Away at Valenciennes in game 13, Benjamin Stambouli played his 100th professional game for his club formateur, Montpellier. A native of Marseille, as a child he played for them, then FC Sion and CS Sedan Ardennes, where his father Henri was working, and ES Uzès Pont du Gard before joining MHSC at the age of 14. Part of the Gambardella-winning youth side of 2009, he was promoted from the reserves to the senior team for the 2010/11 season and has since made himself indispensable to la Paillade.
A defensive midfielder by trade, his back-up position as central defender has been coming in particularly useful in a season where Montpellier have had a terrible disciplinary record, with 10 red cards in the first 19 league games, and another in the league cup. He can drop back to the defensive line to prevent the need for an immediate substitution, and when the backline was most seriously impacted by unavailabilities, for the game against Saint-Etienne, he started as part of a back three. In the post-title hangover season, he also ended up playing in both fullback positions as injuries and suspensions took their toll.
This polyvalence is an ideal attribute for any Montpellier player. A lack of money and of squad depth coupled with the occasional feeling that anything that can go wrong does go wrong, means MHSC need players willing to give their all wherever they are put. Defensively solid, with a fine eye for an interception, he can also push play forward, combining with more attacking players in midfield with short passing and lay-offs to try to build up a break. His understanding with his old friend from the Gambardella days, Remy Cabella, is clear, but also with his usual sidekicks in midfield this season, Joris Marveaux and Morgan Sanson.
Stambouli capped his centenary match with an injury-time equaliser, only his second league goal for the club (his first, a late consolation, barely celebrated, came away at Bordeaux in the 4-2 defeat in April 2013; he also scored in the 120th minute of the 3-2 League Cup defeat at Sochaux). It was the second time in a row that Montpellier had conceded early, and escaped with a 91st minute leveller – not great for their fans’ collective blood pressure, but a sign, again, of some dogged determination in the team. Playing every minute of the 18 league games he has been available for (he was suspended for game 7), he is Montpellier’s most-used player, and he encapsulates a much-needed never-say-die attitude.
Stambouli sums up many of Montpellier’s positive defining characteristics, therefore – the guy who has come up through the ranks, plays wherever, never stops, and whose loyalties are evident to see. It was him atop the epic pile-on after the last-minute winner against Lille that set up the title win (and who, with Giroud, then threw his shorts to the ultras). It was him, at half-time in the eerily quiet opening game of the 2012/13 season, who went to ask the striking fans of Etang de Thau to start singing, as the team needed their support.
At only 23, he wears the captain’s armband in the absence of Vitorino Hilton, and has taken to this new role like a natural, chivvying the backline, urging his teammates on, negotiating diplomatically with referees. Montpellier have undergone another managerial change after a disappointing series of results, and their Christmas present is to be genuine relegation contenders. They sit 17th on 17, only four points above the red zone, and as Valenciennes and Sochaux start to pull themselves together, Montpellier need to do the same. Game 20 will be at home to Monaco – now Stambouli is needed more than ever, both as a player, and a leader.
