A few weeks ago, it was just a dream.
From now on, it is (without doubt) an ambition.
Stade Brestois, surprisingly second in the ranking, established itself, during the last days of the championship, as a legitimate candidate for the podium...and therefore as a contender for a qualifying place for the next edition of the Champions League.
This Saturday evening (9:00 p.m.), in the shock of the 25th day of Ligue 1 against RC Lens, the Breton team has the opportunity to get closer (a little closer) to the C1.
Le Figaro
explains to you why qualification for the Ty-Zefs for the most beautiful European cup would be a good thing for French football.
To discover
Calendar and results Ligue 1
Ligue 1 ranking
Rewarding good work in Brest
Returned to Ligue 1 during the 2019-2020 financial year, Stade Brestois has experienced ups and downs in recent seasons.
But for a little over a year, and the arrival on the bench of Éric Roy in January 2023 after worrying results, the Breton team has been working particularly well.
The former OGC Nice technician, who notably served as sports director at RC Lens, was (quickly) able to turn the club around by establishing a real style of play, based on intensity, commitment, and rapid transitions (a bit like his predecessor Michel Der Zakarian).
As proof, the Ty-Zefs, in bad shape during the 2022-2023 winter break, finally managed to save themselves, finishing in fourteenth place in the ranking.
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And during the off-season, they were very clever in the transfer market to strengthen themselves with players who fit perfectly into their playing pattern. We can among others cite Mahdi Camara, one of the key players of the team this season, the young Bradley Locko or the experienced Jonas Martin who often does good off the bench.
Result ?
Stade Brestois is now stronger, more confident in its game, and more complete since it now manages to shine in placed attacks.
Little surprise, then, to see them perform well this season.
But from there to playing the (very) leading roles... In any case, a qualification of the Bretons for the next edition of the Champions League would reward their good work, at all levels (management, sports).
It would also serve as a reminder that good ideas can supplant big financial resources, as RC Lens last season (already) showed.
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Creating the history of the club…and preparing for the future
Founded in 1950, following a merger, Stade Brestois has never played a single match on the European scene.
His best ranking in the French first division was eighth place in 1987. Suffice to say that Pierre Lees-Melou and his teammates have the opportunity, in the coming weeks, to write the history of the Finistère team.
The entire club and the supporters, whose fervor accompanies the players at the Francis-Le-Blé stadium, also deserve to taste the joys of European games.
And this, even if the Ty-Zefs' possible Champions League matches could be relocated due to the non-compliance of their venue with UEFA requirements for the C1 (excluding matches in the 1st and 2nd qualifying rounds).
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One thing is certain, a qualification of Stade Brestois for the “Coupe aux Grandes Oreilles” would arouse real enthusiasm and why not passions, particularly among the youngest, from the Brest region, from Brittany and even (even) elsewhere.
It would also be a great opportunity to bring the club into another dimension, to "explode" its budget (€48 million), and therefore to strengthen itself even more...and perhaps to allow it to settle down, on the duration, among the best French teams, a bit like RC Lens (even if the task is always difficult).
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We want to see Pierre Lees-Melou in the Champions League
Returning to France in the summer of 2022 after a year's experience at Norwich, Pierre Lees-Melou has established himself in recent months as one of the very best players in Ligue 1. The ex-Dijon player literally shines in the midfield, in front of the defense.
It is in particular thanks to its activity, its (numerous) recoveries, its (very) clean restarts, and its achievements (already 4!) that Stade Brestois is having, for the moment, the best season of its career.
His individual performances are so impressive that some, like Éric Roy, cite him among the potential candidates for the French team for Euro 2024. The person concerned does not really believe it: “
To be honest, I never even dreamed of it.
Because the step is too high.
I dreamed of being a professional, yes, to say otherwise would be a lie, and I'm already living a dream by being a professional.
But the French team... The coach overdid it a little!
I don't think about it, and I don't think I'll be there.
For me, there is no debate
,” he said in an interview with
Télégramme
.
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The fact remains that we want to see a player of such quality, with a (slightly) atypical trajectory – he broke through to the professionals late in life –, playing on the biggest European stage, rub shoulders with the best midfielders of the Old Continent.
To see, in particular, what his glass ceiling is...and if he (really) has his place with the Blues.
Answer in a few months?