Handball: Against Nantes, can Usam Nîmes do it ?

Acquevillo, un des rares Nîmois rescapés du dernier succès contre Nantes au Parnasse, en avril 2021. Midi Libre – MiKAEL ANISSET

Starligue/5e journée. Nîmes défie Nantes dimanche 6 octobre à 17 heures. Problème : les Gardois n’arrivent plus à battre les gros au Parnasse…

It was April 13, 2021, it was the last four seconds, and the young retiree Michaël Guigou had sent the ball into the empty Nantes goal and the Usamistes in paradise, 33-32. “The crazy victory”, we had headlined the next day. Since then, facing the three Starligue tenors, it has not been joy at home. Over the last three seasons, the Green team has lost nine times out of nine at home against PSG, Montpellier and Nantes. And not just a little: on an average difference of 7 goals!

Hard to take

Hard, hard to take, like the 26-21 inflicted by the Loire team on the Gard team a year ago. Or the lessons given by the Hérault team and the Paris team at Parnasse during the previous season, 27-16 and 34-24. From there to talking about an inferiority complex… the new Nîmes coach David Degouy doesn't believe it because “both teams are rebuilding and have changed quite a bit this summer. Each team is looking to the present. I'm very happy to play Nantes, to evaluate my players. To reach our goal of 40 points and qualify for Europe, there are two ways: imperatively win the matches that we must win, and the one lost in Dunkirk was one; and go for exploits”.

The teams: we take the same…

The USAM group.It's the same team that was beaten in Dunkirk nine days ago: Pardin, Soyez (goalkeepers), Rebichon (cap), Vincent, Sanad, Peyre, Kamtchop-Baril, Poyet, Kaczor, Gibelin, Acquevillo, Costa, Derisbourg, Konradsson, Tobie and Gibernon.

And Abdelhak? Victim of a broken nose against Créteil (with travel), he preferred not to have an operation, hoping to return against Nantes. It would be quite a last-minute surprise… Sissoko, for his part, is continuing his knee rehabilitation. His return is expected at best at the end of the year, at worst in February.

The Nantes squad. The same as on the last day and the victory against Montpellier (29-26). Still without his playmaker Ovnicek, then.

Usam still knows how to create them – the one in the capital last May, on a feria weekend, was a huge one (33-32, hey, the same score as the last victory against Nantes…) – but not at home, therefore. "Playing at home gives you rights and duties, considers president David Tebib. The right to be respected and supported ; and the duty to give your all for 60 minutes. The Parnassus, it will become hellish if we live up to the sporting event. In any case, we will need our supporters to be behind us for an hour."

Commitment, demand, ambition, greed

To hold out, Degouy announces that he will use more than “the successful performance against Créteil (30-21) than the defeat in Dunkirk (24-29) because Créteil was our home. Dunkirk will be useful for the next trips, where we will have to be much more solid. We have real strengths, convictions. It is up to us to assert them, while having the right level of commitment and demand. It is up to my players to put a lot of ambition and greed into it. It's up to them to set fire to Parnassus!” To relive April 13, 2021. Even without Michaël Guigou.

David Tebib: “We're taking on a mountain”

Presidents. David Tebib and Gaël Pelletier will not be going on vacation together. The presidents of Usam and HBC Nantes are not the best of friends. The second one doesn't hide it, by the way.

A month ago, the Lig&eacuterien joined the board of directors of the LNH, the National Handball League that the former has been leading since the beginning of 2023 (after already a first interim in 2020). But Mr. Tebib will not necessarily run for a new term, in early 2025. Taken up by national missions, the 54-year-old from Nîmes has never neglected Usam for all that.

He is present at training whenever he can, close to the players, the staff… and the recruiting. And still believes hard as iron in a title for his Green team, and in its ability to compete with the best.

So with PSG, MHB and Nantes: “In France, there is the top 3 and the rest of the world, conceded by David Tebib. But we work hard and every day to make up for lost time. Sometimes, we manage to beat them. Against an XXL-sized Nantes, we are tackling a mountain. The payroll they spend in one season, almost 5 million euros; we use it in two and a half seasons (2.1 million euros for Usam, Editor's note). We are obliged to make bets, like with Kaczor, promising and young, when they make “bets” (sic) with Tournat and Gaber, who have a lot of experience. And a squad with two seven majors…”

This Saturday at the end of the afternoon, there were still a hundred places on sale for the match before it was declared a sell-out. They will therefore be open, this Sunday at Parnasse from 3 p.m. Referees: Messrs. Thobie and Bounouara. I subscribe to read the rest