Ligue 1: Algerian international Andy Delort firmly expected in Montpellier
Andy Delort with the Nice jersey.
AFP - VALERY HACHE
Text by: Farid Achache Follow
3 mins
Nice travels to Montpellier on Saturday March 12, where the supporters should give a very special welcome to Andy Delort, former idol of La Paillade whose departure last summer was very badly experienced in the Hérault.
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This week, the prefect of Hérault outright banned Nice fans from going to La Mosson, a ban justified among other things by the "
surprise departure
" of Delort, "
not accepted
" according to him by the Montpellier ultras, who do not
would have “
not forgiven this last minute defection of this native of Hérault
”.
“
He will have the welcome he should have
”
Perplexed, the Nice coach Christophe Galtier reacted: “
I dare to hope that this is not the only reason for this ban.
What is the next step?
That we can't play a boy who moves from one club to another?
It's really a pity.
»
"
I told him not to train
," he joked to the press this week.
“
There is nothing special about his return.
He will have the welcome he should have, he is neither the first nor the last to return to his former club.
He is armed on the mental level, there is no emotion
, “then resumed Galtier.
Above all, the Nice coach, launched towards an end to the season full of challenges for his club, second in L1 and finalist of the Coupe de France, is counting on the form of his striker, again decisive after a somewhat dull period, as evidenced by the magnificent goal scored at the end of the match last Saturday to beat Paris SG in the last minutes, thanks to a volley placed under the top corner of Costa Rican Keylor Navas (1-0).
“
When you have such a striker on the bench, you can't deprive
yourself of it ,” explained the coach who can choose between Delort, Dolberg and Gouiri to form his attacking duo.
"
In the box, he hurts the opponent
"
Nice goalkeeper Walter Benitez, confirms for his part that Delort is in good shape and no more panicked than that at the idea of rubbing shoulders with the whistles of La Mosson, where Nice rarely shines, with only two successes, in 1995 and 2016 “
I find it good.
He has a lot of experience and knows what to expect in Montpellier.
He wants to win.
Andy is dangerous.
In the box, he hurts the opponent
,” said the Argentine.
Still, with or without Delort, Nice must above all take advantage of the bad patch that Montpellier is going through, beaten four times in the last five days, to build on the success obtained against Paris.
And for the Hérault players too, now only 11th in the ranking, the Delort question is incidental.
"
The major event is the reception of Nice, it's not Andy's return
," decided coach Olivier Dall'Oglio.
And to add: “
Andy Delort holder?
It's the least of my worries (laughs).
If it's not him, it's Dolberg, or Gouiri, or Kluivert, so no no… It will be nice to see Andy again because he's a very good boy, he's done good things for Montpellier,
This season, Delort, who has put his international career on hold, has scored 9 goals in Ligue 1 and made 2 assists.
He has been established fifteen times, and is the second most used striker this year, behind Amine Gouiri (23 tenures).
With AFP
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