It was inconceivable for the der of the career of Michael Guigou at Parnassus, that his partners do not strive to bring him victory on a plate. The opponent turned out to be tough but Cesson could not fight against the course of history and above all could not commit the crime of lèse-majesté of spoiling the party reserved for the one who will have marked the last two decades of tricolor handball. . As much in clubs (with a poorly rewarded loyalty to Montpellier for 20 seasons with 10 French championship titles, we will only mention these and the last three years with neighboring Nîmes) as in the French team (with or 3 times at the Olympics, 4 at the World Cup and 3 at the Euro). Not to mention the number of goals scored (more than 2200 in the jersey of his two clubs and 1021 with the Blues). In short, a monument, the last of the Mohicans of a golden generation. The little young people, especially those who covet the succession to the left wing of France A, just have to behave themselves. This Sunday, in the middle of the Pentecost Feria, theUSAM Nimes beat Cesson 32-28 and definitely secured his 6th place in the standings, which will undoubtedly earn him (the EHF has still not officially decided) the right to participate next season in the European League.
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The positions at the top of the Starligue before the final day remain fixed. The great success of Montpellier in front of Chambery (36-29) or three goals better than in the first leg, prevents the Savoyards from eyeing 4th place.
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Le PSG had been mathematically champion for two months. If they win on Wednesday against Créteil, the official day of their 10th coronation (the 9th in a row), the Parisians will have finished the championship without the slightest hitch (30 matches – 30 wins).
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Nantes2nd will return to the Champions League and Country of Aixfor the first time in its history, is on the elite podium.
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A performance in ten years of presence at the highest level, hailed at its fair value by Thierry Anti who took charge of the Aix team two years ago.
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Are there any regrets for not having snagged 2nd place?
Not at all. Our objective was to be European so in the top 5, we find ourselves playing for the top of the ranking in the top 3 almost all season, we flirted with this 2nd place but to get it, we would have had to be perfect. In particular to keep a very small hope, winning the last five matches was imperative. We missed a quarter of an hour at Cesson but in the meantime, Nantes had gone to win at Montpellier. So it was over. There should be no regrets.
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Paris remains untouchable, this top ranking responds to logic…
I don’t know if the order is correct because there are clubs that have not been consistent over the year. Chambéry showed solidity, Montpellier had a very good campaign in the Champions League but it cost them points in the league. I think it’s the first time in a long time that Montpellier have lost so many matches. Nîmes recovered well over this last part of the season… This Starligue is more and more difficult and we knew that it was in consistency that we would get something.
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You have been accused of having tarnished your participation in the European League…
No, no, we played it. We got off to a bad start, it’s true and we paid dearly for it, we knew we had to be perfect to qualify, some defeats really happened in the last minutes. The regret is that we did not take enough advantage of this cup. But there were no calculations. What we must not forget is that we had to deal with a lot of injuries very early on.
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The future is already here with departures, arrivals…
Above all, we will have a slightly larger workforce. We will go from 14 to 16 and even if with a few young people, we can have 18, it will be good. Especially if you want to lead the two competitions at the same time. We have a big desire to make a better European League. Afterwards, in the league, staying in the top 3 would be fantastic. We must be ambitious and always aim higher. We need another 2 or 3 years. Let’s not forget that Karl (Konan) will leave us (for Montpelier) so we have to rebuild a defense, 7 new ones will arrive so we will start on something else.
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Accustomed to Europe during the last two seasons, Toulouse who broke down at the end of the course with a busy infirmary, remains at the quay. The mano a mano with Nîmes took an unfavorable turn when the Gardois came to win in the pink city. “We end the season a little on the kneecaps, confess the president Philippe Dalillard, but in these last matches, we still show inspiration, will, a lot of desire to fight. What is unfortunate is that on these meetings, we have a level of refereeing that is not up to the event (the Picard-Vauchez pair searched for the light for a long time but never found it). There are two guys who took their vacation at Pentecost and left for the weekend in Toulouse. This year, it’s not for us, congratulations to those ahead of us, we’ll try to get back to work. But it’s true, that we have the impression of not being rewarded for everything we have done even if we have had one of the best seasons at the club. » With a rather minimalist recruitment with two recruits (Teodor Paul and Bakary Diallo) for three departures (Cantegrel, Sokolic, Borzas), can the Fénix have the same ambitions as this season? “But who announced that the recruitment was closed? We’ll see what happens between now and the recovery. We are still looking for players who can help us. We always want to get close to this top 6, we’re not talking about competing with the three 1st but from 4th to 6th, I tell myself that we’re not very far away. There will be a competitive team next season. » Wednesday, Toulouse travel to Nantes which three days later will play the final of the Coupe de France against Paris.
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Istres saves his skin!
They would have had another catch-up session, the last, Wednesday at home, moreover by welcoming the last Nancy, but the players from Istres made it a point of honor to save their maintenance by going to win in Créteil ( 28-29). The margin is very narrow but suddenly sufficient. Goalkeeper Arnaud Tabarand was decisive in the hot moments (13 saves), opposite, Todor Jandric supported the comparison (9 parades). The Provençaux didn’t let go in the 1st period (15-16 at the break) and even increased their lead to 4 lengths (16-20 at the 38th). The money-time was suffocating with a lot of failures on both sides. The reduction of the score thanks to a final realization of Mario Lopez shortly before the buzzer, will not change anything in the epilogue. With the 15th budget of Starligue, Istres played with fire throughout the season. But the essential is preserved.
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As a result, the two promoted, Saran beaten at home on Saturday by Limoges (33-35) and Nancy defeated by Nantes (24-32) this Sunday, go down to Proligue. Finally, there is still an issue on Wednesday. Know which Loiretains or Lorrains will finish last. The two move and if Nancy comes back up to Saran, it will not be enough to avoid the red lantern, the GAP being unfavorable to her.
A special end of the afternoon for Michaël Guigou – Slide Photos by Fabrice Fourès
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