Who from Toulouse or Annecy will join Nantes in the final of the Coupe de France on April 29 at the Stade de France? Answer this Thursday evening. Annecy is the surprise guest of this last four. The Hauts-Savoyards, residents of Ligue 2 of which they are one of the smallest budgets, have indeed created a sensation in the quarter-finals by eliminating Olympique de Marseille at the Stade Vélodrome.
They dream tonight of bringing down a second Ligue 1 club, Toulouse. The small Annecy stadium, 13,500 seats, will be sold out for the occasion with the support of an entire city.
A culmination
90 minutes from the Stade de France, FC Annecy supporters, like Patrice, dream out loud of a Cup final, which would quite simply be the first in the club’s history. “For us, it’s the culmination of this team. We feel the players are very motivated and very enthusiastic. We believe in the impossible and this Stade de France, we want to go there!”, explains Patrice at the microphone of Europe 1.
13,500 spectators and sold-out match
It’s a whole city and even a whole region that is growing behind FC Annecy. A club promoted to Ligue 2 this year, which was still playing in the fourth division three years ago. Perseverance and hard work have paid off, explains Christiane Levet, the club’s historic supporter: “The players are in solidarity with each other. Everyone defends, even the attackers come back to defend. They are determined. Like Hauts-Savoyards. Hauts-Savoyards , when they have something in mind, they get there! They have a hard head, you can say that! When they are motivated, they go all the way. So we believe in it!”
These supporters will be present in the crowded stands of the Parc des Sports this Thursday evening. 13,500 spectators and sold-out match while the club has received nearly 40,000 ticket requests in recent days.