The MHSC VB hosts Arago this Friday (8 p.m.) at the Palais des sports in Castelnau-le-Lez. Montpellier Corentin Phelut and Sétois Enzo Lopez, trained in their respective clubs, talk.
More than just a derby, the match between Montpellier and Sète always has particular importance. If we are far from the atmosphere of yesteryear, when the players liked to wage war on the field to achieve victory and meet up to party together the same evening, this Hérault derby is still very unique.
With the one which opposes the two cities in water polo, it is the only meeting which brings together in the elite the thousand-year-old City and the Venice of Languedoc, Montpelhièr and Seta. This match is above all an opportunity to highlight the very different identity of these two territories.
“In my opinion, one of the values of Montpellier volleyball is loyalty, believes MHSC VB libero Corentin Phelut, who is returning to his training club this season. The club has existed for a long time, it evolves every year, it has players in its ranks who are proud to wear its colors and who will do anything to wet the jersey. We can also talk about competitiveness with its high-level structures and the desire to seek titles every season.”
Lopez: “The Arago, a family”
For Enzo Lopez, libero from Sète who signed his first professional contract in Sète this summer, “Arago is a family. Whether it's the supporters or the players, we're always together in good times and bad.”
At 18, the native of Nîmes measures his chance of playing in his favorite club: “I've been coming to see Sète matches since I was little with my parents. I'm living a dream. I have my jersey, my name printed, people come specially to see us. And above all, we represent a club and a city.”
Opposite, Corentin Phelut (24 years old, born in Montpellier) experiences the same emotions as his young opponent: “I don't quite realize yet, I still get chills when I play at home. I remember the first matches I saw, I was 12 or 13 years old when my dad took me to the gym . I'm very lucky to be here. I was born in this city, it was a dream for me.”
Phelut: “A pressure that will galvanize us”
The two young men went through the Pôle Espoirs and the Pôle France at Creps de Montpellier but also through AS Beaux-Arts Montpellier. They know the stakes but will discover the derby for the first time as a professional: “The first matches I saw when I was little were against Sète, remembers Corentin Phelut. On the pitch, there will inevitably be additional pressure which will galvanize us.”
And Enzo Lopez concludes: “It’s the match of the year. When we arrive at training, when we meet the club’s managers, educators or volunteers, we feel that this match is special.”
The match
The first Montpellier – Sète of the season is a meeting between two teams who have had a successful start to the season. The Montpellier residents even started with a bang with a series of five league successes which followed the victory in the Supercup against Saint-Nazaire (3-2). The MHSC VB nevertheless remains on two consecutive defeats, the first in Narbonne and the second immediately in Tourcoing, each time with a score of 3-0. Second in the ranking, Nicolas Le Goff and his partners will be keen to restart the machine at the Palais des sports Chaban-Delmas where they are still undefeated.
For its part, Arago also delights its supporters. Exempt during the first day and defeated during the second against Tourcoing (1-3), Sète won the next three with this Nice performance against Poitiers from Earvin Ngapeth (0-3) in the small Maurice-Vié gymnasium . Winners in Nice (0-3) and Paris (2-3), the Sétois have not yet lost far from their base. A good omen for Luc Marquet's players who will have to do without the Halle du Barrou, under construction all season. In Castelnau, the Hérault derby promises to be as uncertain as it is spectacular.
