They had formed an inseparable duo since 2006. Fifteen years of complicity and success. But it is now over. Monday evening, after the victory against Monaco (86-79) on the last day of the Jeep Elite regular season, Franck Le Goff, the loyal right-hand man of Pascal Donnadieu, announced that he was leaving Nanterre. The coach had been taken in confidence two days before. At 50, and after 708 games on the bench, Le Goff is turning an important page in his career, in his life. Selected pieces from his Nantes years.
What is your first memory of Nanterre?
FRANCK LE GOFF. Paradoxically, this is not necessarily a good time. It is December 2005, I arrived the previous summer at the club to take care of the baby chicks, and Pascal asks me to help him. He explains to me that he is ill and that he cannot direct the games for three weeks. The club was poorly classified (Editor’s note: he had just gone up to Pro B) and I just had to give his assistant a hand. Finally, I stayed. I think my first match was against Levallois at home (victory 72-68).
What was the most intense moment?
The title of champion of Pro A in 2013 without a doubt. There was a real fervor, we had never felt that. I think we make an impression when we win the second match in Strasbourg (Editor’s note: after losing the first 89-55). On our return, we cannot play in Nanterre but we discover the Coubertin stadium (Paris) filled to the brim. People from all over France supported us. We received emails saying that, thanks to us, people understood that we should never give up. We were on a mission, we were the little one who could beat the ogre. We felt ourselves growing wings, better, reactors. Nothing could stop us. We felt untouchable.
