Appere, there aren’t two!

Those who have been around him for a long time and know his jackal mentality are not even surprised. But clearly admiring. Like Michael Brunet, Montgivray coach and friend of the rare bird: “What he does is exceptional. In Indre, there are no two like him. And there won’t be any more, I think.”.

It’s clear, there are no two like Appère, Jérôme of his first name, the half-century on the clock and the last surviving player from the 2012 Coupe de l’Indre final who is preparing to return to the pitch. Gaston-Petit twelve years later, this Saturday April 27, 2024. Crazy longevity and perhaps unprecedented at this level of competition. “He lasts a whole match in Regional 3 and even 120 minutes against an R2 team (Le Poinçonnet) in the semi-final. It’s incredible, especially physically”adds Michael Brunet, amazed.

Jérôme Appère has not found the magic potion of eternal youth. “Physically, I know that I am playing against time”, he conceives. In his head, it’s not so sure: “I don’t see myself being 50. » He has them, but it doesn’t show on a green rectangle, where his exaggerated grin erases the weight of the years. “In life, I am a quiet and discreet guy. On a field, my competitive spirit takes over and I always want to eat the other person”, sums up this old-fashioned central defender, adept at individual marking. Leech version.

In his very long career, Jérôme Appère has exasperated a host of attackers, drunk by his infallible tenacity. The same one that still allows it to compete today. “I have no choice, all I have left is this, he said. At my age, I can no longer fight at speed. » He would almost be offended, as if he wanted to twist the neck of the nature of things.

A temporary one that lasted

And he works at it, like a self-confessed physical exertion addict: “I start from a simple principle: if you don’t exercise, you’re dead. » So, when he’s not letting off steam on the meadow, the madman sometimes takes on marathons! “He does too much, he is always in action: football, mountain biking, running, everything he can do. They tell him to take it easy, but it’s Jérôme, he’s stronger than him. We can say that he maintains himself! »laughs Michael Brunet.

However, the USM coach must have had some insomnia in the face of the man’s hyperactivity. Because Jérôme Appère has been his unexpected firefighter on duty this season to compensate for the slaughter of injuries in the defense as the winter break approaches. “I was playing with team 3 until then. Mika told me: “I’m in trouble, come and give us a hand”, specifies Appère. Initially, it was to help out, as a substitute and to play only a few minutes”.

“I want to show the example on the ground”

But, on December 17, 2023, he was bombed in Vierzon. He will no longer leave the eleven of the flag team. Too efficient, always. Too essential to supervise the young Montgivraine squad. Until this Indre Cup final. “It’s their adventure, the young people. I am here and I listen. I’ve known too many older people who talked too much with the young people for nothing. I want to show the example on the ground”he chants.

Modest by nature, Jérôme Appère cannot, however, hide his pride in being still fit at his age for such an event. “I would be lying if I said otherwise, he concedes. But I don’t just do it for myself. I also do it for my club, for my parents and for my children. » His eldest Maxime, 16 years old and resident of Berrichonne football, should be wary, he is soon old enough to have his father as a teammate.

Ludovic Lagasse

Final of the Coupe de l’Indre, Montgivray (R3) – Déols (R1), Saturday April 27, at 8 p.m., at the Gaston-Petit stadium. Referee: Mr. Aubard.