The schedule for the Derby du Nord, pitting LOSC against RC Lens, was made official this Wednesday by the LFP. This, on Saturday September 26, provoked the anger of Bruno Genesio.
It’s a very important weekend that all the supporters, from Lille and Lens, are marking off with the red markers. On Saturday October 26, on the occasion of the ninth day of Ligue 1 McDonald’s, LOSC and RC Lens face off for the first Northern Derby of the 2024-2025 season. This one, which takes place at the Bollaert-Delelis Stadium, was only scheduled a few days after the Mastiffs’ trip to Madrid (facing Atlético de Madrid in the Champions League on the 23rd), they who will already return from a perilous journey to Monaco: “Annoyed or surprised, these are very weak words. I find that there is irresponsibility. I know I’m not going to make just friends, because I know the clichés about us. Yes, we are well paid and we do an extraordinary job, but that’s not why we don’t have the right to say certain things inherent to each job. Playing in Monaco, Madrid and Lens on Saturday, for me, it’s just scandalous”he castigates.
With clenched fists, he continues, not hesitating to cite certain players in the game or institutions: “People will tell me that there is the Classico and the OGC Nice match which plays on Thursday, but when we make a calendar, we know that there are these three matches. Instead of putting them on the 9th day, we can dispatch them. Sometimes there have to be thoughts as a footballer and thinking about the players who are the essential players in football. Without a player, there are no televisions, no coaches, no referees, no president of the League, he quotes, particularly angry. Football belongs to the players and no one else. Today, we forget this reality a lot”continues the Lille technician.
To go even further, and conclude his remarks, Bruno Genesio definitely goes provocative. It’s the young Younes Lachaab, Lisandru Olmeta, Isaac Cossier…, even the more experienced Valentin Vanbaleghem or Enzo Grasso who will be happy: “Now that it’s done, we’re going to have to adapt. We will go to Madrid with a reserve team to preserve ourselves for the Derby. I will then be criticized for not playing the Champions League to the fullest”he concluded with sarcasm.
