Paris FC has definitively left the anonymity of Ligue 2 since the upcoming takeover of the club by the Arnault family and the Red Bull group. Sportingly, everything is going well for Stéphane Gili's team, leader of Ligue 2 before hosting Rodez this Friday evening on behalf of the 12th day of the championship. The fervor and enthusiasm are also exploding, with more than 10,000 supporters expected at the Charléty stadium. Barely three years ago, the average attendance barely exceeded 2,800 spectators.
“The first big craze was the rise to Ligue 2 (2015/2016), we had 3,000 supporters at the stadium, four times more than in the National. Then there was the free tickets put in place last season “, there were sometimes 7,000 of us at the stadium”, recalls Maxence Glevarec, the spokesperson for Ultras Lutetia, the main group of supporters of Paris FC. “And there, with the arrival of the new shareholders, it’s a real boom. Against Grenoble for the last match, there were more than 15,000.” For this Paris FC fan since 2009, it was impossible to imagine such fervor around his favorite club. Coach Stéphane Gili is also enjoying seeing Charléty improve in recent weeks. “That’s the thing we missed the most. We would like 18,000 supporters at each match, that’s why we do this job.”
The average attendance record should be largely broken this season
Thanks to the 10,000 spectators expected against Rodez, the average attendance since the start of the season already exceeds 8,000 people. The previous record dates from last season, with 5,554 supporters per match. “There is the effect of curiosity and the free tickets which obviously play a role. Moreover, it is important that there is a club in the Paris region which can welcome all social classes. When most of the others clubs increase their prices…” welcomes the ultra, Maxence Glevarec. “But I also think that the new public at Charléty is attracted by the results and the team’s play.” Indeed, in the last ten matches played at home, the PFC have won nine, compared to a single defeat against Metz, another big league in Ligue 2, in mid-September.
“An ideal start to the season” for coach Gili
With the club's new financial resources and the arrival of the Arnault family at the helm (the fortune of boss Bernard Arnault is estimated at nearly 175 billion euros), Paris FC is under pressure. We imagine the club surfing Ligue 2 and coming to compete with Paris Saint-Germain soon. “People expect us to win every match?” laughs Stéphane Gili. “It's going to be hard! I don't feel the pressure, because the objective doesn't change. It's to move up to Ligue 1 in the next two years.” For now, “the start of the season is ideal” according to the coach. “We still have significant room for improvement, especially in finishing. PFC is an offensive team, we have the opportunities but we have to score even more.”
“If we do this job, it’s for these moments”
To manage the light generated by the big spotlights newly focused on Paris FC, Stéphane Gili can count on his executives like Maxime Lopez and Jean-Philippe Krasso, who experienced the atmosphere of the Vélodrome in Marseille, from Marakana to Etoile Rouge from Belgrade or from Le Chaudron to Saint-Etienne. “I won't even say that they experienced the pressure, I say fervor myself. We stay in our bubble, it doesn't change our daily life. The boys talk to each other in the locker room. And if we do this job, it's is for these moments There isn't a day that we don't talk about Paris FC in the newspapers, on the radio, on the networks… but it's a huge source of motivation.” And it will be necessary to overcome Rodez, only 13th in Ligue 2 but with great momentum. “Scoring 3 goals in Lorient is strong and drawing in Bastia too. For our part, it will be the fourth match in twelve days. We will have two attacking teams, it will be a great match.”
