50 years of MHSC: Cup victory, European epic, death of Bruno Martini… the contrasting memories of Pascal Baills

Mai 2000 : Pascal Baills porté en triomphe par ses équipiers au soir de son 429e et dernier match sous les couleurs du MHSC. Midi Libre – Archives

A life playing, another coaching and a memory of the history of Montpellier. Pascal Baills (59 years old) talks about his first eight seasons as right back of Montpellier-Hérault. Eight of his thirty-six years spent at the club.

A Midi Libre special issue of 84 pages

Condensing half a century of history into 84 pages. This is the challenge taken up by the sports editorial team at Midi Libre in this special edition on the 50th anniversary of the MHSC. Available on newsstands on December 11 for just 5 euros, this glossy magazine will allow you to relive the great moments in the history of the Montpellier club through our “50” who made the MHSC. Players, coaches, but also builders, starting with this “Nicollin Saga”, told by Laurent and Colette, the wife of the late Loulou. A magazine packed with anecdotes and unpublished photos with an exclusive interview with Olivier Giroud.

A special 84-page issue on newsstands December 11 (5 euros). Midi Libre

When did the first of your 36 seasons at Montpellier begin? ?

Pascal Baills: It all started with my arrival at the training center at 18 and a half. A few youngsters emerged, they launched us in 83 in the first team. We were impressed by the big personalities around us, like Jean-Louis Gasset, Bernard Ducuing… It was La Paillade. At the time, I had a trial at Toulouse (Soler, Lopez…), which was in D1. I chose Montpellier because of the atmosphere. Before that, I worked as a plumber for three years, then a year in a sports store. I used to train twice a week, now I'm working out three times a day.

Get started quickly with the pros ?

My uncle, a cop in Montpellier, lived in La Paillade. Once a week, he invited me to eat and came to pick me up with the police car in Grammont. One week, the staff opposed it. I don't understand. I was called up for my first professional match in Grenoble. If I had played 15 matches in the season, I would have gone pro. I played 14. I would be pro the following season. At the end of 84, we lost the Gambardella final on penalties to Laval.

Does the Catalan mentality match that of La Paillade? ?

That’s it. In Perpignan, we are in a rugby country, but also a region of work, where we have to fight. I find this state of mind in Montpellier, but in football. I lived in Aimé-Giral, where my father was the stadium caretaker. On Sunday afternoons, when I wasn’t playing, he would give me five francs. When the balls went over the stands, my mission was to retrieve them. One Sunday, I followed Usap, the other I went to see the Catalan XIII at Brutus.

Read also: 50 years of MHSC: “He was more Camargue than the Camargue”, Colette Nicollin reveals her intimate Loulou

To move up to D1, is Montpellier betting everything on young people? ?

When we move up, we have a framework of young people supervised by experienced players: Lemoult, Bernardet, Stojkovic and the emblematic Roger (Milla). He is a monster with a strong character, with a global dimension. This very great player did not have the career he should have had. He arrived in 86. We are in training, we have been back for 15 days. Mézy asks the physio (Eric Perraux) to get him back in shape for a week. After one day, he says to Mézy: “You are not going to make me run all week”. We lived in the same neighborhood (Croix d'Argent), I would pick him up. We would sometimes stop at the station. The gas station attendant read France Football, lent it to Roger, and he left with it.

Pascal Baills (crouching at the bottom right next to Laurent Blanc) during the 1989-90 season. The team that would win the Coupe de France. Midi Libre – Archives

At the time, there was a lot of talk about La Paillade, the scary Mosson ?

We warmed up on a side pitch, with poor lighting. At La Mosson, for the promotion match against the young Lyon team (Genesio, Garde), there was a special “welcome committee”, with Marcel Touchat, Jeannot Pascal… In Ajaccio, we warmed up in the car park, where cars sometimes parked with the handbrake on. By dint of hearing that La Mosson is a bastion, we end up believing it. With Franck Lucchesi, we knew how to do it. On the first ball, we had to go hard. Some opponents let themselves go, others didn't.

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Was promotion in 87 more exciting than your first season in the first division? ?

I can't choose a moment, but I remember everything. When you go up, the club recruits a lot of players. In particular, another monster: Julio César. When I see him, I say to him: “What are you doing here? ? You must play for Real Madrid”. He left three years later for Juve. He liked to party. We also went out. The next day, when we were cleaning up, we put on the Kway. That's how it was. I play alongside a Brazilian international and a Yugoslav international, whereas four years before I was a plumber in Perpignan. Montpellier can no longer have such a squad.

Read also:50 years of the MHSC: Georges Frêche, first patron and essential builder who became Loulou's friend

Do you feel like you're making history in Montpellier? ?

We get results, we're carefree, we have fun, we live a magnificent story. We move up, we finish in 3rd place for our first season in D1, we participate in the European Cup, we win the Coupe de France, we experience many beautiful things in a few seasons, in a condensed state of happiness. It's not a dream, it's just natural. We tell ourselves that it will continue. When we win the Coupe de France, we see that the Comédie is at full speed. We feel the pride of the city. Montpellier is being built, the club is growing.

How does Louis Nicollin, the president who embodies the club, behave??

Loulou doesn't yell at us too much. He had a dream: to win the Coupe de France, we're making it happen. With some twists and turns. Especially when he fires Cantona following the “clash” with Lemoult. He tells him he won't play at home again. Then admits that he got carried away. The season ends in a magnificent way after a bad start.

Read also: 50 years of the MHSC: Louis Nicollin, the incredible saga of a pack leader who became a triumphant patriarch

After the success in the Cup, Mézy, on the way out, invites you all to a meal ?

We had a meal at the Copacabana in La Grande-Motte with Mézy. Loulou took it very badly. They argued, but we didn’t take sides. We were caught between two fires. It was like a couple, with their jealousy attacks. We didn’t look for who was right, who was wrong because they quickly became friends again. It was part of the club.

Pascal Baills, here alongside Laurent Nicollin, spent more than 20 years on the bench as an assistant coach. Midi Libre – FRANCK VALENTIN

How did your debut in the European Cup go in 87 against Benfica Lisbon ?

It was our first in the European Cup. The coach (Pierre) Mosca was going to supervise them. When he came back, he told us: “it's Vendargues”. They have a goalkeeper, poof, they have a hinge, poof, they kept saying that. At Mosson, we discovered against us: Bento, as goalkeeper, Ricardo-Mozer in central defense. And, Veloso, Valdo… 3-0 in the first leg, 3-1 in the return leg. This round of the European Cup was an enchanted interlude. Loulou was happy to have played it. So, on his return to Lisbon, he invited all the players, and their wives, for three days.

Read also: 50 years of MHSC: Bernard Gasset, co-founder of the club, like a soul brother for Louis Nicollin

Then, you live a beautiful epic in the Cup Winners' Cup ?

Against Eindhoven, we were solid at the Mosson, where we won (1-0). In the return leg, we played a heroic match, where we finished with ten men. They were arrogant. But we weren't afraid of them. It was part of the club's DNA and its state of mind. Eindhoven (Romario, Popescu, Gerets, etc.) was stronger than Manchester. We then played against Bucharest. In the rain, we won 5-0. In the return leg, we did what was necessary (3-0 victory). The return leg was very special. Shortly after Ceaucescu was overthrown, the shelves in the shops were empty. There were bullet holes on all the facades. At the hotel, the waiters finished our plates. At the stadium, there were a lot of soldiers. It didn't go so well against Manchester United… In the first leg, we were in the game. I got sent off. It was stupid. Hughes, a real buffalo, spits on Lemoult. I intervene, I hit him with my chest. And he collapses, his hands on his face. I won three matches. We lost Der Zakarian, who had his knee cut into pieces. On the return leg, we were eliminated after a handball by Barrabé. Montpellier came out of this European campaign stronger. This allowed me to experience a selection in the French team. The day before the match against Albania, in training, Platini (the coach) had a session with goalkeepers Bruno Martini and Gilles Rousset. He impressed everyone.

Baills in the middle of the team that reached the final of the League Cup in 2011 before winning the championship title in 2012. Midi Libre – FRANCK VALENTIN

In this journey, do you keep any special moments in mind? memory ?

We can talk about balloons, but two things happened to me in my life that mark me forever. The Furiani tragedy. And the death of Bruno (Martini) in Grammont. I arrive at the entrance gate. I see Jonathan (Llorente) and someone on the ground. I don't recognize Bruno. Jo does the cardiac massages, we call the firefighters. I take over the massages. It's long, it's violent. It's a moment that marks a life. That's how it is.

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