Pascal Baills, Gérard Bernardet and Pierre Bourdel, the club's communications director, took over the management of Lourdes in June 2003, under the mocking eye of Loulou Nicollin. Midi Libre – RICHARD DE HULLESSEN
During the 2002-2003 season, the club had been up to 9 points behind the first non-relegation teams, a gap filled by signing seven victories in only ten matches. Which had pushed coaches Gérard Bernardet and Pascal Baills to reach Lourdes by bike.
Making up a 5-point deficit on the first non-relegation team in 16 games. The task suddenly seems less insurmountable for Montpellier after its victory against Monaco (2-1). Even if the 13th is already 9 lengths behind… Such a comeback is not a figment of the imagination. Montpellier has even done it before. The more or less old-timers remember this totally crazy 2002-2003 season which saw the MHSC, the bottom team, come back from a 9-point deficit and its coach Gérard Bernardet head to Lourdes by bike to celebrate this little miracle, escorted by his assistant Pascal Baills.
During this poorly-matched season, the two men took over the team at the end of October with Ghislain Printant, when Louis Nicollin decided to dismiss Michel Mézy. Montpellier was then the first team to be relegated with 10 points, but the psychological shock had not really taken place. At the break, Louis Nicollin's protégés were shining at the bottom of the table with only 16 points and 3 wins (26 goals conceded……).
Success at the Parc in the form of a trigger
Like this year, the Pailladins had experienced a hellish descent without knowing that they were going to hit rock bottom on the evening of the 25th day with 18 points on the clock. That is 9 behind Ajaccio, 17th. Nothing then suggested the fabulous series that was going to start at the Mosson against Strasbourg (2-1): 7 victories in ten matches, including a fabulous success at the Parc, against PSG, which completely transformed the head and legs of the MHSC.
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 at 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.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000Players, 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 available on newsstands Midi Libre
Today Jean-Louis Gasset's assistant, Ghislain Printant focuses on his task and leaves it to his former colleagues to draw parallels. Pascal Baills is the one who takes it on: “When you don't get results, doubt sets in. And then we had quite a few young players in the team, like Geoffrey Doumeng or the late Valéry Mézague, who needed matches to gain experience. It's proof that even when things are tough, you have to keep working because it can pay off.”
“There was a lot of enthusiasm from the group”
Supervised by Laigle, Barbosa and Carotti, the kids won six-point matches in Sedan and Troyes to get back above the waterline on the 32nd day and definitively ensure their survival in the 37th, with a draw at La Mosson against Lyon (1-1) who are celebrating their 2nd title in a row.
From there to drawing a parallel with Montpellier version 2025, the club's former full-back takes a cautious approach to the comparison : “There was a lot of enthusiasm coming from the group in 2003 and the figures are not the same. We had only conceded 26 goals at the break. Now, 42 is a lot. What is disconcerting is that this team is almost capable of winning in Lyon and then collapsing at home against Angers. I can only see fear to explain that…”
Baills: “You have to believe in it, you can't give up”
In a championship with eighteen clubs, it would take at least eight wins and a handful of draws in Montpellier to rewrite this story in pink ink. “It's possible if Le Havre and Saint-Étienne get stuck, Baills hopes. You have to believe it, you can't give up halfway through the championship but you have to realize that they no longer have the right to make mistakes against the bottom-of-the-table teams.”
The irony of this old story is that this pilgrimage to Lourdes did not prolong the divine light on the trio of Montpellier coaches for long. “In February of the following year, we were replaced by Robert Nouzaret” concludes Baills. The last rites after Loulou's blessing. And a relegation to L2 in 2004.
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