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Here are some excerpts from our interview with Rohff. The entirety of this 6-page interview can be found in Onze Mondial magazine n°347, available on newsstands and on our eshop since February 3.
“If you put me as a defender, I ended up in attack. I was only attracted by the goal. »
RohffCredit Photo – Jonathan Mannion
What is your relationship to football?
We all played football in the city, since childhood. I started in town with paper balloons, then I lifted the Ballon d’Or (laughs). No just kidding. It is a sport that is within everyone’s reach. I played small ball. I was in pupils, in minimal at the time, when I lived in Saint-Ouen, at the USMA. I have always loved football, I was often chosen among the first, I played as a leading attacker.
What type of player were you?
I was a pure attacker. If you put me as a defender, I would end up on offense. I was only attracted by the goal. I was put the ball in depth, I controlled, I overflowed or stepovers, I liked that too much. At the “R9”, you see.
Did you have a little technical touch?
Still (smile). I’m not going to tell it to myself because I don’t have enough ball and I don’t play enough. But at one point, I believed it. Back then, when Karim Benzema and I were close, I started wanting to train. When I was running at the stadium, I always had a ball at my feet. I could already see myself playing matches with other players. I was starting to come back well but forget it, it’s not for me.
Currently, you still play with friends?
I do fives from time to time. The last time I played was in Dubai. There were former Ligue 1, Ligue 2, National players, Samir Nasri and others. It was going too fast. But it’s okay, I still touch it, there are remains.
Do you follow football news?
I’m not the most regular, for lack of time. But the important matches of PSG, in the Champions League in particular, I am in front of my TV if I am not at the stadium. I was at the Parc des Princes recently by the way.
In your new album “Grand Monsieur”, there are many football references despite your distance from football. How come ?
Football is the most beautiful sport in the world after English boxing (smiles). It’s a sport of contact, technique, intelligence… A sport that galvanizes the whole world. It is also the most lucrative sport (smile). It is a sport that makes children dream, which made our darons vibrate. That’s football.
In this album, you make references to Steve Mandanda, Toni Kroos, Jean Tigana, Jean-Michel Aulas…
In each album, there are football references because we are footix, we love football! It is not because I am not attending a PSG – Guingamp, because I have a very important studio session, that I am disinterested. If there is a PSG – Real Madrid, I will be at the Parc. And if I have nothing to do, I’ll watch PSG – Guingamp.
If you had to draw a parallel between rap and football, who would you compare yourself to? To a player like Zlatan who still plants his goals at 40?
Zlatan would be fine with me, but he has never won the Champions League. CR7 is a hard work. And I work hard. That’s why I say: “Like CR7, I have my little Moratas”. Look, instead of making single albums, I make doubles. At the time, instead of doing a 4 minute freestyle, I was doing 33 minutes, 40 minutes. When I go on stage, I spend 3 hours. CR7, that suits me, he is an enthusiast.
And as a PSG supporter, do you still make a reference to Mandanda?
Yeah, I say, “You don’t come out of the cage like Mandanda”. It’s a metaphor for prison. It’s a way of saying that he never leaves the cages, that he takes no risks. In the closet, the guys who don’t come out of their cell, it’s because they’re afraid to go for a walk. It was a metaphor, and rhyme-wise, it lent itself well.
How is football in prison?
It’s a contact sport (laughs). Before playing in Dubai, my last football was in Fleury. Frankly, it was good. Afterwards, anything can happen in prison, if a guy grumbles, you have to be ready too. It’s a street sport (smile).
Everyone wanted to “get” Rohff?
No, honestly, I was a good striker. They all wanted to have me on their team (laughs).
At the time, footballers and rappers were not necessarily close. You were close to Karim Benzema. Today, it has become fashionable…
I was close to Benzema, I started it (laughs)! I think all rappers love the ball. Little girls at the time loved dolls. And we liked the ball. Frankly, even if it hadn’t started with me, this rapprochement would have happened.
Would you have liked to become a footballer rather than a rapper?
Why not the two of them ? But hey, it would have been difficult to do both. Afterwards, a football career ends early. Whereas today, at 44, I don’t risk getting my cruciate ligaments.
Memphis Depay plays football and raps from time to time…
I saw, I was shown. He raps well, he has flow, it’s cool.
What footballer could make a good rapper, especially in terms of attitude?
Mamadou Niang at the time, he listened to my albums and came to my concerts. Today, I do not see.
“Haaland is a machine, a future Zlatan for me, maybe even better. »
RohffCredit Photo – Jonathan Mannion
Who are the players who make you love in the new generation?
Mbappe is number one. And Haaland is a machine, a future Zlatan for me, maybe even better.
A Mbappé-Haaland rivalry is announced to succeed that between Messi and CR7. Who do you think will be ahead?
Mbappé because he already has a crazy track record. He is in advance. We feel that he is hungry, that he is not resting on his achievements. What is past is past for him, it is a good omen.
As a PSG supporter, what would you say to him to keep him?
You’re a guy from 93, you’re Titi-Parisien, you have to stay, it’s your club! As Raul was linked to Real Madrid, you must also be linked to PSG. It would be cool if he continued to do a few years. But hey, he’s a conqueror, he wants to shine in Madrid.
Zidane could become PSG’s next coach. What do you think ?
It’s a good idea ! Everything Zizou touches becomes gold. Afterwards, he has never commented on this rumor at PSG for the moment. Therefore…
Can you imagine Zidane on the PSG bench? Knowing that he is a Marseillais…
I heard that sportingly speaking, he is not necessarily OM. He totally has the heart of Marseille. But sportingly, I don’t think he’s going to put up any barriers. He played in Cannes, in Bordeaux, and that was not a problem at the time.
What is your relationship with PSG supporters? They have already taken your punchlines on Tifos…
It’s nice, I always feel close to them. I already mingled several times in the crowd at the time, I invited the ultras in my clip. They don’t miss an opportunity to quote one of my punchlines in their banners. It always touches me.
Many say that the Parc des Princes has become gentrified. What do you say ?
Society wants that. It’s the era that wants that. We are in a capital, we must not forget that. The change happened naturally, without forcing. It is the image of our society. In Lyon, when I went to see Karim Benzema, at the time, you had a very bourgeois side and another more neighborhood side. There has always been this separation of classes. You can see it in a football stadium.
What is your prediction for the clash PSG – Real Madrid in the round of 16 of the Champions League?
I was at the Parc des Princes, during PSG – Real in 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo had scored. We had lost 2-1. And this year, the match can be within our reach, it’s playable.
What is PSG missing to finally win the Champions League?
The mental. We have good players, but we always fall mentally, often in the second half. Lines are no longer respected and spaces are created. In the 60th minute, it goes into a spin.
I read that you weren’t convinced by Lionel Messi’s debut. True ?
The PSG game system does not necessarily suit him. He does not have a team playing for him, he is not in control at PSG. I find that Neymar, even if I find him in deficit at the moment, is more comfortable in the position of number 10. He had time to take his ease. And now it is more shifted to the left side. I don’t think it works that well.
Which player would bring a real plus to PSG?
Frankly, we have a good team. I don’t know who to add. It’s just a mental story and maybe a coach story too.
Replacing Mbappé with Haaland, is it a good idea?
If MbappĂ© leaves, it would be nice to get Haaland back, it’s a good idea, yes. You need a player of that caliber.
A player from your city, CĂ©dric Bakambu, has just signed for OM, do you approve of this choice?
(Smile) I knew you were going to tell me about him. Of course I validate this choice, of a little brother. I saw him very young, in the cradle. His older brother is a childhood friend. He needed a club in France. He spent his early years in China, he took his money. Now he is coming back to Europe, he is still young. If this is his way of re-entering Ligue 1, why not…
Wouldn’t you have preferred to see him at PSG?
Of course I would have preferred, but I think the doors were closed. They didn’t believe in him, I don’t know. I’m not in the middle of the arrangements, I don’t know… But it’s good, it will add a little spark during the next Classico, it will rebalance the attack a little.
Between a victory for PSG or one for OM with a goal from Bakambu, which would you choose?
A victory for PSG with a goal from CĂ©dric Bakambu (smile).
As a Comorian, I suppose you are proud of the Comoros’ course at the CAN?
Sure ! The players made us happy. Already qualifying for CAN was historic. In addition, they managed to pass the hens, it’s beautiful. The people are happy, there is a new generation of Comorian players emerging, it’s promising. For me, it’s a beginning. The players did not yet know each other perfectly. We had two or three Ligue 1 players, another from National, another who had stopped a long time ago… But with heart, with hunger, we do things.
A sound came out for the occasion, was it important to participate?
Yeah, with the compatriots. I was invited, it’s a way to get together, to show our love for the country and support the team.
to summarize
“Like CR7 I have my little Moratas. “Aware of his aura and his status in French rap, Rohff does not hesitate to compare himself to Cristiano Ronaldo in his new album, “Grand Monsieur”. Former striker, the artist from Vitry-sur-Seine is crazy about football. Proof is, his discography is full of football references. Present in the premises of Onze Mondial, Housni Mkouboi delivers his expertise with precision.
