Why spend your birthday in the warmth of your family when you can go back and forth to Paris to talk about RC Lens? Gervais Martel is like that, inexhaustible about “his” club. Supporter of the Sang et Or since he was little, president at 33, he remained for almost three decades. He recounts all these years of passion, joy and disappointments in his book There’s nothing wrong (Editions En Exergue), published at the beginning of the month. We met him on November 20, his 69th birthday, to talk about his history and that of a region he feels close to.
You begin your book by saying “in another life, I would have been a farmer”. Have you ever tried to imagine another life where you would not have been born in Nord-Pas-de-Calais?
No I can not (smile). I am passionate about my region. I was lucky to be born in Pas-de-Calais, it suits me well.
For what ?
It’s a region that I love, with deserving, courageous people. That suits me because I’m someone who works a lot, I can’t stay doing nothing. When my father took me down into the mine because I wasn’t doing anything at school, and I saw these people down there, covered in coal, there were no more bosses, no engineers, of captains [les contremaîtres], everyone was familiar with each other, I felt this cohesion. It had marked me.
When did you become aware of your origin, the history of your family, the mines?
Right away, at least as long as I can remember. Because my father went down to the bottom every day. He took me to his office on the mine floor, I was happy to come, I drew, and as I was curious I went to see the horses coming up at the end of the week. I remember that they were left with blinders on, otherwise they could lose their sight as they were always in the dark. I was impressed. And then all my friends were sons of miners. I was going to play in the city, we spoke patois first language. It was a happy life.
What is it like to be a resident of this region?
It’s respecting her, already. This region has a history, that of coal but not only. War, too. I live near Vimy, where there were many deaths during the 1914-18 War. My grandfather was decorated. When you grow up in this environment, you are imbued with all that. We don’t feel good or not, but in general we feel good (smile).
How does football embrace this culture?
Football was the Sunday afternoon outing for the people in the mines. They went to the match with their minors’ bar [sorte de casque en cuir pour se protéger la tête]. My dad started taking me when I was 4 or 5 years old. It wasn’t just Lens, at the time, we also had some great clubs around: Oignies, Carvin, Nœuds-les-Mines. Football is a real culture up there.
How can we explain this very strong generational transmission in Lens?
This club is like a heritage. Because the kids were used to seeing their fathers, their grandfathers, going to matches, talking about football at home. People are always united behind the Sang et Or because when we say that, we think of the mine, of coal. The history of the club is directly linked to the history of the region.
Why is it that as soon as we set foot in Bollaert we are caught up in this story?
Because it’s magical. When Pierre Bachelet died [en 2005]we spent The Corons at halftime and straight away it clicked. But to explain it, I don’t know. It’s like the guy who goes to Lourdes, maybe he felt something special. It’s like that. It’s hard for me to put it into words because I’ve always been immersed in it.
Why is the Bollaert stadium so famous, in your opinion?
It’s a crowd that always stands behind their team, whatever the difficulties. Unfortunately I played for many years in the second division, and we always averaged 20,000 spectators, it was incredible. Ultimately, the worse things get, the more people are there. Because it’s a part of them. Perhaps that’s what you don’t find anywhere else, a special atmosphere. Here we have more than 30 sold-out matches in a row, it’s unique. It’s Lens.
There is also this kop in the side stand, and not behind the goal…
This stand Marek, I already went there when Lens played in the CFA, I told myself that this is where the show should be. And they are always extraordinary. From time to time they’re annoying, I’ve had some things with them, but it’s always been straight to the face. I always insisted on keeping the kop here, even though the other presidents told me to put it behind the goals, because I would earn more money. But the blood of Lens flows in the Marek.
Would you say that the best teams you’ve had were the ones with the most local players?
You need a mixture. My greatest pride is surely to have built Gaillette, a tool that gives parents confidence in leaving their child with us. It’s thanks to that that Raphaël Varane came, for example. In 1998 there were five or six players from the region [Sikora, Wallemme, Magnier, Warmuz, Lachor, Déhu…], plus guys like Foé, Ziani, Vairelles or Drobjnak that we went looking for. It was the perfect mix.
Is this team the one you are most proud of, or not necessarily?
She stays apart. And then Wallemme, Warmuz, Siko, they shared a long time of life with me, so it’s special, they don’t “only” represent this title. The team that made UEFA Cup semi-final [2000] was extraordinary too, with warriors like Dacourt, Ismaël, Nouma, who were not from the area elsewhere.
Did you insist that players who came from elsewhere appropriate this culture?
Of course. When I arrived as president, I brought my team down to the mine. When I went back, I told the players “you see, these people are extraordinary, they have a very difficult job, they don’t earn a lot of money, but they bleed themselves to come and see you”. It had a big impact on them. The pit then closed, but I showed the players films about the mines so they knew who their audience was. But when we arrive in Lens, when we start to meet this audience, we quickly understand.
What does it mean on a daily basis to be the president of RC Lens in the region?
It’s great. We are constantly stopped in the street, people always talk to me about the club, but this communion happens naturally. Because people love their players. What they want is for them to be a bit like them, combative, courageous. This is what made Daniel Leclerc strong, for example, he had his 4-3-3, we always played forward. The chat before Arsenal where we will win at Wembley [0-1, 25 novembre 1998], coming out of there I told myself that he had forgotten something. He hadn’t talked about the opposing team at all! He only talked about us, about what we were going to do.
When you are president of Lens, are you more important than the mayor?
You should ask the mayor! Having stayed for 30 years, I am perhaps better known, yes. But when you are president of Lens, you don’t compete for notoriety. I have always tried to get along well with successive mayors, it is essential for the success of the club.
Is it tiring and heavy to be president?
It’s heavy when you can’t do it and you know you’re disappointing people. This is where it is terrible. When we were champions, a 75-year-old lady told me “my son, you have made us proud”. She had never been to the stadium, here she had come at 3 a.m. to see the players. It stirs the guts, it means we have responsibility. Afterwards, tiring, I don’t know of any job that isn’t tiring when you really commit. It was a lot of passion, but passion is not tiring, it is devouring.
Does she make people do stupid things, too?
I have, that’s for sure! I have no shame in saying that. I know the guys who never make a mistake are the ones who don’t do anything. When you have such a decision-making role as club president, it’s normal for him to have hiccups from time to time. If I hadn’t been passionate, we might not have been champions. What we managed to do is quite unthinkable for a town of 32,000 inhabitants. This passion side, you have to accept all the facets of it.
How would you like to be remembered as president of RC Lens?
This is the kind of question I can’t answer. And then I don’t care a bit. I tried to do my best. I took over the club in a catastrophic state in 1989, there was nothing left in the coffers. When we left it to Joseph Oughourlian, it was a debt-free club. The journey was strewn with pitfalls. At the end of Mammadov, we were afraid of falling by the wayside, but we fought. I can look back on these years with my head held high. Now it’s up to the new shareholder to write the next chapters.
How did you experience last season, that of real renewal?
Extraordinary. We could have been champion, within a point. If we don’t have this match at the Park where we meet with ten [3-1, 31e journée]… Anyway, there’s no point in going back to that. We were there from the start to the end of the season, we were thrilled, it was magical.
You always say “we” when you talk about the club…
I remain a supporter of the club, and a Lens supporter always says “we”. It is included in the entity. When I talk to people, they all say “we played well, we could have won”, etc. I have the same syndrome, but it’s a nice syndrome.