Five points ahead, the best attack and an ongoing series of three successes (6 out of 8 in total) ... For Paris FC, all indicators are green before facing, this Saturday in Charléty (3 pm), Caen (2nd) for his first big shock of the season.
If President Pierre Ferracci declared himself to "give himself three years to climb to Ligue 1", the Parisian club - which is now among the Top 5 budgets thanks to the arrival of Bahrain - shows, match after match, that it has the ability to join the fight for an elite place this season.
His opponents and observers of this Ligue 2 championship, where the announced favorites (Toulouse, Amiens, Guingamp, Caen, Troyes, Clermont…) experienced a delay at the start, are, in any case, very largely convinced.
"The best team in the championship"
"Paris FC is the best team in the championship in terms of solidarity, realism, ability to project, with attackers who go very quickly," says Nicolas Usaï, the coach of Châteauroux, beaten (1-2) last Saturday .
And it's not just our game that I see it.
It is also a team that has the profession and defends very well.
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Oswald Tanchot, the former coach of Le Havre, who became number 1 at Amiens after being an assistant at the start of the season when Paris FC came to win at La Licorne (1-2, 3rd day) knows this championship very well and the Parisian club where he has been approached several times in the past.
For him, the arrival of René Girard and the internal changes in January were the trigger for this success.
"The quality of the coach and all of his experience are significant assets," Tanchot believes.
The team he forms with his president seems to me to be working very well.
The recruitment was carried out very early on with real in-depth work.
The Norman coach highlights the anticipation of the transfer window and a flawless cast.
“Paris FC is very balanced in terms of profiles, with more experienced former players like Belaud, Hanin and players who come from National, who are hungry in addition to being very good, Laura, Name, Ndiaye, Guilavogui, Caddy, resumes Tanchot.
It is still too early to say compared to the others but the PFC has a lot of arguments to be ambitious until the end.
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"More offensive possibilities"
Now a consultant at Téléfoot, Benjamin Nivet has obtained four advances in L1 in his career.
“If I had to compare with the team that I faced with Troyes and which had finished 4th, I would say that the team of this season is stronger, considers the former playmaker. Two years ago, they were impressive defensively and they are still going strong.
But they have more offensive possibilities.
Laura, whom I didn't know, is a real find and a big asset.
Lopez has taken a step forward and the old ones like Demarconnay, Kanté and Mandouki have become very efficient again.
The experiences of Belaud, Martin and Pitroipa are also important.
There is also a real depth of bench.
When we say to ourselves that Gakpa (Editor's note: in recovery) has not yet been able to play ... Even if there are 7 or 8 contenders, Paris FC has the workforce to be regular and stay at the top.
It's a really great team that deserves to be there.
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"A real state of mind"
L2 specialist for many years, Robert Malm, will comment on the match against Caen on BeIN Sports 3 this Saturday afternoon.
“It's not yet a turning point but a real good test for the PFC because Caen is coming back very well,” he says.
Me, I like to analyze in cycles of 10 games and we are almost there.
Paris FC already has a good cushion in advance and these points will no longer be taken.
This team has a real state of mind which allows it to have the resources to pull off a draw (2-2) while Niort must win every day or beat Pau (1-0) by being less well.
I discover Laura who knows how to cause big differences thanks to her power.
From what it has shown, this team must finish at least in the top five.
I even see them go to the end ... The key is the presence of René Girard.
He knows how to manage the vagaries of a season, he will know how to shake up or on the contrary protect his group when necessary.
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