50 years of MHSC: Jean-Marc Valadier, local scorer and first guide to a new world

Jean-Marc Valadier, un des joueurs majeurs des années 70-80 jusqu'à la montée en D1 de Montpellier. Midi Libre – Archives

Trained at the Pérols bullfighting school, this pure Héraultais was the very first local player propelled towards professionalism, with Jean-Louis Gasset. He notably scored with his head the legendary goal that eliminated OM from the Coupe de France in 1977.

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 A magazine full of anecdotes and unpublished photos with an exclusive interview with Olivier Giroud.

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A special issue available on newsstands this December 11. Midi Libre

He does not open a path, but paths. In the dizzying rise of Montpellier, in the 80s, he has the allure of a guide towards a new world. In a team of stars on the verge of twilight (Di Nallo, Landi, etc.), Jean-Marc Valadier, discovered at AS Saint-Martin, is the first kid from here, alongside Jean-Louis Gasset, to blossom in Montpellier.

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

Thierry Rolland in the locker room

This striker, with speed honed at the bullfighting school in Pérols, made his first big move in the Coupe de France. On February 13, 1977 in Alès, he headed in the goal that eliminated Marseille (2-1). A goal forever. “In the 89th minute (1-1), Moh overflows on the right side, crosses and I cut the ball with my head. The small neighborhood club of Montpellier is doing the rounds of the radios that day. Thierry Rolland is even in the locker room”, he says.

“Mr. Nicollin was upset that I was leaving”

Valadier is also the first young person to leave Montpellier. “Mr. Nicollin was upset that I was leaving. As Montpellier was still an amateur club, he couldn't stop me from living my dream in the first division at Lyon.”

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

Montpellier moved up to the second division in 78, acquired professional status, and two years later created the training center to support local talents (Blanc, Baills, the Passi brothers, Ferhaoui, etc.)

A nasty injury the year of promotion

After two years in Lyon and two more in Monaco, Jean-Marc Valadier returned to his homeland. He accompanied the rise in power, with youth as fuel, and participated in the return to the first division in 87. “The year we went up, I got injured. It didn't end the way I wanted”, regrets the 3rd goal scorer in history (70 goals with the MPSC).

In 89, at the end of a career ruined by a knee injury, Jean-Marc Valadier joined the Entreprise Nicollin. And, opens another way.

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

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