Among the glossy books published lately, one managed to tick many boxes that are dear to Invisible Bordeaux. Sport: check! History: check! Heritage: check! Oddball stories: check too! For we give you "Lescure Insolite" written by the journalist, author and sports historian Laurent Brun, which offers a real journey through time to discover some of the most surprising episodes in the rich history of Bordeaux’s mythical municipal stadium, Parc Lescure for some, these days known as Stade Chaban-Delmas!
In order to know everything there is to know about "Lescure Insolite", I recently spoke with Laurent. Our French-language discussion can be heard in its entirety in the brand new episode of the Invisible Bordeaux podcast (see further down the page) but, as a bit of a teaser, here is a little of what he revealed about the book!
The background to the book
This book is the fourth in a series started in 2015 with my colleague Julien Bée, who had proposed, to tie in with the move of the Girondins de Bordeaux football club from Parc Lescure to Matmut Atlantique, to find a way of highlighting the stadium. We had initially targeted the legendary players of the Girondins de Bordeaux, initially in the form of audio reports intended for the radio, but this was never used. That's where the idea of the book was born, and it evolved into a multi-tome project.
We self-published the first volume, La Fabuleuse aventure des supporters des Girondins de Bordeaux. This work convinced Editions Sud Ouest, with whom we already had an agreement, to publish the following books, "Le rendez-vous des légendes" with a historical, heritage and sports angle; then "Lescure 80 ans", where we go beyond football to talk about other sports, culture, etc. Then my idea was to focus on more unusual and little-known chapters in the history of the stadium, hence "Lescure Insolite".
What are the most surprising subjects you uncovered?
With the help of the Préservons Lescure association, one investigation started with a photo from the early 1960s showing three men playing basketball who were in fact Dutch judokas - Anton Geesink, Hein Essink and Jan van Ierland - who at the time were taking classes at the Lescure dojo under the guidance of master Haku Michigami, who had become a technical advisor to the Dutch judo federation. He had detected enormous potential in these Dutchmen of rather modest origins and thought he could train them and make them good competitors. They then beat the Japanese on their own soil in the 1964 Olympic Games, the first time the Japanese were defeated in their king sport. The Dutch judokas went on to become world stars!
Let's not forget the Harlem Globetrotters exhibition match in 1951 – the book includes a beautiful photo of them in action on the annex sports field. These basketball players were of the calibre of Michael Jordan, they are stars that got me dreaming while consulting the archives... bearing in mind that they were also managed at the time by Jesse Owens, the four-time medalist sprinter at the 1938 Olympic Games!
An event recounted in the book that you would have loved to have attended
The game between Girondins de Bordeaux and the France national team ahead of the 1966 World Cup! The coach of the French team had targeted the Girondins, then the best team of the country with FC Nantes, and whose style of play was reminiscent of that of the Italians, that is to say tough, solid, strong defensively... in order to be best equipped to compete with Italy or England. This was not a gala match but very much a warm-up preparation match, the Girondins put the French team very much to the test (although France ended up winning 3-2). There were exceptional players in both teams.
Any upcoming projects?
I have written a couple of other books about things that happened at Lescure, but from a different perspective. I am waiting for new documents to complete them. But at the moment I am finalizing a surfing book, more precisely on the history of the Lacanau Pro competition. So I’m setting aside football and picking up a surfboard! I will also be shifting to rugby in the future, and I will keep you posted!
Over the course of the discussion, Laurent also shared his experience of the stadium, his feelings on its transition from a multi-purpose complex and football ground to a rugby stadium, whereabouts on the pitch he would pitch a tent if he could spend a night there... and we also talked at length about the Girondins de Bordeaux Football Club, focusing in particular on the achievements, at the end of the 1980s, of the first Englishman to have sported the Bordeaux chevron on his chest! Enjoy the listen!
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