On the occasion of the Olympic Games in Japan, Villefranchois Guy Lacombe looks back on his victory with the French football team in 1984 at the Los Angeles Olympics.
Having just put his boxes in his new home, La Closerie, on the banks of the Aveyron, in the Pearl of Rouergue (see opposite), the former footballer knows exactly where to look for this gold medal he received with the French football team for their victory at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1984. “I am very proud of it! It’s my Holy Grail! A medal at the Olympics is the pinnacle!”, s’ Guy Lacombe enthuses.
And to castigate, in the process, the clubs which no longer want to lend their star players to form a team for the Olympic Games …
“The crowning achievement of my career”
“It’s a bit strong coffee! Before deciding for the players, we should ask them. The Olympic Games, for me, it was the crowning of my career because I did not do a Zidane course nor à la Platini. But no one will take away the joy and the atmosphere I experienced. We really fought to get there. And our coach, Henri Michel, did everything to ensure that our team had a soul. We played united, in simplicity but with a winning spirit. We were really a nice group. Every time we meet again, we are very moved, it really marked us. At the time, football was already pro but we did not win fortunes like now “. They get their qualification by winning 1-0 against Germany, a goal scored by Guy Lacombe. In Los Angeles, they are housed in multi-person rooms in a U city. “We fell against Yugoslavia in the semifinals. We were led 2-0 but we managed to reverse the trend in extra time and we ended up winning. 4 to 2. In the final, we play Brazil, we were already assured of the silver medal but we came to win. We wanted the gold! So we played and we mastered. The first goal was magnificent and we won 2-0 without ever having been in great danger… ”, recalls Guy Lacombe.
For Japan and these 2021 Games, coach Sylvain Ripol, “who does a good job in Lorient” and whom Guy Lacombe knows well since he was his tutor for the Professional Football Coach Certificate (BEPF), had to face “the difficulty of finding oneself without players …. He has only kids and no defense “. And the results tend to prove Guy Lacombe right since the French football team was largely beaten yesterday by the Japanese team in their group match … The Villefranchois’ favorites for these Olympics are Spain, Mexico and Argentina.
Guy Lacombe shared his life between Villefranche-de-Rouergue and Villeneuve d’Aveyron for twenty years. “When I was 15, I was playing in Villeneuve but there was no youth team so I started as a cadet in Villefranche. We were going to train at Teulel with Matou. And then I was incredibly lucky. to fall at the Saint-Joseph college on a censor who adored sport, he made us do everything… I played in the first departmental series which was the highest level in Aveyron but we could not climb above… So I got fed up and left for Albi “.
The area of La Closerie, quai Poult, in Villefranche, on the edge of the Aveyron and facing the Tourist Office and the town hall.
Today, after a lot of injuries caused by the many tackles on his ankles, knee and hip prostheses Guy Lacombe is no longer the athlete he was but the pro who believes he has had a lot of luck has fun memory of Zidane in particular that he had as a player at the training center in Cannes. “His son looks like him, he has the same gestures but it is difficult to be the son of… I hope that it will go well for him at Rodez Aveyron Football and that the public will be magnanimous. I also know the team well. trainer, Laurent Peyrelade, he’s a hard worker. Rodez is lucky, he’s a good team. We will support them! ” Go the Blues, go the RAF!
From Dinard to La Closerie
Player then coach, the Villefranche footballer Guy Lacombe has often packed his bags. Having placed them for a long time on the Opal Coast, in Dinard, the appeal of its deep roots in Rouergate soil, rather than the sea air, was the strongest since it returned to Villefranche-de- Rouergue who saw her birth, not far from the bar restaurant Le Glacier, in 1955. But it is above all the desire to be with her 89-year-old mother, who still lives at home, to accompany her in her life. old days, with his two brothers and his sister, who decided Guy Lacombe to join the Villefranche territory. He had for a time considered building a house in Villeneuve where his mother lives “but it did not happen”.
The charm of La Closerie
And here he fell under the spell (we understand!) Of La Closerie, quai Poult, in Villefranche-de-Rouergue, which he learned by chance to sell on the Internet. Even its lack of accessibility by car seduced him. It has even become an advantage for the footballer who wishes to lead a discreet existence there even if, as soon as he leaves his home, he is often recognized, arrested, greeted. This haven of peace and greenery, at the gates of the city from which only a few muffled noises can be heard, which includes a mansion, two lodges and guest rooms as well as a beautiful 600 m2 garden with, in the beautiful middle, a remarkable hundred-year-old magnolia tree, to melt the heart of the footballer.
Back to basics
“I wanted to be near the city but away, I wanted a quiet corner to breathe, you can’t imagine the work of a retiree… I am always in demand by people from football.” Guy Lacombe just ordered some interior work from different trades in order to personalize the building. And as happiness never comes alone, he will settle there, all year round, next fall, with his Villefranche companion, “my love of youth”. It will be able to receive, in this beautiful and large space, children and friends. So back to his roots and his first love for this athlete who will surely benefit from being close to his brother Daniel, who also lives in the Bastide, to practice cycling (if he can follow him…). His other brother, “the intellectual of the family who made a career with Gallimard editions”, golfs at a high level while his sister, a former nurse, takes up walking. My father was a football manager and we have skills because on my mother’s side there are a lot of very good amateur players. A real family of sportsmen….
