When you are champion of France, are you necessarily a candidate for your own succession?
I do not know if we are necessarily a candidate for our own succession, but in any case, it is part of our objectives. Confirm the two previous seasons, since two years ago, we came out in the semi-finals on a match we had in hand and last year, we won. So we have to continue on this momentum and in any case, we will do everything to be in the race, to keep our title.
Do you expect even more adversity, because of this new status?
Oh yes, that! It’s linked to the label that is stuck on us, and so we know that everywhere we go, it’s going to be more difficult. And then there is a second reason, which is that the French volleyball championship in Ligue A, just like the Top 14 in rugby, is becoming more and more dense and the competition is more and more more exacerbated. So we know it’s going to be difficult, and we know we’ll be expected everywhere. But it is an experience. It is an interesting experience to live. We never had this status, with this label. So that’s fine, and it doesn’t scare us. We are going there to defend our title.
You have thus renewed your workforce, to be even more competitive in League A. But also to be so in the Champions League?
Absolutely ! It was Olivier Lecat, the coach, who remodeled his workforce in relation to the objectives set. Indeed to defend our title, to continue to fight at the highest level of the French championship and then to pass a stage above at European level. Begin to settle in European competition and climb, as we did in France little by little, the steps to the highest level. The workforce, Olivier has built it in this direction with quality players and a dense workforce which should, I hope, bring us complete satisfaction. In any case, they got off to a good start with the Super Cup at Chaumont, where it’s never easy to win. So that seems to bode well for the rest of the season.
Your recruitment is very South American: why is that?
He is South American and he is mostly Brazilian. There are three Brazilian players who have joined us. Brazil is one of the major volleyball nations, so there are always quality players. And the particularity all the same is that of the three Brazilian players who joined us, there are two players who knew the French championship for having already played there. Olivier Lecat had already been able to observe them several times, so their integration is easier. And then, I don’t hide from you that a South American touch always brings a friendly touch and human warmth, which means that the workforce gives us satisfaction.
Did the title of champion of France make you richer?
We are richer in our experience, we are richer in what we know how to do and what the club has demonstrated in recent years. Afterwards, indeed, our budget increases, but it increases in normal proportions. And as I said, we didn’t overdo it. It’s not overnight. We didn’t break the piggy bank because we are champions of France, so we keep our feet on the ground, we know where we want to go. Our budget this season will be around two million euros. So we are moving forward, we were at just over 1.8 million last year. But the title of champion of France has nevertheless enriched us in terms of credibility, in our project and in the eyes of others. We are no longer considered the same.
The budget increases, the prices too: was it inevitable?
Yes, the price of places has increased, but it is not linked to being champion of France. There are significant investments that have been made in the Jacques Chaban-Delmas sports hall in Castelnau, which was a room that needed to be refreshed, so that’s what we started in the off-season in agreement with the town hall, and in collaboration with the town hall of Castelnau. We invest in the Sports Palace and? at one time or another, we have to achieve a balanced budget. And our investments have also focused on para-sports, ie structuring the club with managers by sector within the club. We have expanded our administrative and commercial staff, and so we have to manage to balance our budgets. We have asked the partners and we are going to ask the public a little. But at the same time, we will still offer very beautiful posters to the spectators who will come to visit us, through the Champions League and what is best at European level. We are a business like any other. In any case, we tried to be reasonable in everything we did.
Between the title and the performance of the French team, are the enthusiasm and the demand stronger?
Yes, we actually feel it. In any case, as far as we are concerned in Montpellier, I was very, very surprised and pleasantly surprised by the end of last season. We had record attendance at the hall, and so today, with this title, we feel that there is a craze. It is measured, despite everything, because in Montpellier, there is such an offer in the sports spectacle, that it is a little more difficult than elsewhere. But we still feel a real enthusiasm for volleyball. You are right to recall the French team which is the flag of French volleyball. And we are lucky to have one of our players playing for the France team and in our team. We are the only ones like that. So all this means that there is a real enthusiasm around volleyball. Measuring it today, quantifying it, is difficult. We haven’t started the season yet, but I think that indeed there will be good feedback from the public and spectators because I remain convinced, and the title only reinforced my convictions, that Montpellier is a land of volleyball. There is a particular history between the city, the metropolis of Montpellier and volleyball. The club is over 80 years old now, and so there is a very strong link, I think, between the people of Montpellier and their volleyball club.
If we have to take stock of the marriage with the MHSC, is it positive today? More than positive?
He is very positive. First of all, we knew it because we joined quality people, the relations we have with Olivier and Laurent Nicollin are very well made. And then, we benefit from all their experience in high-level professional sport, they have been there for a very long time, and in the major sport of football, so we are gradually benefiting from everything. We are not finished, we are only at the beginning of our common adventure. We joined the MHSC last year, but we already feel that a synergy is being created. And I’m very, very proud of it. I can’t thank Olivier and Laurent Nicollin enough for trusting us. and for joining us on this project, because they will help us. I think that together, we will grow the club and we will reach the level we want to reach.
And when we see the attitude of Olivier Nicollin in the stands or on the ground, especially on the day of the title, we still have the feeling that he is completely contaminated now. Is not it ?
I hope so (laughs). And I believe it is! He gives a lot and participates in the life of the club. The players are very sensitive to it and they return it well. I think he discovered, perhaps, what high-level volleyball was now, which is a real spectacle and deserves to be known. I think Olivier Nicollin is like all the people who have come to see us and who are interested in volleyball: they hang on and come back regularly, because it really is a very good show. We have very high level players. In Montpellier, we are lucky to have an Olympic gold medalist and an Olympic bronze medalist. So we have quality players, which means that the show we put on is a great show. And Olivier Nicollin, I think, has now fallen into the volleyball pot, yes.