This is a historic fact for the small town of Espaly-Saint-Marcel in Haute-Loire. The amateur club with its team playing in National 3 will face PSG next Wednesday. It will be at the Michelin stadium in Clermont-Ferrand, specially prepared for this round of 16 of the Coupe de France. The club is also preparing.
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In Espaly-Saint-Marcel, a small town of 3,500 inhabitants adjacent to Puy-en-Velay, we still can’t believe it. This resident is waiting for the 16e of the French Football Cup final with impatience: “When we hear that Paris-Saint-Germain fell to a small town like ours, it’s just a dream in fact! » Another supporter adds: “I believe in it, we will win and the next round, we will fall against Marseille. »
The small FC Espaly stadium, nestled in an old quarry, displays its volcanic colors. The club continues to write its history: victory in the 32nd finals of the Coupe de France last December then the draw for the biggest team in Ligue 1, PSG for the 16e of final. Four levels of play separate the teams. A beautiful poster as a Christmas gift. The mayor of Espaly-Saint-Marcel Christiane Mosnier relishes: “My fellow mayors of neighboring towns are very envious of us. Football is very unifying and it’s a great challenge to play against PSG. We are proud!”
-But what is the state of mind of the players? Théo, like most of the team’s other young recruits, works during the day. Training as a sports instructor in a home for people with disabilities, the winger dreams, at the age of 22, pushed by all the fans around him : “We will be behind him. He is a great sports instructor!”says Gisèle, one of the home’s coaches. Thanks to all this support, Théo is ready: “The ideal scenario would be a draw at half-time, to maintain suspense until the end. We know we can do it. We have the team for it, we are a group of friends and we are capable of anything.”
At the supporters’ HQ, the only bar in the city, everyone is aware that beating PSG will be difficult: “If Espaly wins, it will be a shame for Paris-Saint Germain, right?”asks a customer. The most fervent want to believe it : “I see Espaly winning from the penalty spot!”, “Hope keeps you alive, you will live a long time!”a supporter replies, but Eric doesn’t budge: “I have seen small clubs win big ones. Little Thumb can win.”
Some make bets, the players play one match after another, that evening it was a friendly against the R1 of Monistrol-sur-Loire. Lionel Vaillant, coach of the FC Espaly team, middle school PE teacher in life, must lead the National 3 championship and this major challenge against PSG, with the pleasure of meeting the emblematic players. “Shaking Luis Enrique’s hand will be an honor. In front of us, we will have the best in the French championship, even on the European scene. The idea is to confront our game project with this which is getting better at the top and to see if we are able to produce sequences compared to this great PSG.”
Joachim Ichane, captain of the team, wants to believe it. “We are not here by chance, there is an element of luck but it is not a coincidence that we are today in 16e of final. We deserved it. The icing on the cake is PSG, so much the better.”
D-day is approaching. Théo wants to keep the pace to perhaps be one of the 16 players selected to be on the match sheet. The red and black fervor is growing day by day so as not to miss this twist of fate, Wednesday January 15 in Clermont-Ferrand.
