“I don't know why, but in my head QPR was always very special and my father and my brothers have the same feeling. Maybe it’s the shirt, maybe the blue and white, it's something very special. So yes, I'm happy,” the former Monaco keeper tells Tribalfootball with a big lovely smile on his face. A new season is on the horizon and he’s fulfilled a dream of playing in England.
“When my agent called and told me there was an interest from Queens Park Rangers, in my head it was ‘wow, yes, definitely yes’. Then when I spoke to the board, the manager, to the goalkeeper coach, it was an easy solution for me,” says Nardi who remembers enjoying the wizardry from Adel Taraabt in particular when watching QPR on TV. There were other offers on the table, not least from clubs in Belgium but he was never in doubt.
“This was a chance to join a big club in England and it's another step in my career. I'm very focused and very happy to be here,” he stresses once again before mentioning the recent encounter with Tottenham in a pre-season warm-up.
“Loftus Road was sold out for a friendly game. It's totally crazy! I think we played a good game which pushed us very hard. It was a good experience,” says Nardi who idolised Italian giant Gianluigi Buffon when growing up, while French World Champion Hugo Lloris has also been a constant inspiration for many years.
Lloris has left London whereas Paul Nardi has just arrived and his impression of the squad he has joined is very positive.
“There are some very good players in this team which is another reason to be happy about being here,” states Nardi who lined up with the likes of Player of the Season Jake Clarke-Salter and Steve Cook in the aforementioned test against Tottenham.
“We have to build on some things and not just the three of us but all the team. This is important for the new guys like me. We have to work a lot every day at just being the best. I have to be very clear and very fast when I am talking English and I work on that. I try to say the right things at the right time but maybe I need a few more weeks then my English will be better,” Nardi says as Tribalfootball reassures the happy Frenchman that his English is more than good enough to play football.
Playing football is just what he has been brought in to do as manager Marti Cifuentes tries to implement a style of playing out from the back. It is a challenge that Nardi is both ready to take on and relishes.
“The manager wants a goalkeeper who can play with his feet and help the team by being the first attacker. I like to play football and I have to take some risks without overdoing it. I still need to improve and work on this but luckily, I am not afraid of that,” says Nardi who experienced a similar sort of playing style with now former club Gent.
Before arriving in Belgium, Nardi was also part of a talented squad in Monaco. As such, he witnessed up front a young Kylian Mbappé bursting onto the scene.
“I said to everybody, when he came that already in the first training with the first team, he was incredible. He scored a lot of goals right away and never left the team again. I won’t say I could see that he was going to be the best in the world because you never know that, but he was very good for his age.”
Nardi also faced Lionel Messi while in goal for Lorient, a memory he also cherishes fondly.
“It was crazy because we managed a draw against PSG and I played a very, very good game. The French newspaper L'Equipe gave me a very good rating. It is not every day you get to go one-on-one with a special player like Messi and it stays in your head.”
With Mbappé off to Real Madrid and Lionel Messi winning another Copa America, Paul Nardi is focused on doing his best for Queens Park Rangers, hoping to add a few more great memories to savour in his head. With his family arriving in a few weeks’ time, you get a feeling it will take some doing to wipe that big smile off his face. And why should you?
Hoops and Dreams: Loftus Road Memories in association with CopyBet
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