Third in the National championship, the DFCO must concentrate this week on the Coupe de France. Friday November 29, 2024, the Dijon footballers travel to Chambéry (kick-off 8 p.m.), for the 8th round of the competition. The Savoyards play in N3, two divisions below Dijon. The objective is simple: win to see the next round, the 32nd finals, with the possibility of hosting a Ligue 1 team.
Continuity or broad workforce review?
In the first three rounds, also against amateur level teams, Baptiste Ridira had chosen to leave his executives to rest. “There will be a little less resting playersannounced the Dijon coach at a press conference on the eve of the match. We only play once a week, players have to keep pace. We are going to join an almost typical group.”
For those absent, Nassim Titebah, left injured against Versailleswas left to rest this week to be able to recover well. Ben-Chayeel Hamada, Souleyame Cissé and Victor Poisson are still in the infirmary.
The possibility of playing a Ligue 1 team in the next round
In 2021, still a member of the elite, the DFCO faced Ligue 1 teams every weekend. Two relegations later, the prospect of facing the crème de la crème of French football seems very remote. Except in the Coupe de France! Additional motivation to get through this 8th round, since in the next round, in the round of 32, the Ligue 1 teams enter the competition.
“With each match we feel the scent of the Cup which becomes more and more significant, we want to go as far as possible”confirms Baptiste Ridira, a regular on the courses in this competition with his former club Saint-Pryvé-Saint-Hilaire. “It is part of the club’s objectives to reach the 32nd”he recalls. He encourages his players not to think about what comes next, about the opportunity to compete in Ligue 1 if they qualify. “It’s not something that bothers them too much yet, it’s not a problem,” he assures.
The draw of the 32nd finals will take place on Monday December 2, 2024, organized at the Parc des Princes, the home of defending champion PSG.
The DFCO is riding a very positive dynamic
The DFCO remains on five consecutive victories in all competitions, three in National (FC Rouen, Concarneau, FC Versailles) and two in the Coupe de France. In the Coupe de France, the “Reds” have already passed three rounds: against the USCD (R1) in the 5th round, 4-1 victory; against ASPTT Dijon (N3) in the 6th round, 4-0 victory; And facing Grandvillars (R1) in the 7th round, 4-2 victory.
A modern stadium, a mid-table team in N3, a well-known veteran of French football
This Coupe de France match is a “Citédesducs-ico”, since, like Dijon, the city of Chambéry is nicknamed the “Cité des Ducs”. Not the same, certainly, Burgundians against Savoyards. After the rural side of the Stade Léon-Gelot in Grandvillars in the previous round, the DFCO will play this time in a completely modern setting. The “Chambéry Savoie Stadium”, an enclosure with just over 5,000 seats, inaugurated in 2023, with a synthetic turf.
On the sporting side, in the championship, the Chambérians are 8th in their group in National 3but not far from the relegation zone in terms of accounting. In the previous round, Chambéry took out Saint-Cyr Collonges, an R1 team (2-1). The DFCO will find an acquaintance on the opposing bench: Stéphane Bernard, newly appointed at the beginning of November. He was Pascal Dupraz's deputy in Dijon in his aborted rescue mission in Ligue 2 in the spring of 2023. Stéphane Bernard has been undefeated since his arrival on the Chambéry bench. “It’s a team that is on a new dynamic. We are going to be even more careful, warns Baptiste Ridira. As for us, for them, the 32nd looms, the opportunity to shoot even bigger if they qualify, it can galvanize our opponent very strongly.
More unusual, the Savoyard club has a French football legend in its ranks: Nassim Akrourwhich has just celebrated its 50th anniversary! The former Algerian international, who played for Istres, Troyes, Le Havre or Grenoble in the early 2000s, has worn the Chambéry jersey since 2020. He has played more than 300 matches in Ligue 2 and nearly 90 matches in Ligue 1 during his career. very long career.
- Live this DFCO trip to Chambéry, 8th round of the Coupe de France, in full on France Bleu Bourgogne, Friday November 29, 2024, from 7:45 p.m. for the pre-match!
