Geoffrey jourdren was one of the successors of Bruno Martini in the Hérault cage, he is also in Grammont, as an educator, from now on. So inevitably, the disappearance of this figure of French football, carried away by a cardiovascular accident a year ago, deeply marked him. Today in 100% Paillade on France Bleu Hérault, the 2012 French champion pays homage to the one for whom he had great esteem and to whom he has deep admiration.
Recently, you fictitiously kicked off Montpellier / Bordeaux with a flocked Martini jersey: why?
I was offered to kick off, and as you come home with a jersey, I told myself that I was going to pay tribute to Bruno Martini. Someone who meant a lot to me, whom I knew, whom we dated. Someone very professional, kind, extraordinary. It seemed obvious to me to pay homage to him. I did it instinctively, I’m very happy with it. It’s a swimsuit that I will keep, that I will frame, that I will have all the time with me, in my house.
How did you feel when he disappeared?
You tell yourself that it’s unreal, that what just happened is not possible. He is someone we appreciated a lot, within the club. It froze us, and it still freezes me, when I tell you about it. He went to heaven, we will never forget him. In any case, I, who am a goalkeeper, will never forget that. It remains shocking.
How has he counted in your career?
Me, I was trained at the INF Clairefontaine, by Franck Raviot, who was a bit of his model. And at the time, he told us a lot, really a lot. And afterwards, I saw him when I met the France A team, whose goalkeepers he coached. He also played in Montpellier, and I saw him afterwards as a work colleague. In practice, he was my goalkeeper trainer in Montpellier, we spent a month and a half face to face on my last season at MHSC.
What did he teach you?
What sums up Bruno Martini is his professionalism. His analyzes are very deep, he is a very intelligent person, very precise in what he says, in his way of being. Someone very discreet, even though he was a great coach and a great player. It is a rare species. Bruno Martini, it was an endangered species. People like him don’t exist anymore. He was a great person.
Do you want to keep Bruno Martini’s memory, his method alive, through what you will teach in turn, to the young people of the training center?
For me, that was an example, and it still is. What he did was always square. In a meeting, I would sit next to him, I would watch him take notes, I would look at his attitude, I knew it was going to serve me, make me richer. And yes, he is one of the very strong guardians of the MHSC, and it’s up to me and everyone to perpetuate this person, to perpetuate his name and his first name within the club.
To tell me that he died, even today, is unreal. He and I liked each other. Without any pretension, we were two champions who understood each other. In two minutes. And it is rare, this connection. I miss that. I wasn’t with him all the time. But when we were together, we had the same analyzes, the same outlook.
Often, I retype Bruno Martini, on Google, as I do with Louis Nicollin. I only found one workout from Bruno Martini, that saddens me a bit. But that’s how it is, it’s not stuffed.