Soccer. Régis Brouard, back to build a great FC Rouen

Friday December 20, 2024, FC Rouen is eliminated in the 32nd final of the Coupe de France by Lille. The club did not stand out and showed a very good image against a Ligue 1 leader. In a few weeks, coach Régis Brouard took over the FCR. Back in the game in the league, he wants to take Rouen to the highest level. Encounter.

“Fate makes me believe that perhaps we need to return to places where we felt good, where it worked. So here I am again in Normandy!” A winning return for the former Quevilly coach, who passed under the Rouen flag a few weeks ago and has already been dubbed by the supporters. He gave them a victory as precious as it was symbolic during the derby against QRM, their great rival in the race for local hegemony.

“That evening sums up a lot of things. It sums up what FC Rouen represents in this city, the enthusiasm that there can be, the social side… We can clearly see the progression that can exist in the future “, says Régis Brouard.

REPLAY. FC Rouen wins 2-0 against QRM on this 14th day of National

A dream debut: 3 matches for as many victories in the championship… Régis Brouard woke up a team that no longer knew how to win. “I may be crazy, perhaps irresponsible to go into this project, in these difficulties, but when I look at the thread of my professional life, it is in the popular clubs that I had the most fun”he confided during his appointment in November.

Demanding, but close to his players, he is still the leader of men that Valentin Sanson worked alongside 12 years ago during the Queville epics in the Coupe de France.

“He's always the same person. A whole person, frank, with charisma. He always manages to transcend us in different matches”, explains Valentin Sanson, defender of the Football Club de Rouen. “I think he brought freshness and his experience,” adds Mustapha Benzia, FCR midfielder.

There is a mentality that must be changed or evolved. Try to make them understand that the professional world or the professional requirement is to be present all the time. I'm not sure they understand it, but it's up to me to try to make them understand.

Régis Brouard, Entraîneur du FCR

Video. The report by Félix Bollez, Patrice Cornily, Ivan Waskovit and Juliette Bondil

He wants to strengthen his team from the next winter transfer window, looking for an experienced player capable of helping the FCR reach a level quickly. The new management of the club wants to move quickly, very quickly, like the thunderous declarations of President Iwan Postel at the start of the season.

The minimum ambition is to be in Ligue 2, and in the medium term to be in Ligue 1. Every two years, we must reach a new level. People will say I'm crazy but my ambition is for FC Rouen to be in the Champions League within seven years.

Iwan Postel, president of FC Rouen

Iwan Postel also wants to create a 40,000-seat stadium financed 100% by private money so that Rouen will tomorrow be a stronghold of French football.

“We might take him for a madman, but it's said! When things are said, they are heard and listened to. Now, are we going to get there? That's another problem”, says Régis Brouard.

Will the latter be the architect of this great FCR? One thing is certain, between the man and the club, the ambitions converge.

I'm missing only one thing: building a Ligue 2 club in Ligue 1. It's the only thing I want and dream of to say that I would have done my job well. I would like to get there before I leave and before I stop.

Régis Brouard, entrant of the FCR

At 57, Régis Brouard hopes to once again leave his mark on the history of Norman football.