If Goal! Football Club primarily deals with the news of certain elite teams, we have decided to give you a summary of what happened today in the other – less media-focused – part of France. soccer.
Eric Roy (Stade Brestois): “If we can avoid the roadblocks…”
As he plays his seventh and penultimate match of the Champions League phase this Wednesday, in Gelsenkirchen, against Shakhtar Donetsk, Eric Roy, the Stade Brestois coach, hopes to achieve a result in Germany to qualify directly for the round of 16. “The group is simply ambitious,” he said yesterday at a press conference. Today, where we are, we want to continue to experience this competition. And if we can, indeed, avoid two additional matches in February, that would be good! »
OGC Nice: refereeing and supporters are already creating a stir
Éric Wattellier, referee appointed to direct the OGC Nice-OM match on Sunday (8:45 p.m.), approaches this Côte d'Azur derby in a climate of controversy. Fueled, as we know, by the Marseille club since last Sunday and its draw against RC Strasbourg. Nice also decided to respond yesterday via an official press release: “OGC Nice is committed to ensuring that the serenity of the debates is not swept away by this media storm with regard to arbitration during the club's previous meetings Phocaean. Having been heavily penalized during its trip to Lyon, the Gym does not intend to suffer the consequences again. OGC Nice therefore expects the meeting to take place without external influence and in compliance with the laws of the game.” Even if we hope that the match will not be synonymous with excesses in the Nice stadium, all these outings are not surprising more than that Eric Borghini, the president of the federal referees commission. “Pressure on referees, especially before explosive derbies, is commonplace,” he recalls in L’Équipe. The stakes have become considerable and club presidents are passing on the pressure they are under to referees. » Furthermore, and it is no surprise, the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture issued an order prohibiting the travel of supporters of Olympique de Marseille to the Allianz Riviera, due to the risk of disturbances to public order and of the violent rivalry between the ultras of the two clubs.
If this decision was expected in a context of recurring bans, OM will attack this measure before the Nice administrative court according to La Provence. This is not the first time that the club has undertaken this approach, without success for its previous requests as was the case during the matches against FC Nantes and ASSE. OGC Nice-OM is Sunday evening (8:45 p.m.) and it is, remember, just a football match…
Stade de Reims: Elsner arriving after Nantes?
Already in the hot seat before the draw against Le Havre this weekend during the eighteenth day of the French championship, coach Luka Elsner knows that he will still play his place during the next two matches at Stade de Reims. If he should not be ousted after the match against PSG, the technician could be disembarked in the event of a negative result a week later against the Football Club de Nantes. Verdict on Sunday February 2, therefore.
Montpellier HSC: Fayad courted, Adams towards Seville?
The lines are starting to move on the Montpellier HSC side. Particularly in the departure area. According to Foot Mercato, Bétis Sevilla has positioned itself on Akor Adams, author of 3 goals in L1 this season. Montpellier will not keep the 24-year-old player in France but is hoping for at least 8 million euros to sell him in the transfer window to another football club. For his part, Khalid Fayad is very popular this winter. “Khalil Fayad arouses desire… in England and Germany. Player trained at the club and has the trust of Coach Gasset. Player whose market value is not uninteresting… Perhaps the attraction of this winter transfer window in the last day or even next summer,” slips Mohamed Toubache-Ter on X.
-Bordeaux: prolonged legal recovery
The Bordeaux commercial court yesterday extended the legal recovery of the Girondins de Bordeaux until July 30, in order to allow the club demoted to N2 to finalize a continuation plan. The hearing was an important milestone after the first six months of observation. The challenge was to prove that the scapular club had the cash flow to ensure the continuity of this plan during which debts, estimated at €118 million, are frozen. “We are satisfied,” commented the club’s lawyer, Laurent Cotret at the end of the hearing. A milestone is set for March 18. The Girondins, second in their N2 group, now have an appointment before the federal DNCG next Tuesday.
AS Monaco: Hütter proud after Aston Villa
Admirable in courage if not brilliant, the AS Monaco players beat a fine Aston Villa, they put an end to their terrible series in the French championship, in particular, and they qualified for the knockout phase . “We are going through a difficult time but what the team did today deserves big compliments from me,” rejoices coach Adi Hütter. They fought from start to finish, they suffered a lot against a great Premier League team. Against Villa, if you don't fight, if you don't run, if you don't suffer, it's impossible to beat them. The boys did it, it’s fantastic. »
LOSC: Genesio proud after Liverpool, Riolo puts things into perspective
No exploit for LOSC yesterday in the Champions League. The Mastiffs were beaten in Liverpool (1-2), not without being unworthy despite an obvious inferiority. Now 11th in the Champions League standings, the northern club can still believe in direct qualification for the round of 16. To do this, we will have to beat Feyenoord at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium on January 29. “I am proud of my team and what it showed in terms of discipline in particular. We could have left with a point. We'll play some more. We have to remember what was done well, said Bruno Genesio after the meeting. The top 8, we still believe in it. We will prepare Feyenoord to play our luck to the fullest. It would take two games away from us, it wouldn't be a luxury. »
If he liked LOSC's performance at Anfield Road, Daniel Riolo saw a huge gap between the two teams. “For 30 minutes, I'm not afraid to say that Lille looked Liverpool in the eye. But in the end, Liverpool controlled the match and there was a 2-way gap between the two teams,” he analyzed on RMC Sport.
