Rod Fanni’s days as a France international have almost certainly come to an end, and the Olympique de Marseille defender remained with his club side this week.
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Speaking to Ligue1.com, the former Stade Rennais man has spoken of the value of a weekend without any French league action.
He also commented on OM’s friendly draw against Ligue 2 side Nimes Olympique on Friday evening. Coach Marcelo Bielsa used the match to give some of his peripheral players a run in the side, while also allowing key men such as Florian Thauvin and Giannelli Imbula to keep their intensity up.
Marseille could only draw the match 2-2 following goals from Thauvin and Andre-Pierre Gignac, but Fanni, who started the match, insists that the result was unimportant.
“We should keep our rhythm and be reassured about what we can do,” the 33-year-old began.
“This is about preparing for the big deadline next weekend. Those who play less will enjoy the break. We need everyone to the very end. The result was not necessarily the most important thing.”
Fanni has featured 20 times for Les Olympiens in Ligue 1 so far this season, starting 18 matches. He has contributed two assists and scored one goal and has proved himself a versatile and valuable addition to Bielsa’s backline, tactically astute enough to play in any of the several defensive approaches the coach chooses to use.