The record will not fall.
After an influx of 35,706 and 32,193 spectators against Metz and Troyes, Geoffroy Guichard will pass a milestone by welcoming “only” 41,278 people for the match against Marseille, despite a maximum gauge set at 41,965 spectators.
“
Incredible!
You can't know how I can't wait to be there
, ”enthuses Pascal Dupraz, the Stéphane technician at a pre-match press conference on Friday.
To discover
Calendar and results Ligue 1
League 1 standings
However, the biggest attendance post-Euro 2016, since the construction of the stands in corners, will therefore remain that in the derby against neighboring Lyon during the 2018/2019 season, with 41,492 places sold.
Crowds that will not catch up with the Saint-Etienne-Lille of May 11, 1985, where 47,747 furious Saint-Etienne residents had gathered in an overflowing Geoffroy Guichard stadium for a quarter-final of the Coupe de France.
Current configuration obliges, this gauge will remain unattainable.
Read alsoLigue 1 standings
In short, the record will not fall.
But too bad.
The fervor generated by the thirtieth anniversary of the Green Angels, celebrated this Saturday, should amply cover this deficit of around 700 places.
In addition against OM, a historic opponent of ASSE (113 confrontations in Ligue 1, 41 wins for the Greens, 22 draws, 50 defeats), where the atmosphere has always been there.
Even more, in a breathless race for the men of Pascal Dupraz.
I arrived this morning, and the hairs came to me, the tears came to me because I saw the gardeners clearing part of the plain of snow to allow the training to be held at 5 p.m.
Pascal Dupraz, coach of Saint-Etienne
Nothing can prevent the fiery spectacle scheduled for Saturday.
Not even the press release from the Green Angels, ordering its members to “
not use explosive devices
”.
Not even the snow, which fell en masse this Friday, covering the Forez with a thick white coat.
“
I arrived this morning, and the hairs came to me, the tears came to me because I saw the gardeners clearing snow from part of the plain to allow training to be held at 5 p.m.,
says the Haut-Savoyard
.
But I also saw the educators from the training center with shovels and brooms clearing snow.
So what did I do?
I called my technical staff for whom I am responsible and I told them, there is something wrong: the center's educators are on our lawn and we are not there.
To fix this mistake, at 12:15 all my staff was there to allow the staff of the training center to go to lunch.
»
Cult matches played in the snow
Since the beginning of the 2000s, ASSE has loved these difficult climatic conditions.
In Saint-Etienne, the snow is a vector of solidarity, as his coach says so well.
But also victories.
Especially against clubs from the South, accustomed to more summery temperatures.
The Japanese Nakata, here in the duel with Julien Sablé, will long remember this meeting under the snow of Forez.
Panoramic
It all started with an ASSE–Montpellier, on February 16, 2000, where the Greens won at the end of the match with a score of 5-4, in a biting blizzard.
On March 6, 2005, the gesture of Nakata from Marseille, unable to control the ball on the bleached lawn, will also remain etched in the collective memory of all football lovers, especially the Stéphanois, victorious 2-0.
More recently, the images of Brandao, Aubameyang and others clearing the lines of the field to go to the end of the meeting against… Montpellier again, on February 9, 2013, and to ratify a victory (4-1), will also make the rounds of the world.
The most picky will add that the Greens lost in the snow, 3 to 0 against Gueugnon, on January 29, 2003, but in Ligue 2 this time.
Aubameyang got his hands dirty clearing the lawn of the Geoffroy Guichard stadium against Montpellier on February 9, 2013. ¨Panoramic
Anyway, all the elements are there to experience a tasty match between Saint-Etienne and Marseille.
Rich in goals and emotions.
And, perhaps, in indelible images.
"
Can't wait for tomorrow at 9 p.m.!"
“Prophesies Eliaquim Mangala one last time at a press conference.
Yes, strongly.
