Introduction

It is precious to have Zuraw on the Podcast because he is one of the most prominent managers in the game. We would like to thank again Hibee & YNWA to allow us to share a summary of their discussion on our website. The hosts get messages every week to invite him on the Podcast, and it is the best 1st Podcast summary article we could have created.

YNWA loved that Hibee introduced Zuraw as a Lille fan because they are not sure if they will speak about Arsenal because they are going so badly currently. Still, Lille is a big competitor in Ligue 1, so there is a higher probability of discussing the French club rather than the English one.

What is the balance between your two favorite teams?

I was born in Paris but grew up in Lille before my father moved to the UK, where I followed him. We were living near the Highbury Stadium, it was popularly known as "Highbury" due to its location and was given the affectionate nickname of the "Home of Football" by the club. I went to some Arsenal games with my father; it was a great sport epoch for the club (Robert Pirès and Patrick Viera were French superstars playing at this moment in time). I was young, and I just loved every single time I went to the stadium with my father. By the way, there are a lot of French people loving Arsenal because of Arsène Wenger. I think that this created my passion for football because I was actually enjoying the game and I have good memories of this period.

I am so sick I cannot go to the stadium now. At the beginning of the season, the club was allowing some people to come to see the matches. Still, now it is impossible, so I am waiting, and it is a difficult time right now because no one can go to the stadium, even the people who are close to the club. That is a special moment that we are living together all around the globe, and it is challenging to see Lille performing like this and not being able to provide them the extra energy they deserve in those moments. Mark went through last season because Liverpool was at the top of the League and the season was stopped by covid. You could have felt that Liverpool fans were disappointed because the club has not won a title in ages and the celebration is not gonna happened because of this global pandemic.

YNWA: We have not celebrated because we lost the title and still do not have the opportunity to do it. We are getting supporters club emails, but the conclusion is that nothing can be done yet. There were a couple of games where fans came back into the ground, but the club selected them geographically, and as I was far away, I was not selected to be one of the two thousand spectators in January. Are you going to the training sessions?

Nope, it is impossible to go to the training sessions as they have closed everything because regulation is more and more strict. If you want to go to these training sessions, you need special access that I do not have.

I am just following Lille on the TV, and that's all. I think it is the only thing I can do.

How do you feel about the few games to be played? Will Lille win the Ligue 1?

David got injured recently during the last game against Paris. He was our main weapon since the beginning of the year, so it's gonna be difficult. We do not have the same team as Paris Saint Germain does, and we can lose against every team in Ligue 1. Moreover, the calendar is not really easy for us: we have to play against Lyon, but Lyon has to play against Monaco. These crucial games will determine the end of the season. Regarding PSG, they will play in the Champions League, and this will require a lot of energy for them. The end of the season will be tight, I guess.

Hibee: I think that this is the beauty of Sorare because before, I would not have paid that club's attention but getting into the stage now, I am looking carefully at all the end of the seasons concerning the European Leagues.

It's good to hear English guys admitted that they are following French teams.

YNWA: We are both members of the club of David's unique holders, so we would love to see him perform well.

David was horrible at the beginning of the season. He was the biggest buy of the summer for Lille and one of the biggest ones in Ligue 1 but was not even a starter until December. How did you feel about him?

YNWA: Well, I have got a reputation for killing young uniques while looking at my gallery, and there are some players that look good on paper, but it is not the case in reality. Wesley is another one. Osimhen is also a significant transfer on paper, and everybody was hoping for better results.

Yes, Wesley is concerned. He has a body particularity that leads to injuries, making it hard for him to recover. I think the best outcome for him is to go to Championship next season and kill it. Osimhen took a good start, and you can see the difference when Napoli plays with or without him. He brings a plus as a striker, but he got a shoulder injury in November. Osimhen is a strong guy and will come back next season. I spoke with him, and from where he came from, his story is impressive. Gattuso is maybe not the coach he needs to develop.

Fun fact: https://sorare.com/gallery/zuraw_old - 05/15/2019 - it was my first account on Sorare before my laptop fell in the river. I asked Adrien to transfer the cards from my old account to my new one.

What would you like to see in Sorare for the next 12 months?

This will be a crucial summer for Sorare because a lot of new managers recently joined, and we have seen those managers when they join; they came for the in-game card utility and not the collectible aspect. The most important aspect Sorare needs to change is the GameWeek structure. I would like to see players VS players' environment because it makes no sense to compete with 5k people to be 1st because it is just about luck. I would love to see new divisions like SorareData is doing. If the number of managers continues to grow, they will be 50k managers playing Division 4, and it does not make sense. Even if you reward 10% of them. I am just putting myself in the seat of someone who has recently joined and played against galleries worth 400 ETH. It is not just only about the power of the cards, but it is also about the knowledge in the game. A complex matrix could be created: past results, total ETH, & type of scarcity.

Some managers are coming from NBA Topshot or FI, and the collectible aspect will be successful if the gameplay structure is also. If the gaming aspect of Sorare evolves in the right direction, then the collectible aspects will be as well. Of course, it is not the most essential part of the game at this moment, but it can be soon. The growth of NFTs leads us to think that YNWA is visionary because the 1st edition of cards is valuable for many people.

Advice to new managers

Try to know the players you are buying, do not check only the past 5 scores. Do not spend 5 ETH on an Asian guy you do not know but has 80 on average for the last 5 games. Use your knowledge and SorareData, which brings you a lot of info about the game. Buy the cards you want to have, and be patient. Use Primary & Secondary Markets because sometimes there are great opportunities in both. Define a plan and stick to it, then the results will come. You cannot have instant results. You need the experience to be a winner on this platform. The key to success in the medium or long-term is that you sometimes have to go against the market (injured players or players not playing).

Back in the day, we had only Jupiler League. You did not have a choice. Today, you can select your players, so select your prospects. I heard a lot of concerns about what will happen when a player retires, and my answer is: just make sure that this player brings you rewards until its end of their career.