When the Eurosport commentators will tell, on Tuesday January 28th live (6.30 p.m.), the performance of the little punk of the competition, FC Limonest Saint-Didier, they would be well advised not to withhold the name of the Rhone club which receives Dijon in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France de football. Otherwise, they risk offending local sensitivities, including those of Sidney Govou, ex-finalist of the 2006 World Cup.
Advisor to the president and still a member of this National 3 club (6th level), even though he has not played a single game this season due in particular to his activity as consultant for the chain Canal +, the former Olympique Lyonnais striker, sets the scene.
"People think it's just Limonest (3,600 inhabitants), but it's Limonest Saint-Didier. I live in Saint-Didier-au-mont-d´Or (6,700 inhabitants) since 2006, he insists. When my son started soccer, I signed him up here. I then met the sports director who offered to join them. The first team worked at the regional level. From the first season, we got into the French amateur championship. It’s a healthy club that works well. "
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"Fans always want to compete with the pros"
In 2016, Limonest Saint-Didier, which has made a name for ten years in the Rhône-Alpes region, reached the national level for the first time. This season, the Rhodaniens are ranked fourth in group M of National 3, with a late game, and can hope to continue their progression.
“Our priority remains the championship. There is no photo on the lens, says coach Nicolas Pinard, before facing the Dijon professionals (Ligue 1). In the Cup, we had set ourselves the goal of not losing to a lower level team. We achieved two exploits against clubs of higher level. It’s a bonus. "
In the round of 16, it was against another National 3 team, the Ardennais from Prix-lès-Mézières, that this historic qualification was won for a club that had never done better than an 8th round in 2012. On January 6, the dissemination of the reaction of the players to the announcement of the draw for this opponent had amused by his spontaneous and expressive disappointment.
Huge disappointment for the club of Limonest Saint-Didier, which will move to Prix-les-Mezieres, a club of its level … https://t.co/soP3GoWtdY
Previously, to make it to the 8th finals of the Cup, the Rhodaniens had eliminated two National teams: the neighbors of Villefranche-sur-Saône in the 8th round, after extra time, and Puy-en-Velay in the 32nd final, after the penalty shootout.
A course that has so far lacked the thrill of a confrontation against an elite club. “Amateurs always want to measure themselves against professionals. It’s a question of ego, to prove that they are able to evolve higher ”says Sidney Govou.
structuring
For a long time focused on the pennant team, FC Limonest Saint-Didier has been structured in recent years from the base. "Fifteen years ago, that was it for the first team. Then in 2010, the categories of young people were recreated. For the first time, the 18-year-old team went up to the regional level in 2019 ", says Amaury Barlet, former club player from 2009 to 2019 and 17-year-old coach of the prestigious neighbor of OL.
Like recruiting, it’s the whole sports policy that has changed. "The club had a tradition of old-timers, with a high average age. The team has been significantly rejuvenated, thanks to young people with great potential and always with the help of two or three alumni ", adds Nicolas Pinard.
In search of a stadium approved for its 8th final, the little poucet has found a solution within the framework of a partnership with its powerful neighbor from Lyon: the meeting will be played on the field of honor (about 2,800 places) the OL training center, which normally houses the Lyon European champions.
Last year, other Rhodanians, those of Villefranche, had also received help from President Jean-Michel Aulas to welcome the PSG on the lawn this time of the Groupama stadium in the round of 16.
OL to the rescue
In the wake of OL, seven-time champion of France in the 2000s and recognized for the quality of its training center, the amateur clubs of the department are constantly improving. They are still two in National to fight for the rise in Ligue 2: Lyon-La Duchère (5th, 33 points) and Villefranche (3rd, 35 points). At the lower level, there are two clubs in National 2 (Saint-Priest and MDMA) and four others in National 3, including Limonest Saint-Didier.
Coupe de France 🏆🇫🇷 The 8th final @coupedefrance against the @DFCO_Officiel will be played at… https://t.co/MpMqZrzj8i
"Behind Ile-de-France, the Lyon region is the second largest pool of footballers. Before, they left to expatriate to the right and to the left because not everyone can succeed at OL. Little by little, local players are coming back and it makes for beautiful clubs ”, analyzes Sidney Govou.
Amaury Barlet, who has contributed to the training of young Lyon footballers since 2011, including Rayan Cherki (16) and Maxence Caqueret (19) who are emerging this season with professionals, welcomes the close ties with the amateur neighbors: "A lot of educators from neighboring clubs come to train with us. And this also concerns employees in the fields of communication or sponsorship. "
An opinion shared by coach Nicolas Pinard, who spent almost twenty years on the bench of DOMTAC, another Rhone club (in Dommartin), before joining Limonest Saint-Didier six months ago: "OL has really evolved and changed the way it works. There is a real work of cooperation. This improves the entire Lyon football pool, many of whose clubs are very well structured. "
In the event of a feat against Dijon coupled with a qualification from Lyon to Nice, the Monts-d'Or players would have a chance to meet Lyon's big brother. A unique quarter-final in the history of the Coupe de France.
