Handball: Usam Nîmes, French team, the new projects of Michaël Guigou and Benjamin Gallego

Usam brought together a major seven that looked great on Thursday May 2 at the Toyota premises in Nîmes. For sports and non-sporting announcements. FREE NOON – E. DZ.

Michaël Guigou will leave the Gard club in June, heading to the Federation and the French youth teams. He will be replaced in his role by the future retiree Benjamin Gallego.

At the moment, we are in full broadcast of Koh Lanta on TF1. At Usam, it’s a bit the same thing currently. 48 hours ago, the Green team officially knew that 5th place in the championship would be European. Five teams, including Nîmes (7th, two points from Limoges), are eyeing it, but in the end, only one will remain for the last continental ticket.

There is something else, too: this Thursday morning, the Nîmes club held a press conference which had everything of a council of ambassadors recalling the survival show successful.

Michaël Guigou, from 2019 to 2024 at Usam

Arriving in 2019 as a player, Michaël Guigou had become an ambassador of Usam and advisor to President David Tebib since his retirement from sports, in 2022. Requested by the French Handball Federation, he will now sail towards other horizons (read below).

The Usamist institution does not necessarily lose out with its successor. Because Benjamin Gallego has the totem of immunity in the Gard prefecture. And green blood. Talented Swiss army knife on terrain (rear/pivot), he is known and recognized outside, always outgoing, available, both inventive and facetious.

He will be 36 in November, and he has decided to retire from the court: "I had offers as a player(from Toulouse, in particular, Editor's note), but I favored my family situation. Staying in Nîmes was the most obvious solution. There will be emotion, but my state of mind will never change: I will always have a smile, and I couldn't see myself leaving here.

Remain one of the five biggest French clubs

Gallego will have an expanded role, ambassador but also VRP in charge of partnerships. He has already signed his first, with the network of real estate agencies Orpi which becomes a sponsor of Usam. "We are a rare club, believes president David Tebib, with work to build a team made up of young gems and experienced players, and a management that gives pride of place to transmission, support and retraining, like our former MM. Balmossiere, Chauvet, Bourguignon, Detrez or Vielzeuf, now Gallego and soon Rebichon who are still with us."

With always the ambition to remain one of the five biggest French clubs. With this in mind, the Egyptian left-hander Abdelhak, in high demand, has extended until 2027, while the great hopes Antic and Zuzo will be loaned to D2 (Proligue) next season to toughen up and come back stronger. Stronger, like the survivors of Koh Lanta.

Michaël Guigou: “A carefully considered decision but which was complex to make”

On March 3, he told us about his future at Usam or elsewhere: "I am not closed to anything. I am on various support (advisor to President Tebib, individualized training of young people, recruitment, commercial operations of the club,  etc.) which do not close to me any door".

According to our information, Michaël Guigou joined that of Montpellier HB following the departure of Patrice Canayer. But it was that of the French Handball Federation which opened up, via its president Philippe Bana who requested it. He will not be an employee but will be assigned to the young French teams but also to former or current internationals.

With two partners, he will also invest in business training and a digital application serving the sporting world. And "thanks everyone at Usam and in Nîmes, from the players to the mayor Jean-Paul Fournier, who treated me very well welcomed. I am very proud of my time here".

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