How do we see that the Gambardella is definitely not a competition like any other? “At the club, everyone talks about it. There is a special expectation, a different atmosphere. When the draw took place, with the educators with whom I am currently the Trainer (diploma allowing you to manage a training center)we all sent each other messages to know our opponents”comments Gilles Fabien (46 years old) who discovered this special event this season, with Stade Malherbe during the previous round and a trip to Gonfreville, resident of R1 (4-1). However, the coach of the U19 “Rouge et Bleu” since last summer is far from being a neophyte in the world of football. From Le Mans, where he studied in mainland France, to Angoulême, where he hung up his crampons at almost 40 years old (!), via Romorantin, Laval or even Beauvais (non-exhaustive list), the Guyanese has traveled quite a bit … with a formidable skill in front of the cages. He still has 221 National matches to his credit for 72 goals.
This experience will not constitute a luxury to guide his young troop in this Gambardella. Next step: the reception of RC Lens, this Sunday. For a “pro” club, this tournament also represents a showcase. “It’s a measure of the effectiveness of a training center”confirms Gilles Fabien. The SMC is well placed to know this. Two years ago, under the leadership of a certain Nicolas Seube, the 2004-2005* generations stumbled on the final step, beaten by Lyon at the Stade de France (1-1, 5-3 tab). Since then, of the 13 boys who participated in this final in May 2022, eight have worn the first team jersey, in the championship or in the Coupe de France (Robin Verhaeghe, Héliohdinho Tavares, Noé Lebreton, Gabin Tomé, Diabé Bolumbu, Mohamed Hafid, Tidiam Gomis and Norman Bassette), joining Brahim Traoré who had celebrated his baptism of fire in Ligue 2 a few months earlier.
A completely different match from the championship
The Cluver Sambi, with a flattering reputation on the Venoix side and already on the radar of a handful of European teams, are Soan Ameline, U17 international, and other Kylian Lentin able to succeed them? It is too early to answer this question, knowing that none of them has yet appeared in reserve (N3). Still, at Stade Malherbe, the educators are doing everything to put this 2007-2008 generation in the best possible condition for this meeting. While the Caen training center has divided its squad into three this season (Elite, Espoir and Avenir), the young people who will defend the “Red and Blue” colors this Sunday were brought together this week in a specific group. It must also be said that the Gambardella does not concern boys born in 2006. This is why certain players who usually shine in the U19 championship (3e one point behind the two co-leaders, Amiens and PSG) will be absent on the Venoix stadium this weekend, like the prolific Adnane Karroubi (16 goals since the start of this 2024-2025 financial year).
Moreover, to measure the forces present, it is impossible to trust the performances of these two collectives in the championship, even though Caennais and Lensois faced each other just before Christmas with a 3-2 success for SMC. “If we base ourselves on this victory to prepare for the match that awaits us, we are wrong”warns Gilles Fabien. As proof, when the “Blood and Gold” came to Normandy in December, they only presented six players eligible for the Gambardella on the match sheet, half of them as starters. What’s more, the context will be incomparable. “At Malherbe, the priority at the center is the development of the player, results in the championship are almost secondary. But when the Gambardella arrives, we go into competition mode. This competitive spirit must be worked on in our young people.”. However, the former Rouen coach does not intend to make a fixation on this qualification. “I want the kids to have a good match, to give a good image of themselves”. So, as he repeats many times, “stop or again”for Thomas Yvrande and his partners in Gambardella?
> Gambardella Cup. 1/32e final – SM Caen (Nat) / Lens (Nat), Sunday January 12 at 2:30 p.m. at the Venoix-Claude-Mercier Stadium.
*Member of this team, Tidiam Gomis, born in 2006, was outclassed during this epic.
3 pieces of information to get to know Gilles Fabien better
He left his native Guyana at the age of 13!
To achieve their goal of signing professionally for their training club, the young players of the Gambardella team at Stade Malherbe can draw inspiration from their coach. When he was 13, Gilles Fabien took his destiny into his own hands. “I came to the mainland by myself with my backpack”says the native of Cayenne, in Guyana. “I told my parents that I was leaving and I paid for my plane ticket by doing odd jobs”. After two years in the Paris region, where he stayed with his sister, Marlène, the new SMC coach was spotted by a recruiter from Le Mans FC in a schoolyard. “I did a two-three day trial and after that, it lasted three seasons”. The start of a career of almost 25 years!
A notable stint at FC Rouen
Stade Malherbe is not the first Norman club in Gilles Fabien’s CV. During the previous year, the technician officiated at FC Rouen where he led the reserve (R1) and was responsible for training. “Maxime d’Ornano (the former FCR coach, dismissed from his position at the beginning of November)with whom I trained at Le Mans, asked me to give him a hand with training.. This season, the one who also passed through Bourges as an educator was supposed to gain ground. “Max had offered me the opportunity to become his National assistant. I also had to take on the U17s, promoted at national level, as part of my Trainer diploma”.
The phone call from Matthieu Ballon that changed everything
Gilles Fabien’s career as an educator therefore took a completely different turn when Matthieu Ballon, the director of the Stade Malherbe training center, picked up his phone. “When he asked me to become his deputy in National, Max (from Ornano) tells me to think. I’m going to Clairefontaine for my Trainer. At the end of the week, I contact Max to give him my agreement. But I can’t reach him right away. By the time he called me back, about 20 minutes later, I received the phone call from Matthieu to join SM Caen. I asked Max for his opinion and he advised me to go for it.”says the main person concerned.
