An excellent header, Franck Silvestre has also scored numerous penalties and free kicks in the Montpellier jersey. MAXPPP
The former Auxerre player, a player of his word, came to play in Montpellier to keep a promise he made to Louis Nicollin. On the pitch, he is the MHSC defender who has scored the most goals in the club's history.
A 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 and builders, of course, starting with this “Nicollin Saga”, told by Laurent and Colette, the wife of the late Loulou. A special edition packed with anecdotes and unpublished photos with an exclusive interview with Olivier Giroud.
A special issue available on newsstands Midi Libre
Click here to order our special issue 50 years of the MHSC
His talent did not germinate on the banks of La Mosson or in a greenhouse in Grammont, but it is just as well. Franck Silvestre and Montpellier Hérault were made to meet. It was written in limbo on the moral contract between the international stopper and Louis Nicollin at the time when the Montpellier president, delegate of the League to the Blues, followed them to the four corners of the world.
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“We always had a good feeling and one day, during a tour in Kuwait, President Nicollin told me “you, you will come and play in my club one day. I answered “with pleasure.”
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000“I told Loulou, I gave my word, I will come and play in Montpellier”
From Guadeloupe, where he found his roots to take charge of sports at the Riviera du Levant agglomeration community, the defender trained at Sochaux recounts that day in 1998 when he kept his word, against the logic of football business:“I was going to leave Auxerre. Montpellier was in the running but so was Lens, the reigning French champions. Loulou called me and said, 'You're going to play in the Champions League with Lens, that's normal, I can't line up. And then I answered him: “I gave you my word in Kuwait, I want to come to your place. As he was someone of his word, he must have appreciated my approach. The current always went really well with him and with his children.”
Club spirit cultivated in Sochaux and Auxerre
The club spirit, the love of the jersey, Franck had understood that these virtues, which he had cultivated in the nurseries of Sochaux then Auxerre, were the key to opening the hearts of people in this club “really apart where everyone bends over backwards to make you feel comfortable and where my stay enriched me”.
Franck Silvestre wore the captain's armband for several seasons. Midi Libre – Richard De Hullessen
At the crossroads of the 90s and 2000s, the defender will serve as a lookout, whether it is to aim for the summits – victory in the Intertoto Cup – or to go down to the mine to snatch maintenance in the darkest furrows of everyday life.
Read also: 50 years of the MHSC: Jean-Louis Gasset, the heir to a family history between passion and friendship
28 goals in 159 matches
“After the relegation in 1999, I wanted to leave but the president convinced me to stay”, he said. An exemplary captain who will leave his mark on the statistics as the defender who scored the most goals in the club's history: 28 in 159 games, almost one goal every 5 matches (Laurent Blanc scored more but mainly in midfield, Editor's note).
“Honestly, I didn't know… I surprised myself by becoming a free-kick taker in Montpellier, happily, he smiled. But my strong point was still my header thanks to great timing. I stretched my neck so much that the teammates nicknamed me “Duck”.
Read also: 50 years of MHSC: Bernard Soccoro, founder of the first supporters club and the “Paillade spirit”
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