50 years MHSC: “In this club, I also grew as a man”, Kader Ferhaoui, beacon of the 80s

Le milieu de terrain Kader Ferhaoui, un joueur incontournable dans les 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 only 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 Monday: An essential player of duty, the Algerian international Kader Ferhaoui embodies the first pro wave formed at the club. The good old days.

And a goal from Ferhaoui, who shoots Olmeta! Racing Paris may have reduced the score in extra time, but MHSC will end up lifting the coveted Cup (2-1). The collective unconscious remembers Laurent Blanc's free kick like a flash, but Kader Ferhaoui's winning goal less so. And yet, during that 1989-1990 season, there was a moral to the fact that the lowest “ranked” member of the team could change the fate of a capricious group, after a recruitment of stars that was close to the short straw. Paille-Cantona, precisely. “We stuck them in Aimé Jacquet's (coach) lap three weeks before the start of the championship, it turned everything upside down. There were problems before the mayonnaise took hold. Fortunately, the Coupe de France put us back in the saddle”, explains the midfielder.

A blessed era

In the meantime, the late Stéphane Paille was “exfiltrated” to Bordeaux, Eric Cantona did “Canto”, Jacquet was sacked and Loulou almost swallowed his “gauldo” more than once. Incredible outcome, preceded by a cavalcade of emotions. And then, calm, Kader Ferahoui, without any qualms, not the house type, just proud to have won the second title in the club's history. Second ? “Yes, because the first one was the second division champion title in 1987.” And he was already there. “In this club, I also grew as a man”, he adds, slipping in what counts, what remains: “I think I left a good image of myself at the club. People remember what I did”.

There was plenty of material with 349 matches (41 goals) in the MHSC jersey. Ferhaoui, Blanc, the Passi brothers, Guédé, Hours, Baills, the very first spontaneous generation of the Pailladin club is bearing (very) beautiful fruit. Memories, memories… “I arrived at the training center in 1981, I was 16 years old, the Saez family looked after us. At the time, the club was not doing well financially, it had made some stupid mistakes upstream. They realized that they had taken a lot of old players and that they had to renew the cycle. The youngsters proved that they had the quality to play. There you go, we shook the tree a little. Like, later, the Carotti generation, the Belhanda generation. You have to arrive at the right time.” Under the eye of a paternalistic but uncompromising Loulou. “As he had a huge heart, he allowed himself to say things.”

Recognition of the belly

Behind that, everything came together. Third place in the championship in 1988, success in the Coupe de France (1990), Homeric run in the European Cup (C2) the following season, during which he broke his cruciate ligament against Steaua Bucharest and missed the duel against the legendary Manchester United. Retrospective confession:“I think that this generation grew up with the club and that it also made the club grow through its results. It's a kind of give and take. We fought well anyway. The club also recruited players to supervise us, the Stojkovics, Bernardets, Lemoults…”

Recognition of the belly, loyalty to the roots, Ferhaoui stands out as a model of social ascension through sport. Born in Oran on March 29, 1965, the son of Algerian immigrants, he arrived in Lunel at the age of three (and still lives there). It was naturally at the Gallia Club that he was noticed by the MHSC recruiters. When he joined the center, he still did not have French nationality, which he only obtained in 1986, at a time when only two foreign players could be fielded per team. Once again, destiny arrived on time. The future ? Unsurprisingly, “with educators who instill the values ​​of the club” , because La Paillade is a “family club” . And then prove, prove again and again.
 

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