50 years of MHSC: “I had to take it upon myself because I wasn't used to such passion,” confides former goalkeeper Albert Rust

Albert Rust a fait les beaux jours du MHSC à la fin des années 80.

Condensing half a century of history into 84 pages. This is the challenge taken up by the sports editorial team of 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. Builders, of course, starting with this “Nicollin Saga”, told by Laurent and Colette, the wife of the late Loulou, but also Georges Frêche, the mayor who became a friend, or the essential Bernard Gasset, co-founder of the club.

This Wednesday: Arriving from Sochaux, the former international goalkeeper Albert Rust, with a sober and reserved style, discovers in Montpellier a passion that literally overwhelms him.

From the Sochaux glacis, where he played his entire career, to the bubbling atmosphere of the Montpellier club, Albert Rust did not believe that he would rise so high in temperature by achieving the splits at the twilight of his 33 years. But it was said that the marriage of opposites would work perfectly for the former goalkeeper of the Blues, crowned European champion and Olympic champion in 1984, a pedigree that opened the doors of the MHSC to him in the suitcases of the new coach Pierre Mosca. “After the warm-up, during matches at La Mosson, I would wave a giant flag in front of the Butte, I would set it on fire, basically. At first, I had to make an effort, I had to take it upon myself, because I wasn't used to such passion. In the end, the communion with the public was fantastic. I lived three extraordinary years”, he recounted decades later.

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Pailladine eccentricity

Calm voice, reserved character, last bastion all in sobriety, Rust quickly became acquainted with the extroverted morals of the Paillade and its totem president, Louis Nicollin, “a great man”, “an extraordinary president, for better and for worse”. “He could be magnanimous but also beat us up. We know Loulou's generosity, he had his heart on his sleeve. On the other hand, he shouldn't be taken for a clown, he had to perform in return. He was very vigilant about that, it was his priority.”

Illustration on the evening of a defeat despite everything watered at the Reganeous in Lattes – the players' HQ –, where the boss arrived unexpectedly without saying a word.“The next day, he summoned us to the office with a hefty fine. Afterwards, he couldn't help it, he didn't punish us, but we got a hell of a telling off. That was Loulou”, Albert Rust confided. In summary: “He was an endearing guy, we respected him enormously. We felt obliged to give our all for him, because he considered us as his family. We can say that many players owe their post-career to him”.

Well served, the ex-Sochalien arrived in 1987 at the heart of a blessed period, in a collective in full swing, author of a spectacular rise in the first division, which would see the MHSC grab third place on the podium in its first season. But it was in the Coupe de France, to which Loulou was devoted, that Rust and the MHSC would make history. A competition that almost passed under the goalkeeper's nose. “After two years, the club didn't want to keep me. And then, by a combination of circumstances, I ended up staying.” And by lifting the trophy (his only club title), on June 2, 1990, alongside Blanc, Julio César, Valderrama, Cantona, Guérin and Xuereb, under the leadership of Michel Mézy who came to play the firefighters on duty after the dismissal of Aimé Jacquet. That season, dominated by a policy of stars, had nevertheless started backwards in the championship, with a fierce fight for survival. Until the final apotheosis (2-1) against Racing Paris.

“Anomaly”

Albert Rust would remember the celebrations almost more than the success itself.“I think we had our match under control. We then found ourselves in the capital, but nothing was planned. It was the former Parisian Jean-Claude Lemoult who took us out. We had a memorable party.” The Paillade spirit then spread throughout Montpellier, from the airport road to the foot of the Comédie theater, where the crowd was delirious. Supreme happiness.

A bygone era ? A slightly disillusioned response: “I find it hard to believe that we can keep the spirit of La Paillade given that the players come from all walks of life and that foreign investors buy up the clubs one by one. In today's football, it's almost an anomaly to see a family club like Nicollin's. Here, we give our all, we put ourselves out there on the pitch, it's the club's DNA.” It seems that the passion has really infused since Albert Rust (71 years old), living in Saint-Georges-d'Orques, has remained a loyal La Mosson player, where it will always be warmer than in Sochaux.
Vincent Couture

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