“Since yesterday, we’ve had a wave of love, the way people can’t tell him…” Suddenly his voice breaks. Overwhelmed by pain, Olivia Courbis cannot finish her sentence. The emotion was strong and beautiful this Tuesday morning on the set of the Apolline de Malherbe show.
The day after the death, at age 72, of Rolland Courbis, his children Stéphane and Olivia were the guests of the morning show of RMC Story and RMC, of which the former football coach was one of the most recognizable and popular voices.
The opportunity for the children of this colorful and endearing football and media personality to express themselves on the death of their father. “The world of football is very tough but he always had a positive word,” said Stéphane. I rarely heard him say bad things about a player, he always found a way to defend her. He had this positive and human side. Rather than burdening someone, he was elevating someone else. He didn’t criticize stupidly. »
“He was a very warm, very human person, always listening,” his son continued. He had an anecdote for every situation. » “He was a very unusual dad,” continues his sister.
The children of “Coach Courbis”, their father’s nickname in the media, have announced that two ceremonies are planned to allow those who wish to pay tribute to him “in the best possible way”.
“Marseille remains his city”
After a first ceremony at the Sainte-Madeleine church at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, another will also be organized on Saturday in Marseille. “Marseille is and remains his city, he is the child of the northern districts, surely at the Reformed Church,” confides the son. We are going to have a mass among ourselves, among friends, and all together. »
On the other hand, no tribute is currently planned at the Vélodrome stadium, the home of Olympique de Marseille. “We’re still thinking about it but it’s a lot to do in a short time… We’ve already organized the two masses, we’ll see afterwards if we do anything else,” explains Stéphane. “What we have been trying to do since yesterday is to pay homage to him in the best possible way.”
