For two weeks, we have not stopped calling him in the streets of Belfort to congratulate him. Including in his physiotherapy practice. So Jean-Paul Simon, 58, the president of Le Petit Poucet of the Coupe de France, with Épinal (National 2) savored the culmination of his mandate, which started 17 years ago, even if he defends himself from it. "It didn't change anything for me. People all know me here! They know that I do not take myself for what I am not ", he insists before the reception of Rennes, this Tuesday evening in ... Sochaux (the Serzian stadium is not approved).
Stamped like a good party animal, this colorful character worthy of Michel Audiard and Louis Nicollin will long remember the 3rd half and the day after the 8th final victorious against Montpellier (0-0, 5- 4 to tab): “We finished the evening very late with the coach (Editor's note: Anthony Hacquard) and a few players. I barely slept an hour before leaving for work, he says. When I arrived at the Pierre-Bonnef Residence to treat my elderly there, everyone greeted me with a banner. I admit, it made me crack ... It is not by chance, the residents, the employees, they are all part of my family, I love them, they love me. I should have known: I had not been passed through the same door as usual, under the pretext of work and to keep the surprise. This job is difficult. We chose to give everything to the elderly, it's beautiful. "
"We are proud to give them dreams"
This peak of notoriety did not surprise him. “The following Saturday morning at the market, I was downright the star! Every day, every hour, I am told about the Coupe de France, explains this bulimic of work little accountable of his hours. "It was already a bit the case after the 16th final against Nancy (3-1)," he recalls. But there is something even stronger going on. I can feel it. People tell me they are proud of us. And we are proud to give them dreams. We are experiencing something unthinkable. This quarter is our World Cup! "
This Tuesday, when the bus of the Breton players, holders of the trophy, will arrive at the stadium, the most famous physiotherapist in Belfort will have already taken the time to prepare. “I will end my day around 11:30 am after a session with my 23 residents of the nursing home. It will leave me in the afternoon to focus on the game. Usually, I take care of the refreshment bar, but here we subcontracted everything, it's cooler. We are ready for anything. You know, when the club went up to National, it was already exceptional. I will make a reference to our Lion (note: sculpture by Auguste Bartholdi, author of the Statue of Liberty) which also makes our city famous: in the end, it's always the lion that eats the reindeer! "
