Clermont Foot supporters had checked the date of April 20 and the trip to the Bollaert stadium, in Lens, for months. Because this trip to the north of France is much more than a football match. Story of a weekend of communion between Auvergnats and “blood and gold” fans.
What could possibly lead these sixty supporters to swallow an eight-hour drive – in the best case scenario – to Pas-de-Calais, packed into a bus that left Clermont-Ferrand at midnight on a Friday evening? ? Hundreds of kilometers across France to reach a stand at the Bollaert stadium, in Lens, the next day at 9 p.m., while Clermont Foot’s retention in Ligue 1 only hangs by half a quarter of a thread.
To say that it is only a football matter would be a shortcut. This is good, before entering one of the hottest venues in France, the band took a few side roads.
Clermont and the guys from the north, a more than friendly story
On the road, the “Baroness” of the Clermont Foot Supporters Association sets the scene. Véronique Soulier, the president, has a busy program, between meetings and tributes, in Boulogne-sur-Mer and Lens. Football has been the link for more than twenty years for these men and women. Off the field, we laugh with Titi, we hydrate with the Bogdagnôle brothers – not just with water -, we replay the match with Titou, we sing with Jean-Marie, etc.
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Jean-Marie, precisely. The old one perfectly embodies the twinning between the Auvergne and Pas-de-Calais. This Boulonnais fell in love with “Véro” during a supporters’ trip that became more than friendly. The twinning has lasted for sixteen years. The detour to Boulogne-sur-Mer was inevitable this weekend.
“We are so well received there. They have become close friends, they are really generous.”
Véronique Soulier (President of the Clermont Foot Supporters’ Association)
The blood and gold public is to football what the Yellow army of the ASM is to the rugby galaxy. Clermont Foot does not play in the same division, but its supporters, through the image conveyed by the Friendly in Ligue 2, then in the elite for three seasons, work behind the scenes. “We try to show a beautiful face, when we travel, we meet people, we make friends, it goes beyond football,” defends president “Véro”.
The affable Titou abounds. This young retiree lists the stadiums visited over three decades, from the National to the L1. The climb, “unexpected”, for this fan, gave a unique flavor to his weekends. And added terminals to his counter.
“I covered 14,000 km the first season in Ligue 1, then 12,000. Another 12,000 this year.”
Titu (Clermont Foot supporter)
If there is no Amicale bus, he takes his car. “Beyond the match, what we like is discovering cities. We might not have gone to Strasbourg, Reims or Nantes otherwise.” The man, collector of jerseys and tickets for each match, places Lens at the top of the atmosphere. And the supporters at the Pantheon.
A tribute to Yvette, the “Mémé RC Lens”
If it existed, the latter would have welcomed “Mémé Yvette” last January. The illustrious 91-year-old supporter, who died on January 19, had transformed her home, a former mining house in Liévin, near the Bollaert Stadium, into an RC Lens museum. Soft toys, posters, trinkets, photos, jerseys, repainted walls and a dancing rabbit have shaped this place, threatened since his death.
“It was important for us to come and see her family,” says Véronique Soulier, moved. “It’s hard not to find her here.” Between the Association and the relatives, a relationship was built over the course of visits, to Lens or Clermont. So the Auvergnats wanted to give a support check to the children, engaged in a fight with the lessor who intended to recover this “blood and gold” HQ, which had become a cult place for RC Lens.
“From the start, the people of Clermont have supported us, in bad times, they were there. They helped me hold on. Whether there was a victory or defeat, my mother would have welcomed them with open arms. I would never I won’t be able to repay them for the happiness they gave him.”
Anthony (Son of Mémé Yvette)
Hurry up. The Clermontois have a team to support at 9 p.m., in Bollaert’s lair. The Amicale contingent is joined by the Nemetum, who will provide the atmosphere, and other visitors. If the performance of the players had been proportional to the investment of the supporters, the best representatives of the Clermont spirit, they would perhaps not have left with a one-way ticket to Ligue 2.
“Will you write that we are nice?”
With the operation still compromised by the debacle (0-1) at Bollaert, the Amicale took advantage of its Sunday to continue the farewell tour to L1. Head to the Stade de la Libération, in Boulogne-sur-Mer, where the locals hosted the reception to drown out the defeat in good humor. “The Clermontois are our friends, we have known and appreciated each other for years,” welcomes the president of the supporters group Gérard Calon.
The meal drags on. The Corons echo, “Here it’s Clermont” respond the guests. “How beautiful the mountain is,” sings a Boulonnais man. “Will you write that we are nice?” To say otherwise would be to lie.
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Sunday, 4 p.m. The bus sets off for an eight-hour drive. We don’t know if Clermont Foot will return to face Lens, in Bollaert, in Ligue 1 anytime soon. But we understand better why its supporters wouldn’t have missed this trip for anything.
Malik Kebour
Video: Greg Gomez
