The emotion was too strong. The pain too. Standing behind the desk specially installed for the occasion and next to a huge photo of his son, Jean-Marie Dominici, whom everyone here calls "Jeannot", does not have the strength to speak. "It's too hard," breathes Christophe Dominici's dad, his eyes red and his voice broken. Despite everything, he manages to thank the people present at this ceremony in honor of his son, tragically and prematurely died almost a year ago at the age of 48, a few hectometers away in the Parc de Saint-Cloud. On Wednesday, the Stade Français club paid a moving tribute to one of its emblematic players, one of his sons.
The Stade du Saut du Loup, located in the Bois de Boulogne (Paris XVI), along the banks of the Seine, has been renamed after the former international. At the beginning of June, the Council of Paris unanimously voted for this deliberation carried by Pierre Rabadan, sports assistant to Mayor Anne Hidalgo, former friend and teammate and "Domi" in the pink jersey of the Stadium. Around 200 people - elected officials, former playing partners, current Stade players, many friends, former club president Max Guazzini, his family, his wife Loretta, his daughters Chiara and Mya, seated in the front row - , were invited for this moving communion.
“Christophe was Parisian rugby, Christophe was French rugby.
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🔚 𝚂𝚊𝚞𝚝 𝚍𝚞 𝙻𝚘𝚞𝚙
∞ 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝙲𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚒 # SFParis pic.twitter.com/7uRnckr7yx
- Stade Français Paris (@SFParisRugby) October 20, 2021
“I was eager to see Christophe's name backed up at this stage,” says Rabadan.
It is a beautiful symbol.
He lived nearby, we are not far from the Longchamps racecourse, everyone knew his passion for horses.
His family lives next door now and it is the stadium where the pros and the youngsters of the Stade Français train, this will allow future generations to know him, not to forget him.
"
Simon, 12 years old: "important to show that we don't forget it"
These new generations were present.
Attentive players from the Under-14 team attended the ceremony.
“It's important to show that we don't forget it,” says Simon, 12 years old and a classmate of one of Dominici's daughters.
We talk about him with our friends, he is an inspiration for us.
He has achieved many feats.
"
WEDNESDAY 20 OCTOBER 2021. The Stade Français training stadium has been renamed after its former emblematic player Christophe Dominici, who tragically died in November 2020
Before Pierre Rabadan, another former combat and fiesta partner, Thomas Lombard, had spoken to honor his friend. "I chose not to prepare anything because it is the best way to pay tribute to him, Domi is the most spontaneous player that I have met," says the current general manager of Stade Français. By giving his name to our training ground, we are in a way extending the memory of an exceptional man. I miss him every day, you can't turn the page like that. At the club we continue to receive messages from people who send gifts, who want to honor his memory and who challenge us by saying that we are not doing enough for him. The club would also think about giving its name to one of the stands of the Jean-Bouin stadium. "It would be a great idea, he deserves it",says Max Guazzini.
