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Portrait 16 July 2019, 16:29

Benjamin's Tale

Benjamin's Tale
He loves high-flying dives on the ground, but he is more of a down to earth guy in everyday life. Meet Benjamin Lecomte, who signed up for five seasons with AS Monaco on Monday, July 15th.

August 10, 2014 – AS Monaco hosted FC Lorient on opening day of the 2014-2015 Ligue 1 season. For Leonardo Jardim it was a great first match having just been appointed coach of the red and white. Finishing second in the previous season, Monaco was preparing to return to the Champions League and was a favorite. Yet things do not happen as hoped.

In the 9th minute, Vincent Aboubakar converted a penalty earned after a foul by Aymen Abdennour. Shoved, the Red and White reacted but collided with a young 23-year-old goalkeeper named Benjamin Lecomte, just designated number 1 by Lorient coach Sylvain Ripoll, now coach of the France U-21 team. With several spectacular saves, he couldn’t stop a Radamel Falcao penalty in the 78th minute. AS Monaco made the difference late in the game, and it is the Merlus who score a second time in the final moments.

Benjamin Lecomte leads Dimitar Berbatov, in a match that will escape AS Monaco in August 2014.
The revelation of the 2014-2015 season

A little more than nine months after this failed start, les Rouge et Blanc gradually progressed. Authors of a superb European run, stopped only in the quarterfinals by Juventus, AS Monaco clung to third place, qualifying for the 3rd preliminary round of the Champions Leauge,

Yannick Carrasco’s opener in the first half was the first step. A penalty earned in the middle of the second period was the second. Anthony Martial then took a shot himself with Benjamin Lecomte in the net. He decides to shoot hard right of the keeper, but Lecomte went on the right side and deflected the ball for a corner. Again decisive, even if he could not prevent the Monaco victory, the Lorient goalkeeper confirms that it was one of the revelations of the season, playing all 38 matches of the season. He gave way to former Monegasque Fabien Audard in the final moments of the match to offer a nice tribute to his predecessor.

Lecomte with Fabien Audard in 2015. A former (2003-2004) and future Monegasque (2019) succeed in the goal Lorient.

In the shadow of Fabien Audard

With 37 appearances in Ligue 1 in 2015-2016 and 31 in the following campaign, Lecomte could not prevent the relegation of Lorient to Ligue 2. It is with Montpellier that Benjamin Lecomte continued his adventure in the top flight in 2017. The challenging final season with Lorient was appreciated by the young man, who knew how to wait for his time and work in the shadows.

Born in Niort, after having begun playing football in the fields of Arcueil in the Paris region, he did not choose the goalkeeper position permanently until the age of 14 before joined FC Lorient permanently in 2009. He then embraced a role of backing up Fabien Audard, that he held over four seasons, and appearing in 13 matches in Ligue 1. In 2013, the time had come for him to take the next step.

He found happiness on loan to Dijon, despite playing in Ligue 2, which will give Lecomte a new dimension to his career. Playing 31 convincing matches with DFCO during the 2013-2014 season, he gained confidence as a top choice keeper during the following season. He more than confirmed that status three years later when joining the Herault.

January 2018, first leg match of Ligue 1, Benjamin Lecomte keeps a clean sheet against Kamil Glik and AS Monaco (0-0).

The blue dream

In 2017, Benjamin Lecomte is already considered one of the best goalkeepers in the championship, but a season of high flight will make him take a new course. 38 matches, 14 clean sheets and the UNFP Trophy 2018 for the best goalkeeper opened the doors of the France National Team.

It may have happened a little late, his first match coming just after the conquest of the Blues in Russia, but enough to make him happy. In September 2018, Lecomte is in the front row at the Stade de France to attend the world title celebrations, where another Benjamin, named Mendy, celebrates to the sound of Vegedream. Still performing well in goal for Montpellier in 2018-2019, he is again selected by Didier Deschamps last spring, as part of the qualifiers for Euro 2020. At 28, with now almost 200 games and five full seasons within the top flight, Benjamin Lecomte continues to confirm his value on the field, but also outside.

Benjamin Lecomte with Benoit Costil at the Stade de France in September 2018.

Stade Louis-II, where everything started …

Despite the rigors of becoming a top flight keeper, Lecomte has always been consistent in his kindness and sincerity wherever he went. Even with the physical requirements of the position, supporters are quick to be critical of those who come up short.

Married, father of two children, Llily-Rose and Leandro, Benjamin Lecomte has already planned a family photo on the lawn of Louis-II, his new home turf. Since he does not have a short memory, he will be able to tell them that it is here that he made his top division debut as a keeper, on October 26, 2010, during a Cup match. Nine years later, a new story begins and Benjamin is determined to make it as fruitful as the previous ones.

Welcome.

The first steps of Benjamin Lecomte towards the Louis-II in the jersey of  AS Monaco.
Rise. Risk. Repeat.