French Football Cup: excitement takes over Saint-Brieuc before the clash against Paris

"Of course we only talk about that!" In the streets decorated in the colors of the Stade Briochin, a unique atmosphere takes over the inhabitants, at the end of winter. The radiant weather hovering over Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d'Armor) even adds to the party for Briac and his friends, seated at the famous sports café, BDS, a hall with a refined design of 6,000 m2, renowned for broadcasting sporting events. This Wednesday, February 26, the city is mobilized as one man to support its team, a National 2 club (fourth division), which hosts Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of the French Football Cup.

After triumphing over OGC Nice in the round of 16, FC Annecy in the round of 16, and Le Havre in the round of ³² , Stade Briochin, the competition's underdog, is preparing to once again challenge a club playing at a much higher level. Judge for yourself: the Breton club has a budget of less than a million euros, while the Parisian club's is close to 800 million euros.

"We have the impression that since December, the planets have aligned," savors the mayor (various left) of the town, Hervé Guihard. "That's the particularity of this competition, the small ones can win against the big ones, but it's true that the course is quite incredible." For the occasion, the town hall offered several hundred tickets for young people from the neighborhoods and community leaders of the agglomeration.

This time, due to the influx of supporters, the hostilities will take place at Roazhon Park in Rennes. "There are five major football clubs in the city, we have allocated one or more coaches per club so that all the kids can go and see the match," explains the mayor. "The idea for us is to send as many people as possible to Rennes, because it is one of the rare times, if not the only time, when they will be able to attend such a match and see the stars of PSG."

Proof of a successful year, the first in which Stade Briochin has reached this level of the competition, many of the city's retailers have come together to organise a lottery to win tickets to attend the match. "Even the bistros are getting together to charter supporters' coaches, we've never seen anything like it," jokes Hervé Guihard.

If they did not obtain the precious sesame, Briac and his friends will nevertheless enjoy the show via a giant screen in their favorite place. A supporter at heart but realistic, the latter warns: "We're going to get a suitcase, but that won't stop us from celebrating!" "You never know, we're going to beat the billionaires!", dreams one of his friends, when another, more cautious, reminds them of the spanking that the Breton neighbor, Brest, suffered a few days earlier in the Champions League (3-0 in the first leg on February 11, 7-0 in the return leg on the 19th).

"We don't play the same sport as them," Guillaume Allanou, the Stade Briochin coach, stressed to the press after attending the PSG match against Stade Brestois in the stands on February 11. "They are two completely different galaxies. I'm happy to face the best team in France."

Winners no matter what

At the BDS, the staff is expecting an extraordinary turnout. "There's going to be noise," whispers an employee who is already tired, but happy to experience "a moment that is probably unique." Even before the match, a scent of victory seems to float through the city. As evidenced by the many billboards thanking the footballers in blue and yellow for the emotions they provided.

"We've already won!" Mayor Hervé Guihard even assures us. Whatever the result, of course we're happy . Now, unlike our neighbours in Brest who were struck by lightning, the Parisians don't really know what to expect from us. We're a UFO in French football and we intend to play our luck boldly!"

"There is still a match to play , it's not just a party," coach Guillaume Allanou said in the columns of the local newspaper Le Penthièvre . "My approach to my players will be the following: show France what you are capable of doing. You have to try to play football."