50 years of the MHSC: Laurent Robert, the left Reunion Island passion fruit caviar

Laurent Robert during the match celebrating the 50th anniversary of the MHSC on November 16, 2024. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART

An 84-page special issue Midi Libre

Laurent Robert, ici face à l'AJ Auxerre, a disputé 149 matches sous le maillot montpelliérain. Midi Libre – Archives

Lancé au cœur des années 90, ce gaucher de talent fera ensuite le bonheur du PSG puis de Newcastle avant d’entrer dans le cercle très fermé des purs produits du club ayant intégré l’équipe de France.

An 84-page special issue

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 issue 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 A special edition packed with anecdotes and unpublished photos with an exclusive interview with Olivier Giroud.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 of 84 pages Midi Libre

He is almost as old as the club, born just six months after the creation of La Paillade. And Laurent Robert still embodies in the album of memories one of the most fabulous left paws in the history of Montpellier. High gaze, frail silhouette floating in jerseys and shorts as wide, then, as the tactical diagrams, the Reunionese did not land in Montpellier by chance.

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“Kidnapped” in Auxerre, under the nose of Guy Roux

“I arrived at the Brest training center in 1991 and then the club filed for bankruptcy. I found myself on trial at Auxerre in December in the freezing cold. When Montpellier entered the running, I said yes straight away, as Claude Barrabé, a big brother from the island, was at the club. My father and Fleury Di Nallo practically “kidnapped” me at Auxerre. Guy Roux never held it against me.”

The voice of the Reunion Island native is full of the sunshine he came to find on the shores of the Mediterranean, “when we lived in this castle of Grammont in a very family-oriented context and under the guidance of very good coaches.” Fleury Di Nallo, Mama Ouattara, then Gérard Gili and Jean-Louis Gasset who launched him into the deep end of the D1.

Decisive scorer at the Parc against Paris

Laurent was only 22 when he burst onto the screen like a prince in the making on a jubilant evening at the Parc: “I came on during the match, we beat PSG 3-1, I made an assist and the unforgettable third goal against Bernard Lama. A truly extraordinary moment.”

Laurent Robert during the match celebrating MHSC's 50th anniversary on November 16, 2024. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART

Less exhilarating, but just as unforgettable, the emotional roller coaster at the Vélodrome, two years later for the famous 4-0 transformed into a 5-4 defeat after the Olympian comeback. “The sky had fallen on our heads, we didn't understand anything, remembers Laurent, who scored that evening. But you learn from this kind of defeat in managing your weak moments.”

“When we saw Loulou arrive at Grammont, we wondered what he was going to say to us”

In these moments of great solitude, the walls remembered Loulou's outbursts. “He liked me, I was his little protégé. But every time we saw him arriving at the training center we were saying to ourselves “who is he coming for, what is he going to tell us ?” It was the dad who arrived to scold us.”

Author of the last goal of the Blues in the 20th century

Transferred to PSG in 1999, Laurent Robert will enter this very closed circle of Pailladins selected with the Blues. 9 caps under Roger Lemerre, the last French goal of the 20th century scored against Turkey and “an immense pride to represent my island and a little the fruit of this Montpellier training.”

Read also: 50 years of MHSC: Jean-Louis Gasset, the heir to a family history between passion and friendship

As forward coach at the training center from 2010 to 2020, he returned the favor to the club before a damp squib end to his contract. Since then, Laurent, with his diplomas in hand, has been waiting for a challenge with another club while managing his real estate business and the bar he bought in the region. “Montpellier remains a club apart and I hope that the family spirit will continue there.”

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