Epilogue of the football season in France, the Coupe de France final pits Olympique Lyonnais against Paris Saint-Germain, this Saturday, May 25 (9 p.m.), at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d’Ascq.
One week before the outcome of the Champions League, and three before the kick-off of the Euro in Germany, Parisians and Lyonnais hope to end their exercise with a trophy. Consultant for France Télévisions on the sidelines of the match, former French international Loïc Rémy (30 caps) provides some key analysis before the final.
Lyon, the end of the white seasons?
In Lyon, the crossing of the desert could lead to a real oasis in the event of victory on Saturday. That success against the Normans of US Quevilly (National), in 2012, seems far away. Since Lisandro Lopez’s winning goal, followed by a final title during the Champions Trophy against Montpellier, during the summer, the Lyonnais have been facing a twelve-year-long trophy drought. Including four lost finals in the Coupe de la Ligue (2014, 2020) – a competition that has now disappeared – and the Champions Trophy (2015, 2016).
The hope of a golden end to the season has been long overdue, after the nightmare of autumn 2023 and the ousters of Laurent Blanc, then Fabio Grosso. “It was very complicated this year for Lyon, the situation was still critical in December (OL were bottom in mid-December), noted Loïc Rémy, who played for OL between 1999 and 2008, and at the microphone of France Télévisions in the Coupe de France. This final constitutes a bit of the reward of this second part of the season. »
A final sprint which saw Pierre Sage’s troop secure a European qualification at the wire, finishing in 6th placee place in Ligue 1. “Of course, they are not favorites, but they will come and play their card to the fullest, adds Loïc Rémy, now working with the OL youth teams. This last objective is a bit like the icing on the cake, and bringing home a Cup would only improve the end of the Lyon season. »
Paris can sign a fifth double
Finding Paris Saint-Germain at this stage of the competition seems trivial. However, the Parisians did not win in the last two Coupe de France finals, won by Nantes (1-0 against Nice in 2022) then Toulouse (5-1 against Nantes in 2023). Crowned champions of France for the twelfth time in the club’s history, Luis Enrique’s men can achieve a double not so common in the history of the competition.
Winner of the century-old competition 14 times, the capital club has only won a double with the French championship in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2020. Four times, as many as AS Saint-Étienne (1968 , 1970, 1974 and 1975). A fifth double this Saturday would therefore allow PSG to enter even further into the history of the competition.
Kylian Mbappé, the last session
It is in Pierre-Mauroy, on Saturday, that Kylian Mbappé will bid farewell to Paris Saint-Germain. Departing for Real Madrid, the striker has already confirmed his departure from the capital, in a video published on Friday May 10. The 308e Parisian match of the captain of the Blues (256 goals so far) will therefore be the last, with the objective of gleaning a 15e trophy with Paris.
“Beyond the Mbappé case, PSG must be keen to finish on a good note”recalls Loïc Rémy, while the Parisians’ European season leaves a taste of unfinished business, despite reaching the semi-final of the Champions League.
And since it’s not just the Bondynois in the Parisian squad, Keylor Navas and Layvin Kurzawa will also say goodbye to their colors at the end of the meeting.
A first final outside the Paris region
The reason is very simple. With the Stade de France under construction in anticipation of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the FFF was looking for another venue with 50,000 seats to present the trophy. Lyon being still in the running in the competition, the “Decathlon Arena” in Villeneuve-d’Ascq and its 50,187 seats was preferred to the Vélodrome stadium in Marseille, deemed less secure here.
This Coupe de France final in the provinces will nevertheless constitute a precedent. Never before has the Coupe de France trophy been presented outside the borders of what is now Île-de-France, in 106 editions. Before the Stade de France, home of the final since 1998, the Parc des Princes, the Olympic Stadium Yves-du-Manoir and the Stade Bauer hosted the meeting in the history of the tournament. Note that the first Coupe de France final took place in a Parisian venue that has now disappeared: the stadium on rue Olivier-de-Serres, later named the Saint-Michel Legion stadium, formerly established in the XVe district of the capital.
A new referee sound system test
A favorite of football players for several seasons, the sound system of refereeing exchanges will take a new step in France, with the installation of a microphone relaying exchanges with VAR officials.
READ ALSO. Ligue 1. “France did what it could”: where is the referees’ sound system?
For the first time in a men’s football match in France, the verdict of a decision made with video refereeing will be explained on the microphone on television as well as in the stadium. Previously, the first tests had been carried out in women’s matches: the final of the Coupe de France, then the final phases of D1 Arkéma.
