Ligue 2: Le Havre return to Ligue 1, assisted by Mathieu Bodmer

Mathieu Bodmer will have to say goodbye to television, where he has been conducting in-depth analysis of French football for three seasons. Because 40-year-old Norman is a man of his word. However, when he arrived as sporting director of Le Havre Athletic Club (HAC) in the summer of 2022, he promised his management that if training in Ligue 1 were to increase, he would leave his consultant suit for attention. entirely on his new role.

The person concerned probably did not imagine this promotion so suddenly. If he was able to prepare for it for several months – his troops flew over Ligue 2 during this 2022-2023 training session – he still had to wait for the last day of the championship, Friday June 2, and the match at home to Dijon (1-0) to finally materialize. : HAC will return to the elite for the first time since 2009. A success that the club owes in large part to this former tricolor hope who has hung up his boots in 2020.

During the three years he trained at Caen – Le Havre’s regional rivals – he established himself as one of the most respected consultants in Ligue 1. His knowledge of football and his ability to do didactic work with the general public was able to convince followers of the French championship on Téléfoot, the ephemeral channel of Mediapro, Prime Video and RMC.

Mathieu Bodmer, he first of all dreamed of responsibility in the French club. Jean-Michel Roussier, the current president of HAC, whom he met at Téléfoot when he worked as deputy director of antenna and programs, offered him the opportunity. From the beginning, the deal between the two men was clear: Mathieu Bodmer had complete freedom to manage the athlete, and Jean-Michel Roussier took care of the rest.

He uses his network

The challenge is great. ” [Ils] He had almost gone to Saint-Etienne with the investor, so we thought they would arrive in Le Havre with a ticket on the table for their project. But there were no new investors. Bodmer had to do everything very quickly and without much resources.”Summarizes Benoit Donkel, a journalist of a regional newspaper Paris-Normandywho has been following the news of the club for more than twenty years.

“confused by his calmness”As described by Laurent Jaoui, one of the editorial managers of 21 Production, Prime Video supplier, Mathieu Bodmer is not panicking. To build the new HAC, he is calling on his network: Luca Elsner, his coach in Amiens during his last professional season, has been appointed to the first team; Julien Momont, whom he knew at Téléfoot, was hired as an analyst; Mohammed El Kharaz accompanies him daily as an assistant.