En deux saisons sous le maillot pailladin, de 2010 à 2012, Giroud a disputé 85 matches et inscrit 39 buts. Midi Libre – RICHARD DE HULLESSEN
World Cup, Europe, England, Italy… Everywhere, the striker triumphed. La Paillade was no exception. From Los Angeles, “Olive” fondly remembers two separate seasons.
Our 84-page special issue
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, 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, obviously, starting with this “Nicollin Saga”, told by Laurent and Colette, the wife of the late Loulou. A special edition full of anecdotes and unpublished photos with an exclusive interview with Olivier Giroud.
A special issue of 84 pages. midi libre
A little over 12 years ago, in the summer of 2012, you left Montpellier to fulfill your dream of playing in England. Do you remember the feeling that animated you ?
There were two. Pride and excitement. I was enthusiastic. Obviously, I was also a little nostalgic. You know what you're going to leave, but you never know what you're going to meet. I left a lot of people I was attached to in Montpellier, a good group of friends. But it was the moment for me. Many people told me: “Stay, stay, stay”. But there are times in life when the train stops and you have to get on it.
You then experienced immense success in your career. But you leave the MHSC on this title of French champion of L1 in 2012. What place does it occupy in your career? ?
It was a particular emotion because it was the first major title that I won. It's like the first time in many things. It's a feeling that makes you want to discover many others similar. Because it wasn't written, because we weren't expected there, it was all the more appreciable
For me, this title remains the one that made me want to win even more. Afterwards, the communion on our scale with the public of Montpellier on the Comédie, at the Paillade… It was new for all the people of Montpellier, it made us even more proud to be the heroes of the city.
Olivier Giroud was one of the great hosts of the 2012 title celebrations. Here, on the balcony of the Opera, microphone in hand facing the crowd. Midi Libre – MICHEL PIEYRE
After a great season in Tours (L2), you had the choice. And you opted for Montpellier. You felt it was an ideal springboard ?
I almost left at the time. When Loulou called me, I was in Tours in the sports director's office. My agents told me: “Loulou wants to call you, talk to him”. That's what also made me decide to come to Montpellier. The contact was immediately nice and I really liked his way of seeing things. For me, it was the “perfect match”. For me, to continue my progression.
I also wanted to leave a trace of myself in Ligue 1 before one day realizing my dream of playing in the Premier League. At the time, there was Celtic Glasgow which would also have been a great showcase to perhaps go to England. Playing at Celtic Park would have been great. But today, I can say that all the choices I made were truly winning ones and I am proud of them.
He made me burst out laughing. He was really good, with his humor. He got me by my feelings and it was quickly sorted out.
And to convince you, Loulou reminded you that in Scotland you were going to play against “Kilmarchnok”…
Yes, he deliberately mispronounced the name. He made me burst out laughing. He was really good, with his humor. He got me by my feelings and it was quickly sorted out. He was right to call me. It weighed in the balance
You have often mentioned him during your career with a thought especially after the 2018 World Cup final. How did the relationship develop?
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000He liked me, he liked his players. I don't remember him castigating me in a press conference like he sometimes did to put the church back in the middle of the village, to be polite (laughs).
I always liked his whole personality, authentic, passionate. Yes, he had his slightly excessive sides. But it's beautiful. We don't make presidents like that anymore. That's why I wanted to pay tribute to him. He's someone who counted in my career. Just like Laurent (Nicollin) later. It's really a very nice meeting
Also read: 50 years of MHSC: Younès Belhanda, playmaker and good genius of the "galactic" generation
The one with MHSC worked very quickly since you scored in your first official match…
(He cuts in) In Györ (Europa League preliminary round). I scored a great goal, in the top corner, on the volley (laughs). It was a great start. Unfortunately we were eliminated in the return leg.
The Paillade spirit, this aggressiveness, this taste for effort, was like you. Did it allow for this adaptation? ?
Totally. Throughout my career, my credo has been not to rest on my laurels, I was told that quite young. I had this corpulence… In Grenoble, during training, my coach Bernard Blaquart told me: “You have to fight against this slightly nonchalant side that you can have”. He encouraged me to stay alert, always get out of my comfort zone and always do more, work and do a little violence to myself.
This pailladin spirit was also that, the grinta, giving oneself. I remember the training sessions we did each time after the weekends…
In fact, this pailladin spirit was also that, the grinta, giving oneself. I remember the training sessions we did each time after the weekends. We would go and race each other in the pine forest. It was a jog but in fact it almost ended in a sprint at certain moments. We wanted to finish first.
This strength led to the title in 2012. How do you explain that this symbiosis was created in the group ?
There was this alchemy between the youngsters of the 90s generation, who won the Gambardella, El Kaoutari, Cabella, Belhanda, Martin, Stambouli… It was great. The coach too, René Girard, in his spirit of trainer, his past in the French team, managed to find this symbiosis, with the experienced guys. There were quite a few, Jeunechamp, Dernis, Colin, Piteau, “Lolo” Pionnier, “Souley” Camara, “Vito” (Hilton) who arrived later… The coach got the best out of them.
That season, you scored 25 goals in total. But there are also these twelve assists, including the one against Lille at La Mosson on the penultimate day…
For Karim (Aït-Fana)!
Every time I see (the assist for Karim Aït-Fana against Lille), I get goosebumps.
You have it in mind ?
Every time I see it, I get goosebumps. With the emotion of the moment, the importance of the moment, the stadium exploding… It's like the goal I scored in the quarter-finals of the World Cup (2022) against England. There's a mixture of feelings, rage, determination.
Only football can give you that kind of emotion. It's indescribable. There, I couldn't believe my eyes when we scored that goal that allowed us to have our destiny in our own hands (on the last day in Auxerre). Even if I don't score, this pass is worth a hat-trick (laughs).
May 13, 2012, 93rd minute: Olivier Giroud overtakes Lille's Chedjou before finding Karim Aït-Fana for a goal in the legend of MHSC and L1. Midi Libre – RICHARD DE HULLESSEN
Is it the best of your career? ?
Yes, yes, the most important. Then there is the action, the fact of resisting the return of (Aurélien) Chedjou who is a hell of a client, having the lucidity to put it at the right time and in the right place. Thank God, Karim had followed!
Also read: 50 years of MHSC: how Laurent Blanc stepped back to the libero position with Montpellier, prelude to an extraordinary destiny
Isn't this action the symbol that you were carried by something irrational ?
Of course! Many things were going well for us. That's what makes champions. Sometimes you're going to score… I remember the match in Nice, I missed a penalty but scored in the last minute on a shift by Gary Bocaly. I ran towards the Montpellier supporters, I threw myself on the ground. These moments mark you. You say to yourself: “Wow!” You were touched by something greater, by the grace of God. The talent was there but when you think about it, everything came together for us to succeed.
I regret not being able to be there (at the 50th anniversary celebrations), not having been there for the 10th anniversary of the title. But I will come back one day, it is close to my heart.
The city, the people had adopted you as one of their own, to the point that some people think you are from Montpellier.
A lot of people in France, a lot, associate me with Montpellier, believe that I was born there. The public discovered me in Montpellier and saw me like a fish in water there. I had to explain that no, I was from Savoy, born in Chambéry, but that yes, I was a Pailladin by adoption.
Your time there lasted two years, not much in the scale of a career. Despite that, do you feel like you have forged unbreakable bonds? ?
Two years is short. But a career goes by so quickly… Obviously I have built relationships with great people, I have kept in touch with most of them. It binds us for life. For that, I regret not being able to be there, not having been there for the 10th anniversary of the title. But I will come back one day, it is close to my heart.
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