Ludovic Ajorque: “Réunion is 17 years of my life”
Born 25 years ago in Saint-Joseph, a town on the southern end of the island of Réunion, Ludovic Ajorque remains very attached to his homeland. As he prepares to face Réunion’s national team in a friendly on Sunday (18:00 CET), the Racing striker, who scored the first goal of pre-season in midweek, opens up about the affection he holds for the French overseas territory that saw him grow up.
Ludovic, if someone talks to you about the island of Réunion, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
It’s my island. I spent 17 years of my life there, and I try to represent it in the best way possible. My whole family still lives there. I’m really happy to be able to go back there during the breaks in the season. It’s important for me to recharge my batteries. Every time I go back to Réunion, I try to go and watch a game in the local league. It’s certainly going to be weird to find myself up against them on the pitch.
When you’re in mainland France, what do you miss most about home?
My family. I only get to see them once or twice a year for a time period of one month. It’s not always easy but I’m starting to get used to it, as I’ve been living in mainland France for several years now. I also miss the nice weather sometimes, although I can’t have any complaints about that in Strasbourg at the moment.
Thanks to you and your family, we’re starting to see more and more Racing shirts in Réunion…
I do try to give a shirt to each member of my family. It’s important for me, because they support me like crazy throughout the year. I haven’t finished handing them out yet though as I have a large family (smiles). I want to make them happy. For evening games, they stay up really late to watch me play, even with the time difference. So if you go to Saint-Joseph, it’s possible that you’ll bump into one or two people wearing a Racing shirt.
What’s your special place in Réunion, the spot where you like to unwind?
When I go “home”, it’s mainly to spend time with my close family and friends, but I do quite like going to the Langevin river where I have my little ritual. Every time I have to leave, I’ll go there the day before to have a swim. The water there is pretty cold, and it allows me to unwind one last time, to enjoy it before I go back to the daily grind of club football. I’ve always done that and I still do.
“THERE ARE SOME VERY GOOD PLAYERS IN RÉUNION”
What’s your take on football in Réunion?
I get the feeling that it’s on the up. A few days ago, the national team beat Valenciennes in a friendly. There are some very good players in Réunion, but because the island is pretty far away from mainland France (9,000 km), it’s difficult to get noticed. This year, I got the chance to kick off a local match. Teams are often made up of young players, as was the case when I played for AS Excelsior. I think that the standard is moving in the right direction. In the last few years, we’ve actually seen teams managing to beat 3rd-tier or 4th-tier French teams in the early rounds of the Coupe de France. The national team also gets the chance to play pre-season games against professional French clubs (Valenciennes, Strasbourg, Chambly). That can only help them get better.
What do you know about the team that Racing will face this Sunday?
I know almost all of the squad, although not on a personal level; either I’ve played alongside them or I’ve already faced them. I know their manager very well, he reminds me of Thierry Laurey a bit. They’re both very meticulous, very well-informed tactically to be able to respond to the opponent’s qualities, and they both have that same desire to always win. When I was in Réunion, we often had matches between the “Kréopolitans”, the players from Réunion who played in mainland France, and the local players. On Sunday, that’s sort of what it will be like for me. I’ll be playing with my Strasbourg mates against Réunion’s national team. I’m really happy to be playing against them. They’re preparing for the Indian Ocean Island Games and we’re preparing to enter the running in the Europa League and Ligue 1. Even though they’re my mates, I hope that we’ll win on the pitch (smiles). It could be a good game.
[Translated from: http://www.rcstrasbourgalsace.fr/actualites/ludovic-ajorque-la-reunion-17-ans-de-ma-vie]
