Sixth top scorer in the championship, Robin Molinié is having a prosperous season, like his club, Cesson-Rennes, which was not expected to have such a party. On the eve of his return to Chartres, the former captain of the CCMHB, father of a little Pablo for a few weeks, spoke about his new environment, his progress and his career.
Did you imagine such a season when you arrived in Cesson last summer?
It is clear that I could not have dreamed of a better start at this club. But we are not even talking about debuts anymore, we are two thirds of the way through to the championship, we have confirmed and now we are well settled in the first part of the table. It’s really great.
“We must be one of the teams with the most French people in the championship. So it’s not necessarily a guarantee of success, but it makes a lot of things easier from the start of the season, because we all speak the same language and it’s easier.”
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What do you think is the key to this success?
Without throwing myself flowers, I think that the recruitment was successful. The group works really well humanly, and it shows in what the team releases. There is an alchemy that was made very quickly in prep and it is our greatest strength this season. The group is healthy, we are able to tell each other things, we are united and we fight together. And then there are still a lot of good players! We started the season really well and that put us on the right track.
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Cesson is somewhat the antithesis of Chartres, with only two foreigners in the squad.
It is not the same recruitment policy. We must be one of the teams with the most French in the championship. So it’s not necessarily a guarantee of success, but it makes a lot of things easier from the start of the season, because we all speak the same language and it’s easier.
The C’Chartres MHB victim of a robbery in Cesson-Rennes
The end of the season is approaching. A qualification for Europe, do you think about it?
It seems to me that France have lost a place and that we will have to finish fifth, so that complicates the task. But clearly, we are already beyond what we set ourselves at the start of the season. Our end of the calendar is going to be a little more complicated too. We’re not putting more pressure on ourselves than that, but we’re going to try to get as good as possible, and if we finish top 6 or top 5, it will be a great pleasure. But if it’s 7th or 8th, it won’t be a failure, quite the contrary!
What memories do you have of the first leg, which you won with a free kick at the last second?
One of the biggest heists of my career! However, it was one of the least successful matches of our season, at home. Chartres, for its part, had played a very good match and we had come close to the correctional. We are warned, we know them well, we know that they are complicated to play. And they must be eager for revenge!
It’s my journey, and it’s also a source of pride to have struggled and to have shown things in D2. Some thought maybe it was my level. Me, I never let go, and I still have a few good years left.
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Let’s talk a bit about you. Is this the best season of your career?
I thrive on this team. I was immediately given an important role and I was replaced as a centre-half. It’s a job I love. I also have the mission to take penalties, so it inflates the stats. But obviously I’m satisfied with my season. I couldn’t ask for more. In D1, it’s clearly my best season.
It will have taken you some time to settle in D1…
I stayed in Chartres for a long time because I was convinced that it would work and that it would rise. And it took longer than expected, so I accumulated quite a few Proligue seasons. But without regret. It’s my journey, and it’s also a source of pride to have struggled and to have shown things in D2. Some thought maybe it was my level. Me, I never let go, and I still have a few good years left. I think I have proven now that I have the level to be successful in this league, even if it is late.
“Over the years, I think I have made progress in the vision, the organization of the game, the management of a match. And currently, the position of center half corresponds perhaps more to my qualities.”
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Is it a form of revenge against those who may have doubted you?
I don’t use what I hear on the right, on the left to motivate me. If I could prove people wrong, I’m happy. Not to mention my case, we see it this year in our recruitment, there are several guys who come from Proligue, whom we had labeled Proligue, and who perform in D1. If you’re in a group that works well, you’re serious, the step is not so high.
Chartres did not go very far from the feat in Nantes
Do you feel like you’ve made progress since leaving Chartres?
I think I changed register. At Chartres, I mainly had a role as a shooter, in the left-back position. Over the years, I think I have made progress on the vision, the organization of the game, the management of a match. And currently, the position of half-center perhaps corresponds more to my qualities. Because maybe I don’t have the trigger and the arm of a 2m guy who’s going to be able to shoot 12m. At Chartres, I didn’t necessarily have the lucidity and the experience to play the way I play now.
Coming back to Chartres, is that still something special?
It will be the second time in an official match since last year I was injured. It’s always a match that I spot when the calendar comes out. I’m happy to be back, I know almost everyone and I’m going to see a lot of people I like. Of course, if you know me, you know that I will really want to win! But it’s nice to come back to Cochet and find people with whom I had a good time. I also take this opportunity to say that I have a big thought for your colleague, Isabelle Hervé.
Objective victory for Chartres. Weaned from victory since the beginning of February, the CCMHB have only taken one point in the last five days (1 draw, 4 defeats). So he is counting on the reception of Cesson-Rennes, this Friday evening, to stop the negative spiral and relaunch a dynamic. Toni Gerona’s men will be able to build on what they did well last week in Nantes, where they had a tough time in second in the championship, before collapsing in the final minutes (40-36 ). Rennes, surprising seventh, remains on its side on a success at the Glaz Arena against Saint-Raphaël (32-29). Undefeated at home, the Bretons are having more difficulty away, with eight defeats in ten games. A fragility which will perhaps give the Chartrains the opportunity to take their revenge on the first leg, lost 25-24 in incredible conditions, on a free kick at the last second.
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Romain Leger
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