There is a shudder in the streets of Bergerac. In this land of rugby on the banks of the Dordogne, the prospect of the round of 16 of the Coupe de France against Saint-Étienne, even relocated to Périgueux, 50 km further north, is talking about the round ball. The town hall was lit in red and blue, in the colors of the club, the traders decorated the windows, the scarves were sold on the market. And the 3,800 tickets (gauge reached after a hard fight) left quickly and the public will be won over to the Bergeracois, the Saint-Etienne supporters being…
There is a shudder in the streets of Bergerac. In this land of rugby on the banks of the Dordogne, the prospect of the round of 16 of the Coupe de France against Saint-Étienne, even relocated to Périgueux, 50 km further north, is talking about the round ball. The town hall was lit in red and blue, in the colors of the club, the traders decorated the windows, the scarves were sold on the market. And the 3,800 tickets (gauge reached after a hard fight) left quickly and the public will be won over to the Bergeracois, the Saint-Etienne supporters being banned by prefectural decree. “We feel that there is a desire to live this event, appreciates Paul Fauvel, director of the BPFC. It’s even more accentuated than in 2017. ” Five years ago, the club had already reached this level, eliminated by Lille (1-2) in Libourne.
The place has changed but the context, not so much. Leader of his National 2 group, winner of Metz (Ligue 1, 0-0, 5-4 pens) in the 32nd final, of Créteil (National, 0-0, 5-4 pens) in the 16th final, Bergerac Périgord FC never ceases to amaze. And if the championship remains the daily, the bubble Coupe de France is apart. Especially when Saint-Étienne presents itself, whose current ranking does not affect either notoriety or prestige.
In the 32nd final, Bergerac eliminated Metz, the first L1 on its list of hunters.
Archives Michel Faure
” Very proud “
“We are super happy. We managed the transition from cup to league well. And there, to say to ourselves that we are preparing Saint-Etienne… We are very proud, happy to live it together”, underlines Damien Fachan, the Bergerac captain. And hope remains. Finally, between a last of Ligue 1 and a first of National 2, is the gap really three divisions? “It’s not comparable. We will fight with our weapons, we will give everything and we will see how it will go but it will be very hard, ”warns Antoine Letiévant, defender of the BPFC but from Saint-Étienne and supporter of the Greens.
In preparation, Tom Thumb tried to live a normal week. “The excitement aspect is brought by the outside, the press, the family, the friends. We, the staff, on the football aspect, we secure ourselves through what we do every week. Doing more because we are playing against Saint-Étienne would not be consistent, ”explains Erwan Lannuzel, the Bergerac coach.
Only one missing
As he has his entire group, with the exception of injured midfielder Paul Maisonneuve, the Basque coach should be able to line up his favorite 4-3-3. “The game plan is not going to change. It will be necessary to be more reactive, to be able to adapt to what is going to be proposed. Against Metz, we had returned the ball too quickly and we had suffocated to run after. We try to be an actor in the matches. “We learned that anything is possible. We must not change our habits. We have a card to play, ”supports forward Romain Escarpit.
While the Greens struggle, the BPFC weaves a series of 18 matches without defeat, in all competitions. Better, he has not taken a goal in the last four matches of National 2. And he has not conceded any since the start of the adventure in the Coupe de France, seven games. “We feel stronger and stronger, we gain confidence, boasts Letiévant. If we make every effort together, we stay strong. “Defence is the collective desire of the players. It is the reward of the whole group, the offensive sector also works in defense. We attack at 11 and we defend at 11. This series brings a lot of confidence to the boys, ”confirms the coach.
A confidence that makes all the exploits possible. And that makes you want to believe it. Then the tremor could become tremor.