Ferri sidelined, Lecomte on the bench: in Montpellier, the executives are reshuffled to get the machine going again

Omeragic, devenu peu à peu l'un des leaders, et Bertaud, doublure de Lecomte propulsée au premier plan, signes d'un changemet en cours ? Midi Libre – ALEXANDRE DIMOU

L’entraîneur montpelliérain Michel Der Zakarian a bousculé ses cadres, face à Auxerre, avec plusieurs choix forts. Une décision qui devrait durer, ce samedi 28 septembre à Monaco.

Behind his piercing gaze, Michel Der Zakarian is a poker enthusiast? The Montpellier HSC coach certainly gave the impression of going all-in last Sunday. Against Auxerre, the man who was said to be on an ejection seat after three defeats in four matches, hit hard and put his cards on the table by excluding Jordan Ferri from the group and preferring Dimitry Bertaud to Benjamin Lecomte in goal. Two strong choices, to which must be added the starting line-up of young Yanis Issoufou rather than Tanguy Coulibaly. A small bolt from the blue, or a double or quits that should continue in Monaco, this Saturday.

Ferri, Lecomte: between them, the midfielder and the goalkeeper represent nearly half of the “executives” of the Montpellier locker room, an essential corporation but regularly singled out in recent seasons. Never to this extent.“In football, no one is untouchable. Whether it was in my time or today. You have to repeat your performances and be consistent in your performance to be on the field”, explained the technician on Thursday.

Shaking up a group

This is not the first time the Franco-Armenian has tried. At the end of last season, Wahbi Khazri was also left out for three games, the price of a season that fell well short of expectations for an experienced player, but also because of the Tunisian's sometimes very unappreciated attitudes.

Today, the warning shot came in a more collective context. Internally, some saw it as a desire to shake up a group that wasn't hard-working enough. The criticism isn't so new since Olivier Dall’Oglio or Romain Pitau had also raised the problem in their time.

Others believe, in essence, that "if you want to criticize, you have to set an example first". A clear allusion to remonstrances that several elements could have recently addressed to the staff. Before suffering a backlash ? Jordan Ferri having lived a last season below his standards, the most surprising was undoubtedly that experienced by Benjamin Lecomte, put aside in favor of Dimitry Bertaud.

Bertaud, more than an interim ?

A major player in maintaining the club after his return to the club in January 2023 – with a first match at Auxerre and a penalty deflected by Birama Touré for the record – the former Monaco player then suffered from a very disabling problem with a foot. His understudy took advantage of this to return to the forefront, nine months after a serious knee injury that had probably deprived him of the starting spot left vacant by Jonas Omlin the following winter.

“Dim” inherited it last Sunday after a start to the season with 13 goals conceded in four matches by the Hérault defence. “I felt that we had conceded a lot of goals and that something had to happen to stop conceding them. He had a good end to the season with us. That's why I put him in. I had already hesitated last weekend”, justified Michel Der Zakarian, on the evening of the match against Auxerre (3-2).

Certainly marked by two new opposing goals, the match also allowed Bertaud to make several reassuring interventions. An additional sign of a growing maturity, in the wake of his new career with the Democratic Republic of Congo selection. In Monaco, the 26-year-old goalkeeper should once again be in the Pailladin goals. For more than an interim ?

Locker room in recomposition

The question arises for the moment since ’"there was an effect" against AJA, Der Zak acknowledged on Thursday. "But it has to last", added the technician. If the results follow, will the redistribution of the cards continue in the locker room ? In addition to Téji Savanier, whose investment has been high in recent weeks, Becir Omeragic and the latest arrival Birama Touré are expected to take on more and more depth.

The Malian midfielder has already served as a relay for his coach in the past, at Nantes (2012-2016). Before becoming captain at Auxerre. “I'm not coming here as a savior”, the 32-year-old insisted on placing on Thursday. “There are executives who have been here for a long time, whether it's Téji (Savanier), or Wahbi (Khazri), “Ben” Lecomte… I'm staying in my place, he continued. But if I have to say something to the group to help it move forward, I will."

As for the Swiss, he is already an essential cog. The armband, given for the first time during the 34th and final day in Lens last May, was not a bluff. Not Der Zak's style.

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