It’s a ritual. Each time there is a Coupe de France match between an amateur club and a big L1 team, the players from the lower club set out in search of a jersey, a souvenir of an unforgettable moment that they have just spent for 90 minutes. The meeting this Saturday evening between Fontenay and PSG in the 32nd final of the Coupe de France was no exception to the rule. At the final whistle, the N3 players headed towards their most prestigious opponents to obtain their tunics.
An unwavering supporter of PSG since his childhood, striker Enzo Renou was on a mission. “I tried to go as quickly as possible but I had teammates who were quicker than me. There are normally 4-5 PSG fans in the team and I had the impression that there were a lot more at the end to go and collect a jersey, laughs the one who is also an employee for the Fontenay club. With my teammates, we did not speak to negotiate the Parisians jerseys. Since I was next to Zabarnyi, I asked him for his jersey and he offered it to me. So we talked a little bit. Then, Fabian Ruiz came to me and he also gave me his jersey because he knew that I support PSG. I thanked him warmly and told him that he has truly been a technical leader for 2-3 years now. He has often been criticized and now he is one of the strong elements of the midfield. »
“It’s crazy to have Dembélé’s jersey”
While answering a few questions in the mixed zone, Enzo Renou then saw his idol Vitinha tumble. He stops him, presents him with a PSG jersey with a pen for him to autograph. “It’s not for me but a friend of mine who wanted me to get his jersey signed. I will be very happy. »
At his side, his little brother Noah, the Fontenay goalkeeper, had not been able to collect his jersey. “I wanted to swap him with Renato Marin but he preferred to keep him, which I understand because it was his first match with PSG,” he says. Then, I was able to chat for a few minutes with Lucas Chevalier. He was very nice and gave me his gloves. I didn’t think one day I would be told that I was going to chat with a goalkeeper from PSG and the French team. Honestly, it’s magnificent! »
Midfielder Maxime Bisleau also targeted Vitinha, the 3rd for the Ballon d’Or. But he failed. “I didn’t reach my goal on that but that doesn’t matter, it’s not the most important thing,” he insists. I think we left a beautiful image and it turned out magnificent. And that’s better than a material memory. » He adds: “We didn’t talk about the jerseys before the match because we consider that it’s extra sporting, the most important thing was to achieve great things on the pitch and not talk about the post-match. I believe that Fodé Diawara and our replacement goalkeeper each won Ousmane Dembélé’s jersey. They are lucky but frankly the most important are these memories at La Beaujoire in front of 35,000 people. These emotions are engraved in our memory until the end of our lives. »
Questioned by BeIN Sport, Fodé Diawara did not let go of the Parisian number 10 jersey and had difficulty hiding everything that it represented for him. “It’s crazy to have Dembélé’s jersey, it’s really nice, it’s a chance… the Ballon d’or jersey, frankly, it’s nice.”
