Against Poitiers, Nicolas Le Goff meets Earvin Ngapeth, his friend and teammate with the Blues

Le Goff retrouve son compère ce mardi soir. JEAN MICHEL MART

MHSC VB hosts Poitiers on Tuesday (8pm) for the 13th day of Ligue A. A clash between the two French Olympic champions who play in their country in front of a packed Palais des sports in Castelnau-le-Lez.

A year separates Nicolas Le Goff (32 years old) and Earvin Ngapeth (33 years old), a whole life on the courts brings them together. With the friends of the golden generation, they brought the French team to the firmament of world volleyball. This summer, three years after the historic success in Tokyo, they won their second Olympic title during memorable Games on home soil. The high point of a career in blue that began together in 2008 as cadets.

This Tuesday evening in Castelnau-le-Lez, and it has not happened so often in their journey across Europe, they will share the evening without wearing the same jersey. The colossus' Montpellier hosts the global star's Poitiers. “I already played against Earvin during the 2017-2018 season when I was playing at Latina in Italy and he was playing at Modena, remembers Nicolas Le Goff. It's better to have him on your team, it's more fun to play with your friends, but I also like the idea of ​​facing them from time to time. I met Benjamin Toniutti in the Champions League with Montpellier but also Kévin Tillie, Antoine Brizard and many others…”

“A generous, affectionate guy”

This time, in a packed Palais des sports Jacques Chaban-Delmas for the first time since the 2022 championship final won by MHSC VB, Nicolas Le Goff will have to share the bill with his friend.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

The Montpellier player, who is not the type to seek the spotlight, will happily settle for it. He knows perfectly well the character Earvin Ngapeth and his impact: “He can convey a particular image to the general public but he is a generous, affectionate guy, a great guy. In a locker room, he is a unifier, he deserves the status he has. His level of play and his exploits have propelled him to the forefront of the stage but he did not do it knowingly for his image. He has always done it for the team.”

A connoisseur of French sport, Nicolas Le Goff places his buddy on the same level as the greatest: “He is the showcase of French volleyball, he gets people talking about our sport, it's a bit like Nikola Karabatic in handball. Often, when I meet people who ask me what I do and I answer that I play volleyball, they talk to me directly about Earvin Ngapeth.”

“An artistic part in him”

For the MHSC VB center, Ngapeth the volleyball rapper is an artist on and off the field: “He has his own way of playing with, at the same time a false nonchalance, exceptional defensive qualities but also spectacular gestures that are not in the books and a particular vision of the game… The fact that he makes music, that he be creative on the field, it is not trivial, he must have an artistic part in him.”

In January, Nicolas Le Goff will once again become the only French Olympic champion to play in the domestic championship. In the meantime, he is measuring what Ngapeth's stint with the Poitiers jersey has brought: “His arrival has provided additional visibility and another dimension to the championship. Everyone has talked about him, when he plays the halls are full. And I even think that the fact that it was for a short period of time has amplified the effect.”

An effect that Nicolas Le Goff and Earvin Ngapeth will be able to see together tonight. And then, there will be a match to win.

The match

After a series of five consecutive victories, MHSC VB has reluctantly found itself on a bad slope since the defeat in Narbonne (3-0). Saturday, November 30, the first defeat at home, against Toulouse (3-2), has finished plunging an entire club into doubt.

However, Montpellier reacted this weekend by beating the French champion Saint-Nazaire (0-3) at the end of a high-flying performance. “The situation can turn very quickly in one direction or the other, we are not panicking, explained Nicolas Le Goff in the week preceding the trip to Loire-Atlantique. We will have to use the good things to progress, start winning regularly again. We are able to show serenity, we can turn the situation around. When we were champions in 2022, we also experienced difficult times. Right now, the club is putting pressure on us and that's normal. If we can come out of this stronger, we will have won everything.”

In this sense, hosting Poitiers in a packed house committed to the local cause is an ideal moment to start a positive dynamic. With the opportunity, in the event of victory, to regain second place in the standings.