He hadn't set foot in Lawson-Body for almost twenty years. At the time, Laurent Chambertin had made a short detour through the Poitevin hall to greet his former teammate Gino Brousseau who had come to Vienne with his Canadian university team to pay a quick visit to the Stade Poitevin then coached by Martin Teffer.
Times have changed a lot but the former Stade smuggler rediscovered for an evening this very special Poitevin atmosphere in this den where no one has forgotten him, as he was able to notice when the announcer announced his presence in full match, with a nice ovation to boot. “I didn’t come there for that but when you see this return, it’s nicehe explained. It's funny. There is a little emotional touch that is not insignificant. » Perhaps because he was not a player like the others.
“It’s great to see that Earvin manages to almost re-mobilize a city”
Under the orders of Eric Ngapeth, he was the passer who guided the Poitevin club to its first French championship title in 1999. As a symbol, he returned to Lawson-Body to see the “great” Earvin, whom he had seen little roaming the stands whether during matches or training. Even if the double Olympic champion was preserved against Paris Volley, due to inflammation in an adductor.
“It conditioned the thing a littleslipped the 58-year-old mental coach. I also felt the need to taste what is being done here again. I did not come back out of nostalgia but out of desire and affection. It was a good time to come back. It's an important slice of life for me, for many players. When you win titles and you add to a club's record, it's always something positive and rewarding. There is a link to be made. » Between past, present and future of a club like no other in French volleyball.
His former teammate at Poitiers and new manager of Alterna SPVB Cédric Enard embodies all of this. And Laurent Chambertin knows that he will be able to build the future of this institution by relying on and respecting its history. “He is intelligent and goodsmiled the man who remained in Vienna until 2003. He knows that the historical DNA of a club is important. We are part of it and ''Nonos'' understood that. It's good that Dan (Lewis)today's players, current managers or the public can know it too. » The new audience in particular.
Laurent Chambertin and Dan Lewis were able to chat during the post-match.
© (Photo cor. NR-CP, Mickaël Pichon)
The one that has been pouring in since the arrival of Earvin Ngapeth, to the point that tickets for a match are sold out in just over an hour on the Alterna Stade Poitevin online ticket office. Impressive even for the man who wore the French team jersey 350 times between 1986 and 2001. “It’s good for volleyballappreciated the one who was a consultant for the Eurosport channel during the Olympic Games. I know this is a city that matters to Earvin. It's great to see that a champion like Earvin manages to almost re-mobilize a city. » And this, even if the atmosphere in which he found himself, this Saturday, during the match against Paris Volley, was a small notch below what he experienced at the end of the 90s and at the beginning from the 2000s. “But it’s gone well”he assured. In the stands as well as on the pitch.
“We have to take the energy of the public and give it back to them”
“I found the match to be of a good overall level. For me, Thibaut Thoral would have deserved to be MVP. He was magnificent, hyper complete and decisive at certain moments. There is a good team, even if I felt them a little tense. There is just one small downside: this communion with the public is still missing. They could have turned the match around quicker if they had done that. Here it is important. You have to take the energy of the public and give it back to them. It’s a magical round trip. » Laurent Chambertin is well placed to know…
