Far from his current costume as president, he was a young man who well illustrates what La Maladrerie is when he first opened the doors of this neighborhood club, located in the middle of the suburban streets of the northwest of Caen. . “I arrived in this city in 1987, my accommodation was rue de Bayeux, I was looking for a club, I knew Vincent (Laigneau)I came there. I felt good here, I never left. »
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Nearly forty years later, Thierry Deslandes is a music enthusiast who plays the leading role, that of conductor, at the head of a group of 680 licensees. Every day, it's rock'n'roll. “I spend a lot of time there. I have a wife who doesn't like football, but who is accommodating and also committed. She understands but says to me from time to time: “Thierry, that’s enough.” There isn't a day when I don't have a phone call, an email, a meeting for the club. I have a family life, children, grandchildren, to whom I should devote more time, an important professional life, a very developed community and sporting life. I don't sleep well at night, because even without being stressed, we think about our club, upcoming meetings, human difficulties. It's a constant fight. My parents raised me in this mold of involvement for others. That interests me. »
“He completely embodies this social Mos, this neighborhood club where we try to be open”
President of the Amicale des Gars de Crouttes, football version, for four decades, his dad Raymond gave him this fiber in the Ornaise commune where the family comes from. “The first word that comes to me is sharing and being close to people, affirms Vincent Laigneau, returned to the bench this summer after being convinced by the president. Thierry (Deslandes) shares with everyone, he takes care of all people whoever they are. He completely embodies this social Mos, this neighborhood club where we try to be open. This is its great strength. Thanks to him, everyone who enters the stadium finds something there. »
Player, Thierry Deslandes found great emotions there. “The club made an 8e Coupe de France round only once. Our goal is to do at least as well”he said 72 hours from the reception in Bolbec (R1) on 7e round. Twenty-three years ago, he was there. “On the sidelines, as second goalkeeper. It was my last season as a player. »
Thierry Deslandes (right) was the second goalkeeper to Vincent Laigneau (left) during La Maladrerie's only 8th round of the Coupe de France, in 2001. The two men will be reunited at the club again in 2024. DR
“I wanted the Mos to be an actor in its living area”
Since then, La Maladrerie (R1) has remained true to itself, but has been transformed. Today it has ten employees, including five work-study students and a budget of €600,000 to assume all its responsibilities. And his desires. Every Tuesday and Thursday, in partnership with the local mission and Pôle emploi, groups of people looking for work or reintegration are present in Déterville. On the program: sports and rehabilitation sessions supervised by the Mos. “La Maladrerie is one of the districts of Calvados where there are the most people in this situation and we cannot ignore the sector in which we operate, believes Thierry Deslandes. I wanted the Mos to be an actor in its area of life and for our employees to be able to have missions and an openness to other things. »
For the head of the Normandy Region's events hub, it's a fast-paced life, filled with problems to solve and collective joys, around a team of around ten volunteers. “historical”. “He took over from Jean-Claude Guillouf, who said that there is a capital social vector for young people in this club, summarizes Vincent Laigneau. I discover him as a leader and I see clearly that he does not count his time. He is the social man, the neighborhood man, the man of openness. »
The one who is still there after thirteen years of presidency, head full of projects, from women to young people. Eager to see La Maladrerie challenge Stade Malherbe in the next round. “If it happens, it will be a great celebration. We have become attractive again. We don't succeed at everything. There are reframes all the time. We are in a human situation, we cannot control everything in the stands, on the edge of the pitch, but we must strive towards that. I think we did things in order, by first taking care of young people, by recruiting educators. Today, the base is healthy and we have the living area for it. Now it's time for the first team. »On Sunday, his brother Damien, a sports photographer in Normandy, will be there with the hope of immortalizing smiles. What photo of his brother does he imagine to best represent him? “He with lots of people around, from all generations, from all social backgrounds”.
Thierry Deslandes (right in the foreground) celebrates here qualifying for the 7th round of the 2024-2025 Coupe de France with the La Maladrerie locker room (R1). Thierry Deslandes
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