Pitroipa needs “love and trust”

Brought in the limelight after his performance against Paris Saint-Germain, Jonathan Pitroipa continues attracting the attention of the media. In a portrait in today’s edition of Le Parisien, the Burkinabé winger receives the praise of his national coach, Portuguese (and former Le Mans coach) Paulo Duarte, and of several of his national team team-mates.

«He is a phenomenon, has great creativity and has got extraordinary technical skills », Duarte claims, who even compares him to “Harry Potter” for his ability to complete what sometimes looks like magic tricks in front of the opposition’s defenders.
An AJ Auxerre player, but also his team-mate with Burkina Faso, Alain Traoré agrees with the praise heaped by his national coach. “He can do everything. To me, he is even better than Gervinho, the midfielder from Bourgogne dares. His only default is his lack of efficiency. He has to be more clinical in front of the goal. Physically, he is quite light, but I have no worries for him. With his speed, he can sneak anywhere».

A lack of efficiency in front of the goal which Pitroipa will have to continue working on, although his first games for Rennes have been encouraging. One thing is certain by all means, the latest recruit of Stade Rennais is a player of feelings. “He is a little child and physically he isn’t very strong, Duarte affirms. He needs love and trust. I think Frédéric Antonetti understood that ».
The sort of trust he couldn’t find, a few years ago in Bourgogne. “He made two trials in Auxerre, but they didn’t keep him since they found him to thin”, Traoré remembers. The Auxerre managers could be regretting it in the near future.