“They asked us to translate all the banners for them”

If he was for a long time the understudy of Jérémie Janot then of Stéphane Ruffier, Jessy Moulin still has a few derbies to his credit, notably the one won in 2017 (2-0). For the official Ligue 1 website, he returns to this one: “When I played this first derby, fortunately I had already been able to play matches. I had been in the band for a long time, I was 31 years old. But it wasn't easy, because it took me a long time to play in Ligue 1 again after my first matches in 2012. Four years had passed and on top of that I had taken a red in Lorient during the first match where I succeed Stéphane Ruffier (injured). (…) When he was injured in December, the first thing I thought was: “He's gone wrong, I'm going to play the derby”. It's a joy to be able to watch this match! Just like matches against OM, PSG or the Europa League. At the time, I didn't play it much…It was fabulous! As for me, no one has ever come to see me to tell me it’s the derby, you have to move! On the contrary. People came to see me and said, you have to move everyone for the derby. Because I've experienced derbies every year since I was 13. I had this role at a time when there were a lot of new players, especially foreigners, so there was a culture to transmit.”

Trained in Saint-Étienne and immersed in the derby atmosphere from a young age, Jessy Moulin evokes the transmission of derby values, particularly to foreign players: “Most players already know what a derby is before coming to ASSE. There are some in all countries. But they were warned of the importance it had in Saint-Étienne. To the newbies, we told them: “you’ll see”. The week of the match, the players understood everything by seeing the number of supporters present at training to remind them how special this match is for them. They asked us to translate all the banners for them. So they were quickly in the bath!“

He confides in particular that Robert Beric was particularly fond of these matches: “Robert Beric loved it! He was one of the derby players. He was injured during his first derby against Lyon in a very tense situation (a tackle by Jordan Ferri, editor's note). He was waiting for this match as if he were a purebred Stéphanois! You could feel it! He had things to repair in the derby and he succeeded (decisive scorer in 2019).”

Questioned by us about this poster, Robert Beric actually said he particularly liked this poster and returned to his goal in the derby: “For me, this match was one of the best confrontations I have played in my football career, with a special atmosphere on and off the pitch. Especially when we played at home, in the Cauldron. (…) It's very difficult to describe this feeling… I remember it as if it were yesterday (smile). I receive an exceptional cross from Ryad Boudebouz and I score with a header in the last minute of the match… Behind, there is the explosion of an entire stadium, at that moment, it's an incredible feeling! As I said, for me it is one of the best moments of my football career and I will remember it forever!“