AS Saint-Etienne : the slush fund, the return to D1 … André Laurent looks back on his 10 years of presidency | ASSE News

Zapping Goal! Football club ASSE: the Greens’ tribute to Loïc Perrin

Goal ! : André, you are currently writing your memoirs …

André LAURENT: Absolutely. Friends suggested it to me and I am at an age where you are starting to look back on your life. I started to write my memoirs during the confinement. They are aimed at the young generation, to tell them that the world is a place where there are great things to do when you give your all and when you are authentic. It is also addressed to my grandchildren. We’ll see if we edit or not, but the title is: “Grandfather, tell us the story of your life”.

What was ASSE’s place in your career?

It was a ten-year, exciting, unforgettable adventure. Nothing destined me to become president. I was a child of the Loire, of Firminy. I had built my business from scratch. I started at Chambon-Feugerolles, in an establishment where the windows were broken, before building a 10,000 m2 factory at La Ricamarie. It took me ten years. With the workers, managers and technicians, we had created an atmosphere of work and sharing. When François Dubanchet, the Mayor of Saint-Etienne, came to get me in 1983 to offer me the presidency of ASSE, I was the first surprised.

How did things go?

I got to the heart of the slush fund business. Dubanchet had invited me to lunch in a restaurant. He asked me what I thought of the club situation. Roger Rocher had been condemned, it was the bitch! I told him that it was not good for the image of the club, of the city. And there he told me: “I’m looking for a new, young, dynamic man who has succeeded. And that man is you. It is your duty! Dubanchet had a sense of flattery, it was his lethal weapon!

Did you know what he was going to offer you?

Two things let me think so. With my entrepreneurial buddies, we attended an assembly where the Rocheristes and the pros-Buffard had argued. We were not in a clan. We were there in public, supporters of the Greens. And my friends had urged me to take the microphone. I had given my point of view and the assembly applauded me. From that moment, I was somewhat depicted as the leader of a 3rd force which was becoming essential. And eight days later, coming out of a meeting at the bank, Place de l’Hotel de Ville, I was interviewed by FR3, while I was on my way to Glasgow for a coffee. A team from the channel was reporting and I agreed to give my point of view again. After that, I became visible to everyone. It took a new voice, a new head, to embody the future and forget the past.

SEE ALSO: ALL THE NEWS FROM ASSE

“When I arrived, there was no longer a coach, no more professional players except Castaneda and Zanon, no more sponsors”

So you accepted …

I accepted. I knew the heavy task, I suspected that it was going to take a lot of time and energy, that I will see my family less. But I wanted to give it a go. I said yes. Four days later we received a letter with three other industrialists, Jean Berthet, Patrick David, and Louis Ouillon. And the Board of Directors elected me president. It was very tense between the Rocheristes and the opposition. There were only businessmen, who were well established. But it was so passionate … Faced with this deplorable spectacle, lawyer Camille Vey had spoken to say that a new team was needed. The CA had started at 5 p.m. At 8 p.m., I was president. At 44 years old.

What were the best years?

The first. Yet they were the hardest. For 30 years, the public and the whole of France had been unconditional admirers of Saint-Etienne. We were the champions. We won the titles, the cups, we went to the final of the European Cup. We thought ASSE was indestructible, that nothing could shake it, that its roots were solid. But when I arrived, there was no more coach, no more pro players except Castaneda and Zanon, no more sponsors. It was totally empty. We were even taken away from the logo, the panther, because Puma was going away and forced us to make another logo. We had to design the logo which is still the club’s logo today. We went down to D2, with Jean Djorkaeff who left after a 7-0 in Bordeaux and who had been replaced by Robert Philippe. At that time, my daily life was to visit all the traders, all the businesses in Saint-Etienne, to encourage them to come with us. There was so little money that I had to plug the hole in my pocket so that the salaries could be paid. There was nothing left in the boxes.

You went to get Henryk Kasperczak …

Yes. Thanks to Carlo Molinari. At first, I had thought of Gérard Houllier. He had to come but he still had one match with Lens and he won it, which allowed the Lensois to be European. So he chose to stay there. When Molinari advised me Kasperczak, whom he had as a player in Metz, I said OK. This is one of the best decisions I have made at ASSE. He did a great job. We bet everything on young people, with Primard, Bellus, Ribar, Daniel, Chillet, Ferri, the Clavelloux brothers. At first it was hard. We were 17th in D2 in October. We didn’t have a jersey sponsor but I went to Roanne and convinced Cake Rocher to get involved. For 3 Million Francs whereas I was advised to accept proposals for 200 or 300,000 Francs. Behind we chained 25 matches without defeat but we did not manage to climb, losing in the play-offs. We had to start all over again and we got there a year later. In the field, we had a great team, and in the offices too, with only Stéphanois. Real warriors, centurions. We were there out of duty, to save the emblem of our city.

PS: the rest of the interview with André Laurent can be found tomorrow at 3 p.m. on our site