Coming out of retirement to come to the aid of his favorite club. This is the decision that Jean-Louis Gasset, 70 years old, made when returning to Montpellier. The former coach of Olympique de Marseille, who announced that he would end his career at the end of last season, accepted a new challenge at MHSC until the end of the season.
A purely emotional choice, his father Bernard, whose name the training center bears, being one of the co-founders of the club in 1974. After being a player in Montpellier from 1975 to 1985, he already held this position from November 1998 to November 1999, then from January to June 2017, in what he considers to be his “heart club, his family”. “When I see the club suffering, I had no right not to come. Not in Montpellier. Not in my club. I am at home here,” he insisted to the media.
Called in as reinforcements by Laurent Nicollin after the dismissal of Michel Der Zakarian, fired following the debacle against OM this Sunday (0-5), Gasset recovers the red lantern of the championship, two lengths from Le Havre barrage, in a very unfortunate manner posture.
“It’s going to be hard but we’re going to get there. From this afternoon, we will start work. We will transmit values such as self-giving, generosity, work. There are three quarters of the Championship left, insisted Laurent Blanc’s former assistant at Bordeaux (2007-2010), with the Blues (2010-2012), or even at PSG (2013-2016). Everyone will be important, we must be united and proud. It’s our 50th anniversary, we should be proud! »
The former coach of Côte d’Ivoire (2022 to 2024), experienced in this type of commando mission, clearly sent a message. “Some people see me as a grandpa, but they will find a different perspective. There we touch the steak, he imagines. We must keep the word “together” in mind. Some players, I will have to caress them, others, I will hit them, because they only deserve that. »
