Flight, hell, rebirth… Former RCT third row Mohamed Dridi recounts his extraordinary journey

^“HFortunately, it ends well.“That’s a bit of what everyone could say when listening to the crazy story of Mohamed Dridi.

“Momo”, his nickname, comes from a modest family. He grew up in Mourillon and, from his young years at the Port Marchand school, sometimes slipped away to go and store boxes of shoes in the market. On weekends, he went to work in a supermarket to help his loved ones. As a teenager, he also did shopping for elderly people in the neighborhood.

Yes, Momo has always been hardworking. In life… and in sport. Integrated into the RCT training center, the kid already plans to work harder than average to achieve his goals. At a very young age, he decided to hire a physical trainer. “I had no money, but he was willing to train me“, he remembers.

The flight to Biarritz

So, big is no longer just big. He's getting tough. And transforms. To put all the chances on your side, a dietician even monitors your file. “In my head, I'm professional.” After a contrasting experience in hotel high school, that was going to be his job: Rugby player. “ I made my first professional match at Mayol at 19 or 20 years old, and my career took off. I just want to dedicate myself to that. “

Words are followed by actions. Dridi has established himself as a great hope in French rugby in the third row position. In 2006, it was even the Olympic Biarritz which lured him into its net.

“It was the first time that I received a fantastic salary, two to three times what I was given in Toulon. I come from a family of seven children, with a stay-at-home mother and an invalid father. So when I end up with that much money, it's pretty impressive“, swears the boy, lured by a three-year contract with the Basque behemoth. Is he rushing into the luxurious Pyrenean stores? Not really: “ I mainly went into a Carrefour, heading towards the cake section. There, I said to myself: “I can buy everything!” (laughs) »

And what do the cakes matter? On the pitch, Momo does not soften. During his first months in Biarritz, he did a series of trials and was elected man of the match during the highly anticipated Basque derby. A banner then circulated in the Aguilera stands: “Aupa Momo” (“Salut Momo”). “I am the king of the village! But where I am fooled is that I think that this situation will last a long time and that I will have a fifteen-year career… It will lead to my downfall.“

Debt and the fall

After a promising start, a banker friend introduced him to an investment company. The objective: “make profitable“. “It is supposed to sell off-plan apartments to Caisse d'Épargne customers. I come across a guy who makes me three Camemberts and explains to me that I will be an annuitant at 40. I am young, I have no knowledge of finances, but I decide to trust.“

The problem is that a rugby player only ever has a fixed-term contract. “In the end, they made me buy four apartments. With hindsight, the bank put someone in debt on a fixed-term contract of almost a million euros…“

However, in high-level sport, injury is never far away. And Mohamed is no exception. During the second part of his Biarritz adventure, the front accumulated problems. After shoulder surgery, occurs “ an inexplicable calf injury“He will never recover from this.

“I offered myself for zero euros!”

At 26, Momo is reaching the end of his contract with the BO. “I can't find a team, I can't sleep anymore… I even offered myself for zero euros!“But no Top 14 club wants to bet on this broken man anymore. A question then runs through his head: “What will I become?“With 1 million euros of debt, 120,000 euros of savings blocked by the bank and no diploma, the former hope is at its lowest. He returns to his mother, one hand in front, one hand behind. The luggage is in the way the apartment and the feet protrude from the bed will try to bounce back in the lower divisions, in Saint-Etienne or Marseille.But when you play rugby for money, it can't work “.

Falco's outstretched hand

It was only in 2012 that he found the beginning of a solution to his problems. Present at a ceremony at the Palais Neptune, Dridi meets again the mayor of Toulon, Hubert Falco. The elected official offers to help him and then tells him about the future Léo-Lagrange sports complex. Interviews are to take place soon.

And so it is by “the little door “that Momo goes into fire safety.” In the space of five years, I demonstrate all my potential“, assures the Toulonnais, who gradually obtains his qualifications and diploma… Before climbing the ladder.

Now in his forties and father of four children, he holds the position of deputy head of security department within the Toulon Provence Méditerranée Metropolis. He is also responsible for the security of the Chalucet eco-district in Toulon. “I manage a service with around forty public agents and around forty private agents. I take care of management, planning, conflicts, fire regulations within the sites… And I make sure that everything goes well. Rugby gave me this ease in leading people towards a goal. “To complete his career, he also plans to specialize in anti-terrorism. And so”become a reference within the metropolis on security issues “.

Its debt history is now well behind it. Momo was able to resell three apartments and “save” the money set aside. After years of hardship, he is now very safe.

Also read The taste of defense: Philip Fitzgerald, the former RCT player who became a lawyer at the Toulon bar

Yvan Roux, French champion with the RCT who became a coach… in catering

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