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Coupe de France: in Nice, Versailles will be more than a Tom Thumb

2022-03-01T07:31:06.732Z


Only one game from the Stade de France but unable to find a stadium for the semi-final, the Versailles will have to play in Nice this Tuesday.


It seems that it is still called the magic of the Coupe de France.

But with many illusions lost along the way then.

In our dreams, a semi-final where an amateur club of N2 challenges seasoned professionals, is almost a childhood meeting.

Where everything seems possible, in a stadium necessarily committed to the cause of the little one, filled with old fans and converts of the last hour.

And where a whole region dreams of exploits.

Alas, we are talking about Île-de-France here: the biggest talent pool in French football but unable to find an approved stadium to host FC Versailles… Between PSG, which refuses to lend the Park, preferring its lawn to elegance, and other non-approved or overpriced speakers, Versailles will finally play in Nice (this Tuesday evening at 9 p.m.) in an all-inclusive trip supported by the Riviera residents: travel and accommodation paid, ticketing revenue offered.

Well, Nice's chances of qualifying by playing in front of their home crowd are greatly increased, but let's not quibble in front of the beauty of the gesture...

Read alsoCoupe de France: how the Versailles club, thanks to its epic, is moving the lines in its city

Versailles preferred financial insurance to the risk of playing, whatever the cost, in its region.

It is anything but surprising.

The Petit Poucet label for the Coupe de France 2022 seems irrelevant.

Not a fairy tale but a fable.

That of the Frog who dreams of being as big as an ox sticks better to his jersey.

At its level, Versailles is a small PSG.

His own Qatar is called the City real estate group, which has injected a lot of money and dreams of quickly reaching Ligue 2. Its budget of 2.8 million euros is huge for a 4th division club.

And his salaries attracted the safe bets of N2 delighted to earn more than elsewhere.

For the myth of pure and hard amateurs, congratulated by their office colleagues after the exploits and forced to take a day to play, we will therefore come back.

A victory as a particle accelerator?

In the wealthy city of Versailles, you shouldn't take a beating for the Pavillon de la Lanterne: the real challenge for Versailles players is not to beat Nice but to impose themselves in a city escorted by other clichés: the pleated skirts, private schools or Sunday masses.

Certainly, the round ball does not yet trigger jubilation in the city center but the Versailles have earned their place in the semi-finals, in particular by relying on an airtight defense.

Even if they only eliminated one upper division club, Toulouse (L2) in the round of 16.

So yes, Nice, especially at home, is a big favourite.

But a feat, a real one, without yet bringing the crowds to parade in front of the gates of the castle, could act as a particle accelerator.

And remember that if the kings lived in Versailles, they were then celebrated in Saint-Denis, very close to the Stade de France.

And after all, when you represent the city of the Sun King, the Bay of Angels may be the ideal place to climb even higher in the sky.

Source: leparis

All sports articles on 2022-03-01

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