The almost 20-year-old pivot trained at Rignac Dourdou Vallon handball and passed through the Roc took a big step this weekend, stepping onto the professional floor for the first time. Licensed to the Montpellier club, he has just played his first minutes in Starligue, against Ivry.
Five years after joining the handball hopefuls center in Montpellier, Léo Fournié took the plunge: Friday February 9, he played his very first minutes in the professional world. The one who will celebrate his twentieth birthday in April came into play at the end of the game during the 16th day of Starligue, the highest national level, between Montpellier and Ivry. “I was a little stressed but above all very very concentrated. It’s strange but I didn’t feel a big change,” admits Fournié. He even had the opportunity to take his first shot with the MHB flag team, but without finding the back of the net.
From the Vallon to the MHB, via the Roc and the Hope Pole
An important step for the Aveyron resident who started handball at the Rignac Dourdou Vallon club among the under-13s, swapping football cleats for pegues and following in his brother’s footsteps. “He evolved quickly and we also quickly saw that, with us, he was going to reach a ceiling,” remembers Alexandre Granier, president of RDV handball and former coach of Fournié. After two years in the Vallon club, the Saint-Christophorois joined the Roc and its under-15 team. And barely a year later, he joined the Montpellier hope center, without completely leaving Aveyron.
At the same time as his training, Léo Fournié continued to play in the navy blue jersey, with the France under-18s. His trainer at the time, Brice Andral, remembers a young man “very attentive, with undeniable physical and technical qualities”. It was also under his coaching that the Aveyronnais made his change of position. In the Vallon, Fournier “played at fullback, almost everywhere depending on the needs”, specifies Alexandre Granier. And when he changed colors, he “played fullback and pivot. We can say that he made his debut as a pivot at that moment,” indicates Brice Andral. He adds: “He was the youngest on the team, he was combative. And where I saw him progress the most was defensively: he had the role of master of defense.”
“I’m not at all surprised that he’s got to this point.”
If he was called up with the Montpellier pennant team this time, Léo Fournié trains at the MHB training center and usually plays with the reserve, in Nationale 1. He scored 17 goals there during the first thirteen days of the championship . “I’m not at all surprised that he got there, with his potential. He lacked self-confidence (when he was training him), but he always wanted to do well,” insists Andral.
Even if the ex-coach has distanced himself from the handball courts for several years, he follows the rise of his former protégé and did not fail to send him a message to congratulate him on this giant step forward in the big leagues. And Fournié, for his part, has his feet on the ground more than ever, “because you never know what tomorrow will bring.”
2024-02-13 09:25:36
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