The late Louis Nicollin — “Loulou” to his friends — was theepitome of a French club president from another era.

On match days, you could find most presidents, a cigarette hanging out of their mouth, huddled on the team bench next to theircoach.

Like most club presidents, Loulou was a self-made man — he made his fortune in the garbage business — and poured his money into his passion, le foot.

He took controlof Montpellier Paillade Sport Club, then an amateur team in the Division d’Honneur, in 1974. It pulled one of the greatest upsets in French soccer history, winning the Ligue 1 title in 2012. Thestar of the team was Olivier Giroud , who went on to be the starting center forward on France’s 2018 World Cup championship team.

The rotund Nicollin was famous for his collectionof socce

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