Published on : 29/01/2021 – 15:02Modified : 29/01/2021 – 15:00
Rennes (AFP)
Complicated training, matches without even volunteers, clubs forced to forfeit … The Coupe de France returns this weekend for amateurs after three months of dormancy, but the magic struggles to follow.
In almost all of the clubs still in the running, the announcement of the resumption of the Cup was greeted with enthusiasm by players maintained since the end of October on a dry regime of some contactless training.
With only ten days to prepare, waivers issued in a dropper to train on weekdays after the 6:00 p.m. curfew, many took up the challenge with self-sacrifice.
“I saw incredible energy in my players. They are super happy to resume, they want to wet the jersey,” told AFP Pierre Naudet, coach of Angers NDC (6th division), who called his players at 6.30 a.m. before getting a waiver for training after 6 p.m. this week.
Sunday, they will face Laval, a National club (3rd division) whose championship has not been suspended. “Qualification, we don’t think about it, but I would like us to be able to exist, to have fun,” he explains.
Facing quasi-professionals is also the fate of Pavilly (6th division), who will receive Quévilly-Rouen, current 2nd in the National. And without exemption for training …
– 6.30 a.m., frozen ground –
“It’s complicated, especially waking up. Once on the pitch, we forget that it is 6.30 am. But it’s very complicated with the snow and the frozen ground,” testifies Hugo Durant, 24-year-old Pavilly right back. years.
“We feel that we are late, we lack pace. But the fact of making efforts like that, it makes you even more want to win,” adds Gautier Kong, his 20-year-old teammate. “And if that happens, we will play a game and not play the season again, so we will give it our all.”
Opposite, Quevilly coach Bruno Irles recognizes that his team seems to have an advantage. “But there is no ideal solution,” he told AFP. “The Coupe de France is not my priority and we will not go with the championship squad. There will be a lot of players from our N3 team, which is in the same conditions as Pavilly”.
Despite the enthusiasm of many players, some clubs were however content with a few training sessions last weekend. The heart is not necessarily there: for small clubs, a Coupe de France behind closed doors is not only a heartbreak, it is an antinomy.
Even the many volunteers hired for a week to allow clubs to respect the very strict health protocol will not be able to attend matches …
– “Spoiled children” –
Usually a significant source of income in a disaster-stricken area, the Cup will not bring in anything this year at the ticket office or bar. And only those qualified for the next round will receive the prize of 7,500 euros.
Under these conditions, some even gave up. They are currently ten, out of the 250 clubs engaged this weekend, according to the federation, which exceptionally lifted the penalties incurred (fine and ban from participating in the following edition).
Like Flers (6th division), the first to throw in the towel on January 23, clubs withdrawing invoked the risk of injury for their players deprived of regular training for several months and a feeling of responsibility, so that the time has come to strengthen health measures.
This is the case of Velay FC (5th division), where half of the workforce wanted to play, tells AFP Jonathan Pessemesse, mid-33. “Obviously, I’m disappointed. It’s probably my last season and it could have been my last game.”
“Why us and not archery or pétanque? Why would we still be spoiled children?”, Explains Patrice Ahran, president of the Bourg-Blanc club (7th division). Several of its partners (restaurants, bar …) have been closed for months, some of its players on short-time work, hospitals still overwhelmed … “The Coupe de France is magic, but only when the ingredients are reunited “.
© 2021 AFP
