Laureano Bisan Etamé-Mayer, or Lauren to everyone who speaks English, was one of the finest fullbacks around during his day, and won pretty much everything in the successful Arsenal sides at the turn of the millennium.
He was the guest on Sky Sports' Fantasy Football Club on Friday and discussed everything from winning an Olympic gold medal with Cameroon, to the rivalry with Roy Keane and Manchester United.
But the most unusual aspect of the chat with Lauren was his comfort in talking critically of himself when he got around to the time he played for Portsmouth under Harry Redknapp. He feels he mentally switched off when he left Arsenal, and had no problem admitting that he contributed to the type of attitude and atmosphere that eventually sent the club down, claiming that he was sad he couldn't perform better for Redknapp.
The only thing I regret, when I signed to Portsmouth I was mentally off. When you switch off mentally you cannot perform on a high level.
Harry Redknapp is a fantastic coach, we had Tony Adams on the side, we had a great, great dressing room, with Joe Jordan as well as assistant, and I think it's a shame I couldn't perform on my level because I was, you know, mentally.. Down.
It's was refreshingly honest when you typically see a footballer claim that 'it didn't work out' for one of the lowlights of their time as a pro.
Fair play to him. He was a quality player, but he perhaps should have gone for a different challenge rather than stay in the Premier League after leaving the Gunners.
Still, his career was excellent, as shown by his 'One2Eleven' that had some interesting choices.
Sadly for Portsmouth fans, Lauren was certainly not alone when it came to not being fully committed to the cause, although it was after he left in 2009 that they were relegated in a season where Freddy Piquionne was their top scorer with 10 goals.
