Usam president David Tebib and coach David Degouy stood firm in the storm. MIDI LIBRE – MiKAEL ANISSET
Halfway through the championship, Usam is in a disappointing 8th place in Starligue. But the Nîmes team have had three wins and a draw in December, an ongoing run that has allowed them to escape the relegation zone. This Monday, January 13, president David Tebib and coach David Degouy looked back on this contrasting first half of the season.
Almost an hour and a half of interview, Monday January 13 at Parnasse, to take stock of a first half of the season during which “10,000 things happened”, recognizes the new Usam Nîmes coach David Degouy. Who survived six consecutive defeats. And who is looking ahead with his president David Tebib.
Usam Nîmes is 8th in Starligue at the end of the first half, five points from a possible 5th place in Europe, and also five points from the relegation zone. What assessment do you draw from this contrasting first half of the season ?
David Tebib: Given our performance, we would have signed up to be 8th at Christmas, one point behind 6th, at the end of our “rebound operation” (initiated during the international break in November, Editor's note). The last four matches (three wins and one draw) provide a positive foundation for the second half of the championship. We were in a sort of suspended bubble, between the fact that it was both the coach's first experience as number 1 and the last dance of some players, with quite a few new ones and others returning from long-term injuries. The executives were able to take their responsibilities, they verbalized it, and they did not react alone: the young guard pushed behind.
David Degouy: after a good start, Nancy in the Cup, a very good match in Paris against PSG and another very successful one against Créteil, we lacked defensive commitment, goalkeeper saves and shooting success. We had to find the will to win together, to toughen up the defense, to make mistakes. We went from about ten mistakes per match to about thirty!
D. T. and D. D.: we were less scary, we no longer imposed a fight.
On the evening of the defeat against Saint-Raphaël (29-33), the fourth at home, on November 22, Usam is relegated. What do you say to yourselves then ?
D. T.: I'll answer you. After the match, I'm not going to the VIP. I'm going to work in my office, a good part of the night. Jérôme Chauvet (the club's general manager) joins me. The first thing I tell him is that we're not moving at the coach level. And yet, I've received many CVs, text messages, emails from coaches… even for some in office. I showed some to David (Degouy) by the way. I didn't answer anyone. I was holding the course. I saw that the players deserved so much better… We switched to collaboration, with Yann (Balmossière, the assistant) more present on the field and Gaby (Bourguignon, the goalkeeping coach) back on the bench and traveling. So that David could take a little distance. It was the beginning of the rebound operation.
If you had to do it again, would you change anything about these first few months??
D. D.: I ask myself this question every day… which means I haven’t found the answer.. 10,000 things have happened, there have been friction points. We are in a transition season. But the group wants it and still wants it. It has always worked very well… You know how many training sessions have gone badly since this summer ? Just one!
Is there a goalie problem and a Wesley Pardin problem ?
While Baznik, a former Nîmes player, is leading the Starligue goalkeeper rankings, Usam is the elite club with the fewest saves. And the behavior of Pardin, a star recruit who is sometimes detached, sometimes annoyed, raises questions. Response from the president-coach duo: “There is no problem with Wesley Pardin, because he is the first to be unhappy and the first to be sad about what he produces, and he suffers from it. He may have had some friction with the staff, players or a door (sic), but that is his character. We cannot believe that we are not going to see the good version of Wes during the second half of the season. Then, having two new goalkeepers at the same time could have complicated things, as it had been the case with the Baznik-Demaille duo at the beginning. But it has been much better in recent matches, when the defensive work has been done. And whether it is Pardin or Soyez, whose CV is well-established, they have both already proven to us that they know how to make key saves in a game.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000When we look at the recent history of the club, we realize that the first parts of the season with Yann Balmossière as number 1, then Ljubomir Vranjes, were not easy. Was it to be expected that the first months with David Degouy would be so complicated? ?
D. T.: When you set this prerequisite, yes… A new number 1, a new philosophy, a new method, all of this confronted with players at the end of their careers… it could be complicated, and it was. But I prefer that it be in this direction, to be able to project ourselves positively on the second part of the season, with a conquering spirit.
Is Usam still aiming for the top 5 and Europe? ?
D. T.: I'll tell you: for the first time in over twelve years, I didn't set goals for the players during the start-of-year interviews and during my New Year's greetings. At the start of each year, I print out the calendar and display it in the locker room with the schedule. I didn't do it this time either. Because I believe that what matters, today and in the coming months, is the human adventure. They (Rebichon, Tobie, Sanad, Editor's note) deserve the best ending. The fuel will be the adventure. But if it happens, we won't finish 8th…
D. D.: We have a balanced team, to have a good second half of the season. I really like this team because its playing potential is really very high. Its real level is that of December. I want to go higher, yes. We are one point away from the top 6, but we are capable of going further.
D. T.: When you are called Usam, you can only aim to finish very high.
David Tebib, president of Usam but soon no longer of the National Handball League
“I don't want to continue. I'm turning the page. I have other projects that require a lot of investment, and I have Usam!” David Tebib officially announces here that he will not run for the presidency of the National Handball League on February 4. He will have stayed three years at his head, in two periods, including the complicated but well-managed Covid period.
And Usam, which he has chaired since 2012 ? Is there any weariness ? “No, he replies. I am even more motivated!”Another mission that drives him: the ANLSP, the National Association of Professional Sports Leagues, which he also chairs. The fifty-something, soon to be 55, was re-elected president of the structure until 2027.
Precisely, we have the impression, for three years, that Usam has been searching a little, with a stagnation in the ranking, a lack of character that was your strength, recruitment that is not always successful… What is the club's strategy today? ?
D. T.: First of all, we still have the ambition to play at the top of the table. That doesn't change. How ? By placing our trust in the youngsters at our training centre, like Vincent, Gibernon, Derisbourg, Peyre or Poyet who all play a role in the team today, but that requires a high standard on their part; by recruiting experienced players to supervise them, like Faustin next season; and by continuing to attract nuggets like Prandi and Hesham yesterday, like Abdelhak and Kaczor, who will soon be a Polish international, today. Then, and I will be uncompromising on this, by maintaining our defensive DNA, this desire to impress the opponent and give them a hard time. Finally, while perpetuating our “show time”, our fast game, and the arrival of goalkeeper Hodzic (Chambéry), a good relauncher, goes in this direction.
Hodzic and Faustin (Dunkerque, center half) have already signed in Nîmes for next season. How many more recruits do you expect?
Two or three players (priority positions: left winger, right back, right winger). In addition, Zuzo, who is having a good season at Caen (D2) will return on loan. For Antic (loaned to Besançon, D2, injured in the knee, cruciate ligaments), it is more complicated. We have seven end of contracts (Rebichon, Sanad, Tobie, Konradsson, Sissoko, Kamtchop-Baril and goalkeeper Soyez): the vast majority will not be renewed.
Transfer window: the Chambéry sector and vein
Chambery goalkeeper Hodzic and former Savoyard center half Faustin (Dunkerque) have already given their agreement to play in the green colours of Usam next season. According to our information, the Nîmes club is interested in other players from the “Chambée team”: left winger Arthur Anquetil (29 years old), son of Frédéric and nephew of Grégory, trained at Montpellier; as well as the powerful Brazilian right-back Gustavo Rodrigues (also 29 years old). According to one source, it would even be almost done for the first one.
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