Zidane, Platini, Macron… several personalities pay tribute to Gervais Martel for his 70th birthday

RC Lens devoted a large file to Gervais Martel in its latest magazine published in November. In the biannual, 50 testimonies are compiled, notably from personalities such as Zidane, Platini or Emmanuel Macron, presenting the facets of a man who devoted his life to the Blood and Gold.

Arsène Wenger, emblematic figure of French football who coached the English club Arsenal from 1996 to 2018 “would have liked to have him as president“.

The latest Sang et Or magazine published by the Racing Club de Lens compiles 50 new testimonies from personalities from the world of football, television and the media on the occasion of Gervais Martel’s 70th birthday. Under the pens of Emmanuel Macron, Zinedine Zidane or Michel Platini, we discover a man “keen“, “warm“, who does not seek to assert his truths, a natural aura. “The first name of Gervais acts as a real key. All the personalities, even those who were reluctant at the beginning, immediately made themselves available at the mention of his name.“, testifies Bastien Kossek, editor-in-chief of the magazine.

Child of the mining area, it was in 1988 that the Oigninois, then a young 33-year-old entrepreneur, took over as president of a club in the midst of a crisis. The Sang et Or have just been relegated, after a disastrous season with only 17 points collected, the lowest points total in the history of the French first division.

The challenge that awaits him is immense, but so is his ambition and his unwavering will. 10 years after taking the reins of the club, Lens won its first, and to date, only French champion title (1998). “What is remarkable is the ability he has to take everyone along. He’s a man who always wins“, confides in the magazine Eric Sikora, legend of the club.

A title which allows Lens to participate in the Champions League. During this edition, the Lensois beat Arsenal at Wembley, becoming the first French club to win in this legendary stadium. Four years later, Lens returned to the biggest European competition after finishing second in the French championship. “We were guided by the desire to advance and renovate French football“, indicates Jean-Michel Aulas, another great club president (Olympique Lyonnais).

Gervais Martel, who definitively left the presidency of RC Lens in 2017 after two stints (1988-2012, 2013-2017), is praised in the magazine for his altruism. “To know who Gervais is, you just have to see him at work with Chance aux Enfants (editor’s note: his association). What he did at the Olympic Games was extraordinary. He makes so many people happy, it’s his driving force“, praises Xavier Bertrand, president of the Hauts-de-France region. With his association, he has helped 15 000 children from disadvantaged backgrounds to go to Paris to experience the magic of the Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

He also does not hesitate to mortgage his property to save his favorite club from a delicate financial situation or to pay for the funerals of supporters, former employees and players of the club report in the magazine.

An iconic and media character, a figure whose history is inextricable from that of RC Lens, but above all an ordinary man. Weakened by a serious illness, which he mentioned for the first time this summer, Martel did not want a magazine devoted to him. “He doesn’t like to show off“, explains Bastien Kossek.

When the editors offered him the opportunity to read only one testimony before the periodical was printed, he chose that of his successor and had tears in his eyes when he discovered the passages. “He and RC Lens are one (…) I never tried to replace him, he is irreplaceable. Larger than life. That’s it Gervais“, writes Joseph Oughourlian, the current president of RC Lens.