is not there, he asserts. I had difficult moments because I accumulated many matches and no one can be on form all the time ». He is satisfied with his important playing time however, since he left Hamburg for this reason, and also to « improve himself ».
On this account, the first match of the season, played in Tbilissi against Rustavi, was very important. « I scored a double, he reminds. Something clicked then. I said then to myself: « Now, I’m ready, I can score more goals » ». In six months in Rennes, Pitroipa scored as much goals than in three seasons in Hamburg.