Football: Gallia club Lunel mourns its president Richard Nacarlo

Un sourire et une humilité qui manqueront tant. Archives Midi Libre – Christian Gesbert

L’ancien policier municipal à la tête du club de foot local depuis 2021 a tiré sa dernière révérence dans la nuit de ce jeudi 19 septembre.

He lost his last match. The one he had started years ago against his illness. On the night of Thursday, September 19, Richard Nacarlo made his final pass with life.

Despite a few months of extension, the president of the Gallia club Lunel since 2021 bowed out at the age of 66, plunging into deep and unspeakable sorrow his wife Isabelle, his two daughters from a first marriage Karine and Julie, his mother Gilette, his friends, the Gallia club, the entire football world and his supporters in every sense of the word.

His beginnings as a player at ASPTT Montpellier

Born on January 31, 1958 in Montpellier, originally from Sussargues, where he spent his childhood and teenage years, Richard Nacarlo was the eldest of two brothers and three sisters.

Before making his mark in the football cages, it was behind the cash register of his parents' tobacco shop located in Montpellier that he counted the points. A job that he quickly put aside in favor of the vocation of municipal police officer. It was through this profession that Richard Nacarlo arrived at the municipal police station in Lunel.

As a goalkeeper

He spent the majority of his career there before ending it as head usher in the mayor's office. But Richard Nacarlo was above all a lover, a football enthusiast.

He spent his entire sporting career in goal as a goalkeeper to stop the round ball. The one he teased in the early years at ASPTT Montpellier.

It was the mid-seventies. His Lunel opponents were Marc Valentin (current treasurer of Gallia) and Gérard Di Vuolo. “I knew him when we played juniors, recalls the latter. He was part of ASPTT Montpellier and I was already playing at Gallia, remembers, moved, the faithful friend since their youth. I often reminded him of this anecdote: during a match where we were playing Brunel, I shot from outside the box. The shot was perfect, it went straight into the top corner. Richard flew up and saved the ball with a magnificent tap, he continued. I told him that he owed his amateur career to that save. It always made us laugh a lot."

The Hérault Cup in 1984

With the arrival of the eighties, goalkeeper Nacarlo also arrived in the Gallia cages, which won the Hérault Cup in 1984. Until the senior level, he defended the black and white jersey that he cherished so much to the point of joining the club's staff in 2016.

As vice-president, Richard Nacarlo then joins Hugues Maillet, Gérard Di Vuolo, Marc Valentin, Jean-Pierre Zapata. Alongside a generation of motivated young people, they want to put the Gallia club Lunel back on track. “He always gave his all for the club and for the people around him in this adventure, reveals David Dugaret, secretary general of the club. When I was with him, his phone rang constantly. He was always in demand but always found a way to help people. Richard, it was kindness, sharing, listening."

Tributes

A ceremony at the Fernand-Brunel stadium on Wednesday morning
Richard Nacarlo's funeral will take place on Wednesday, September 25. A religious ceremony will be held at 9:30 a.m. in the Notre-Dame-du-Lac church in Lunel, exceptionally opened by the municipality despite the work in order to welcome all the people who will come to pay their last respects to the president of Gallia.

À 10:30 a.m., a tribute will be paid to him at the Fernand-Brunel stadium with the family, the club staff, the players, the supporters and all those who wish to honor his memory. The burial will take place at 12 p.m. in the cemetery of Sussargues, the town where Richard Nacarlo was from.

Gallia honors the memory of its president during Saturday's match
Despite the sad context surrounding the next Gallia match with the death of its president Richard Nacarlo, it will however be played this Saturday, September 21, at 6 p.m., against the reserve team of Nîmes Olympique II.

The match will take place at home at the Fernand-Brunel stadium in Lunel and will count for the second day of the Regional 1 championship. The players will be keen to do well that day. in honor of their president Richard Nacarlo.

In his memory, they will all wear, as well as the members of the staff, a black armband. A minute of silence will also be observed before the start of the match to pay tribute to this much-loved president of Gallia.

The dream of seeing the 1st team reach the national level

A proud grandfather of four grandchildren, Richard Nacarlo spent his time at the Fernand-Brunel stadium in the Pescalune city. Weekday evenings for the 11-a-side football teams, Wednesday afternoons for the younger ones and his weekends with Gérard Di Vuolo following the first team all over Occitanie.

He leaves the memory of a president close to his players, loved and loving, who had the ambition hanging on his cleats to make the club evolve. His dream was to lead the 1st team to the national level. The second, to organize a gala match at Ligue 1 level.

Time will have given him the chance. Last July, Montpellier faced Saint-Étienne on Brunel's pitch. "It's the last sporting moment we shared", emphasizes, particularly moved, David Dugaret. Over the last few days, Richard Nacarlo gathered the entire Gallia office at his home, sharing his goals, his desires.

“Until the end, he gave everything for his club. It was his whole life”, confirms David Dugaret before Gérard Di Vuolo adds: “He was still training the kids two weeks ago. He dedicated his retirement to his city and his Gallia. He will be greatly missed by the club, by all of us…"

A passionate about Camargue traditions

Richard Nacarlo leaves behind a huge void within the club but also in the city (read the testimonies below). His place in the stands of the San Juan arenas that he occupied at each race will also be empty, he the unwavering lover of Camargue and bullfighting traditions who was once a raseteur.

His silhouette will be missed at the next Pescalune, this festival that he would not have missed under any circumstances. His shadow will no longer be reflected on the pitch of the Brunel stadium, his second “home”. This is where family, friends, players, supporters, elected officials and Lunellois will pay him a final tribute during his funeral, Wednesday morning September 25 (read below), at the end of the religious ceremony at 9:30 a.m.

Midi LibreLunel presents its sincere condolences to his wife Isabelle, his two daughters Karine and Julie, his family, his friends and all those close to him affected by his passing.

The political and sports worlds, relatives, friends… salute the “humble man”

Hundreds of testimonies fell on social networks this Thursday, September 19, in the early hours of the announcement of Richard Nacarlo's death. Éelected officials, friends, players, staff of Gallia also reacted after the death of the president of the Gallia club Lunel.

Pierre Soujol, mayor of Lunel:“The departure of Richard Nacarlo, unfortunately predictable in recent days, leaves a great emotional void. He will have been an exemplary municipal agent, demonstrating professionalism marked by efficiency and humanity. His passion for his beloved club Gallia and his associative commitment as president will have been remarkable. The sporting values ​​that he defended allowed his club to be competitive and exemplary. His departure makes way for an immense sadness as his human qualities were appreciated by those who knew him. At this moment, I am thinking especially of his wife, his children, his entire family and his close friends and their pain that we all share.”

Hugues Mailhet*, former president of Gallia: “Richard and I had been following each other since the eighties. We were in the senior team together. From 2016 to 2021, he was already at my side as vice-president when I was at the head of Gallia. His disappearance is terrible, even if we expected it. I am devastated. I am losing a true partner and friend."

Édith Eysette (whom Richard Nacarlo affectionately nicknamed “Didi”) and Carmen Muscat Poderoso, close friends : “Richard's passing is a void, a huge chasm. He was a humble man that we met at the town hall where we both worked. He always had a kind word, a compliment. He was our brother at heart for over thirty years. Richard was always ready to help. He thought of others first before thinking of himself. A big heart like you rarely come across. A life lesson given the courage and strength he showed in the face of disease."

Laurent Grasset, 7th municipal deputy for sports: "I had known Richard Nacarlo for over 40 years! When I joined the junior team of Gallia club Lunel, he was at the senior level. Already, he did everything for the youngsters, he was very involved with them. Always with the aim of making them evolve to the highest level. Richard was a man who listened to everyone and put the interests of others before his own. His passing is a great loss for the Lunel sports community."

* Pending the next elective general meeting of the Gallia club Lunel which should be held before the end of the year, Hugues Mailhet will ensure the interim presidency.