Postcard | In the footsteps of Didier Drogba

(Levallois-Perret, France) The small gym in our apartment hotel in Levallois-Perret is desperately empty in the absence of Yves Boisvert, the distinguished colleague who is conspicuous by his absence at the Olympics because he prefers Washington to Paris. That means that the only treadmill is always free.

The place is very modest—not a dumbbell to keep your biceps in shape—but it is nevertheless the only air-conditioned place in the seven-story building, which adjoins the dozens of tracks for the suburban trains leaving from the Gare Saint-Lazare. I am seriously considering leaving the oven of our rooms to go and write there.

Drawn by the name of the nearby sports complex (Louison Bobet, a 1950s cycling legend), I had the bad idea of ​​starting my gym session on the outdoor running track, a stone’s throw from the hotel. The weather was overcast, but the heat radiated from the surface. Even with the breeze, I felt more like I was swimming than running after 10 minutes. Fearing that a drone would record my walking pace, I returned to the gym’s air conditioning.

My torrid escapade nevertheless allowed me to discover the Didier Drogba field, named in honor of the former Chelsea star who had a notable stint with the Montreal Impact. Tossed between Abidjan and France, the Ivorian by origin, present at the opening ceremony, spent part of his adolescence at the Levallois Sporting Club (LSC).

Founded in 2008 and 2010, the small complex includes the Didier Drogba stadium, a 250-meter athletics track dedicated to Colette Besson, Olympic champion of the 400 meters in Mexico in 1968, and six tennis courts were built under the football field.

At lunchtime, three shirtless teenagers kicked a ball around and a boxer jumped rope at the top of the stage under the eye of a trainer.

Theoretically, an Accès Levallois-Perret card is required after the entrance gates, but the attendants let me through when I told them about Drogba’s ties to Montreal.

The striker’s stay at Levallois-Perret is highlighted by a few photos and trophies and texts in the modern reception pavilion. The inauguration of the Didier Drogba stadium, on September 29, 2010, is inscribed on the stone at the entrance.

“In an indescribable hubbub, Drogba was welcomed like a real rock star by the young people of the 92 club,” we could read in The Parisian at the time.

“I am proud and moved. These four years as an amateur footballer have instilled in me certain values ​​of sharing and community life. It was a good learning experience before joining the professional world, which is not as united,” he admitted with a hint of emotion.

Drogba’s mentor and trainer, Yugoslav international Srebrenko Repcic, retired in 2022 after 33 years at LSC, it is said on a sheet. The three words that define “Repi”: “Organization of life, discipline and hygiene of life!”

I will try to make them mine during this stay in Levallois.

Smoky wink

Colleague Nicholas, who did not know the old smoky newsroom of The Press on the third floor, was struck by the French people’s undying love of cigarettes. To keep the city a little bit clean, Levallois-Perret has installed ashtrays that are integrated into street furniture. This one is located at the entrance to the Louison-Bobet complex. Instagram or Facebook? Either way, cigarette butts all end up as insulating material for buildings or down coats.