The emotion was too strong. The pain too. Standing behind the desk specially set up for the occasion and next to a huge photo of his son, Jean-Marie Dominici, whom everyone here calls “Jeannot”, does not have the strength to speak. “It’s too hard,” breathes Christophe Dominici’s dad, his eyes red and his voice broken. Despite everything, he manages to thank the people present at this ceremony in honor of his son, tragically and prematurely died almost a year ago at the age of 48, a few hectometers away in the Parc de Saint-Cloud. On Wednesday, the Stade Français club paid a moving tribute to one of its emblematic players, one of his sons.
The Stade du Saut du Loup, located in the Bois de Boulogne (Paris XVI), along the banks of the Seine, has been renamed after the former international. At the beginning of June, the Council of Paris unanimously voted for this deliberation carried by Pierre Rabadan, sports assistant to Mayor Anne Hidalgo, former friend and teammate of “Domi” in the pink jersey of the Stadium. About 200 people – elected officials, former playing partners, current Stadium players and coach Gonzalo Quesada, many friends, former club president Max Guazzini, his family, his wife Loretta, his daughters Chiara and Mya , seated in the first row – were invited for this moving communion. No one wanted to miss this moment.
“I was eager to see Christophe’s name backed up at this stage,” says Rabadan. It is a beautiful symbol. He lived nearby, we are not far from the Longchamps racecourse, everyone knew his passion for horses. His family lives next door now and it is the stadium where the pros and the youngsters of the Stade Français train, this will allow future generations to know him, not to forget him. “
Simon, 12 years old: “important to show that we don’t forget it”
These new generations were also present. Attentive players from the Under-14 team attended the ceremony. “It’s important to show that we don’t forget it,” says Simon, 12 years old and a classmate of one of Dominici’s daughters. We talk about him with our friends, he is an inspiration for us. He has achieved many feats. “
“Even if time passes, it is still difficult to achieve,” resumes Rabadan. “Domi” is part of the heritage of the city of Paris. During the victory against the All Blacks of Lomu (in the semifinals of the World Cup in 1999), he entered the legend of French rugby and the hearts of the French. I can say that I was lucky to play alongside him. “
Before Pierre Rabadan, another former combat and fiesta partner, Thomas Lombard, had spoken to honor his friend. “I chose not to prepare a speech because it is the best way to pay tribute to him, Domi is the most spontaneous player that I have met,” says the current general manager of Stade Français. He would have found this ceremony too conventional, that’s why I invited the children to go and play ball because our big game, at the time, was to aim with the ball at the guy who was speaking. If he had been there he would have been out there with the kids kicking. That was Domi! By giving his name to our training ground, we are in a way extending the memory of an exceptional man. I miss him on a daily basis, you can’t turn the page like that. “
Same emotion for Sylvain Marconnet, the former partner and friend. “We have not yet recovered from his departure,” said the former international. We don’t talk about him but we all have a photo of him in a corner of our home. He was a teammate, a friend, a brother. With his departure we all lost a member of the family. The scar is still not closed. Giving his name to this stadium is a great initiative because it welcomes the youth teams and Domi has made many young people want to play rugby. The symbolism is beautiful and great. “
But this tribute is neither the first – at the beginning of September the village of Solliès-Pont in the Var, where he grew up, had created a Festival in his name and inaugurated a fresco with the image – nor the last. The Stade Français club would indeed consider renaming one of the stands of the Jean-Bouin stadium, the lair of Dominici’s exploits, in his name. “We continue to receive messages at the club from people who send gifts, who want to honor his memory, who challenge us by saying that we are not doing enough for him,” continues Thomas Lombard. It is not excluded that something else will happen in the months or years to come. But it’s already important to have this stadium in its name. There is a delaying effect over time, paying homage to him is to prevent his memory from being lost. We are very attentive to that. ”
The final word goes to Max Guazzini, the former president of Stade Français who was like a “second father” for Domi. “It’s very good to have given his name to this stadium which is the training ground for the pros and the children of the Stade Français,” said the one whose wallpaper on his cell phone is a photo of Dominici. His name will not disappear, he will remain in the memory of the club for a long time. But I also think it would be a great idea that one day a forum by Jean Bouin bears his name. It would be a great idea, he deserves it. “
