The Stade Malherbe in Caen has seen better days. After a very disappointing Olivier Pickeu era (2020-2024) (debts, excessive salaries, less important training center, etc.), the supporters have not found a smile since the start of a season marking a turning point in the recent history of the club, with the arrival of the Kylian Mbappé clan at the head of the SMC. The vagueness remains around what Malherbe wants to become, in the position of roadblocker (16e15 points) at mid-season after losing four of their last five games. An assessment which caused the exit of Nicolas Seube, local legend, and it was enough to see the protest grow among the supporters. They took advantage of Clermont’s visit to the Michel d’Ornano stadium (0-1 defeat) last weekend to demonstrate their discontent (“Here, only work and loyalty make legends! », “Before wanting to shine abroad, respect local figures! ») and start targeting the captain of the Blues: “Mbappé, the SMC is not your toy! » After almost five months, the project is still unclear and the future of the club, under threat of relegation to the third division for the first time since the 1980s, is uncertain.
A new era without fresh air
We have to go back to the beginning of this new story, launched during the summer, when the man whose father had preferred Monaco to Calvados in his youth decided to put (big) balls in the SMC. The first rumors circulated around the Euro, it became official last September: the Mbappé family, via the Coalition Capital fund of its company Interconnected Ventures, became the majority shareholder of the club up to 80% for a sum between 15 and 20 million euros. The first objectives are simple: bring Caen back to Ligue 1, an elite left in 2018-2019, to stabilize the club there and establish it as the spearhead of Normandy. “ They announced the buyout on July 30, but they didn’t arrive until septemberrecalls Maxime, a regular at D’Ornano. Given the management of this summer, the time it took, we had to do the whole summer without a sports director and president. » Not ideal for launching a project.
At the presidency, it is Ziad Hammoud, close to the family, who takes charge and who makes it known that this new chapter will begin from the 2025-2026 season, suggesting that the most important thing was to stick together. belt for the one to come. “ For me, it’s a bit scary, the fact that he only talks about next season, that the start of the project is 2025-2026continues Maxime. What we see on the pitch seems quite realistic, but also terrifying from our point of view, because, here, today, we are five points from first non-relegation, without winning a single match. » The replacement of Seube by Bruno Baltazar, who did not come out of nowhere, but who also did not reassure his people by falling into the classic trap of wanting to do too much during his presentation (« Bringing this club to Europe is my dream. You can call me a dreamer or naive, but that’s my goal. »). Knowing that Mbappé had also thought about taking shares in AS Monaco and Nîmes, the question of his involvement and his ambitions for his new “toy” are legitimate.
Silence and tons of questions
As Thierry Henry says, « Saint-Denis is not Paris »and neither does Caen. The SMC is not PSG, even if the enthusiasm is still present among the Normans, with the 10,000 subscriber mark crossed this summer despite several years of floundering in Ligue 2. The fans do not want to attack their new boss for free , but deplore a certain silence. “ That he doesn’t have time to come to Caen, I understand, it’s perfectly acceptableassures Olaf, president of MNK 96, the main ultra Caen group. But, at least he needs to make a statement on his behalf, either by video or in writing, that he speaks out. It is still him, we will say, who is the owner of SM Caen. » Pierre-Antoine Capton is now a minority shareholder, and Malherbe lovers are waiting for a speech and looking for a guideline. “ The only one who knows where he’s going is Prêcheur (the former OL women’s coach appointed to head the training center, Editor’s note), he clearly explained his project, particularly vis-à-vis the training center, with his idea of playing in the same system, which is done in the Netherlands, at Ajax or in other big clubsdevelops Maxime. I don’t know if there will be a link with the pros given the current state, but at least as far as the reserves. »
What I personally think of the Mbappé clan is that their way of life, their way of seeing things, is surely light years away from a modest popular club like the SMC.
Bad results are one thing, Seube’s brutal dismissal is another. Like a straw that broke the camel’s back for the D’Ornano faithful, fiercely attached to their former emblematic player. “SM Caen is a family. And when we touch a member of the family, inevitably the rest of the family he expresses himself »illustrates Olaf in reference to the banners deployed last week. Before continuing: “ I have reservations about the new shareholder, because I think we might have some. What I personally think of the Mbappé clan is that their way of life, their way of seeing things, is surely light years away from a modest popular club like the SMC. So we don’t necessarily have the same vision. What do they want to do with it? We will still say for the moment that I am convinced, except in relation to the episode with the coach. »
The Caen ultras don’t know any more than the others, to tell the truth. When certain leaders sometimes take the decision to meet groups of supporters, who can be considered as a counter-power, when arriving at a new club, those of Caen have not yet shown the tip of their nose to the faithful. “I have no feedback from them partconfirms Olaf. What really is the weight, the say of Kylian Mbappé in all this? What are their wishes regarding a modest club like ours? Is it compatible? Why do we have 10,000 subscribers? Because they like SM Caen as it is. Afterwards, yes, like any club, we need people who invest to make it grow a little. And we’re not against that, obviously. » It is not yet the time for promises in Normandy, where there are still a lot of unanswered questions on the eve of the reception of Grenoble, Saturday afternoon, a match in which victory will be a little more obligatory for not start the return phase seeing his delay on the other competitors in maintaining increase. All that remains for Kylian Mbappé is to find a way to follow “his” team from Saudi Arabia, thousands of kilometers from the worry of Normandy.
Caen supporters target Mbappé on a banner
