The MHSC VB hosts Poitiers, Tuesday (8 p.m.), on behalf of the 13th day of League A. A clash between the two French Olympic champions who are playing in the country in front of a packed Palais des sports in Castelnau-le-Lez.
A year separates Nicolas Le Goff (32 years old) and Earvin Ngapeth (33 years old), a lifetime on the court brings them together. With friends from the golden generation, they brought the French team to the firmament of world volleyball. This summer, three years after the historic success in Tokyo, they won their second Olympic title at a memorable home Games. The peak of a career in blue that began together in 2008 as cadets.
This Tuesday evening in Castelnau-le-Lez, and it has not happened so often in their journey across Europe, they will share the evening without wearing the same jersey. The Montpellier of the colossus receives the Poitiers of the global star. “I already played against Earvin during the 2017-2018 season when I played for Latina in Italy and him for Modena, remembers Nicolas Le Goff. It's better to have him on your team, it's more fun to play with his friends, but I also like the idea of facing them from time to time. I met Benjamin Toniutti in the Champions League with Montpellier but also Kévin Tillie, Antoine Brizard and many others…”
“A generous, affectionate guy”
This time, in a packed Palais des sports Jacques Chaban-Delmas for the first time since the final of the 2022 championship won by the MHSC VB, Nicolas Le Goff will have to share the poster with his friend.
The Montpellier resident who is not the type to look for light will happily be content with it. He knows the character Earvin Ngapeth and his impact perfectly: “He can convey a particular image to the general public but he's a generous, affectionate guy, a great guy. In a locker room, he is unifying, he deserves the status he has. His level of play and his exploits l have propelled themselves to the forefront but he did not knowingly do it for his image. He always did it for the collective.
A fine connoisseur of French sport, Nicolas Le Goff places his friend on the same level as the greatest: “He is the showcase of French volleyball, he gets people talking about our sport, it's a bit like Nikola Karabatic in handball. Often, when I meet people who ask me what I do and I answer that I play volleyball , they speak to me directly about Earvin Ngapeth.”
“An artistic part in him”
For the central MHSC VB, Ngapeth the rapper volleyball player is an artist on and off the field: “He has his own way of playing with, at the same time, a false nonchalance, extraordinary defensive qualities but also spectacular gestures which are not in the books and a particular vision of the game… The fact that he makes music, that he is creative on the field, it is not trivial, he must have an artistic part in him.”
In January, Nicolas Le Goff will once again become the only French Olympic champion player to play in the domestic championship. In the meantime, he measures what Ngapeth's freelancing has brought with the Poitiers jersey: “His arrival offered additional visibility and another dimension to the championship. Everyone talked about him, when he played the rooms were full. And I even think that the fact that it was over a short period of time amplified the effect .”
An effect that Nicolas Le Goff and Earvin Ngapeth will be able to see together this evening. And then there will be a match to win.
The match
After a series of five victories in a row, the MHSC VB found itself on a bad slope after the defeat in Narbonne (3-0). Saturday November 30, the first defeat at home, against Toulouse (3-2), ended up plunging an entire club into doubt.
However, the Montpellier residents reacted this weekend by sharply beating the French champion Saint-Nazaire (0-3) at the end of a high-level performance. “The situation can turn very quickly in one direction or the other, we don't panic, explained Nicolas Le Goff in the week before the trip to Loire-Atlantique. We will have to use the right things to progress, to start again to win regularly. We are able to show serenity, we can turn the situation around. When we were champion in 2022, we also experienced difficult times. At the moment, the club is putting pressure on us and that is normal. . If we get to come out of it grown, we will have won everything.”
In this sense, the reception in Poitiers in a packed room committed to the local cause is an ideal moment to initiate a positive dynamic. With the opportunity, in the event of victory, to regain second place in the ranking.
