It’s a Cup Sunday like there are everywhere in France. For the Caladois, access to the 7th round will be played in Auvergne, facing an R2, US Mozac who will especially not want to relive the affront experienced in 2021, this 12-0 left by Villefranche as the sign of the big gap between the two clubs. A fine connoisseur of the event, FCVB coach Romain Revelli has warned his family: nothing will be given to the National players. It’s up to them to do the job…
What kind of match can we expect when we visit a team like Mozac who play in R2 for this 6th round of the Coupe de France?
“We will have a serious team on our side because I am expecting a real tough Coupe de France match. It will be very different from what we experienced at La Tour-Saint-Clair (5-0) in the previous one ( A1). In Mozac, there will be everything: the pitch, a large crowd, an aggressive team that will put its foot down in defense… For all these reasons, we are facing a context that is not so simple! It will be up to us to make the match easy. Do everything to produce a big start. And despite that, perhaps we will have to go very far into the match to make the difference. I have too much experience of this kind of context, to don’t be wary of this opponent. We’re really going to get through this round, with seriousness.”
Do you feel your players are quite connected to the possibility of a real Mozac trap in this Cup round, exactly?
“I have serious, well-prepared boys. In our training, they have shown no sign of disconnection from what can await them at Mozac, far from it. They have enough experience to take the measure of what waiting for them there. We will say it again during the chat. We have to accept the fact of playing matches that are a little different from what we know in National: you dominate, the duels are more numerous perhaps, the public is close, room, it’s a party… The goal will be to not fall into a sterile game of possession. We worked on strategies this week, useful against defenses that play lower down. I feel my boys concentrated but this will be tough! Like all the first rounds of the Coupe de France and hope that then it will be the opposite against a Ligue 2 team!”
“Between them and us, we must forget the gap levels. If we are present in the duels, without being sufficient, it will pass”
Many National clubs are no longer in this event (Niort, Nancy, Versailles, Marignane-Gignac, GOAL FC, etc.). What interest do you have in it given the difficulties encountered in the championship and the six descents at the end of the season? In other words, is the cup a possibility for you to remain competitive?
“Completely. I would like to play until at least December, until Christmas, reach the 8th round! If you go out this Sunday, you will play two National matches then there will be another gap of a weekend ( Editor’s note: November 17). It’s playing time for the whole group. It also shifts our next week of training. There, Monday and Tuesday, we won’t be able to do strong sessions. We have to win, with all humility but also to add rhythm and intensity to this match. I prefer that to the possibility of playing friendly matches which have little at stake.”
In an R2, where do you place the psychological dimension of this match?
“We have to forget the gap levels. If we are present in the duels, without being sufficient, it will pass. It is only psychological, to get it out of our heads that we just have to show up on the field and that That’s going to do it! In front of us there will be eleven starving people playing their match of the year.”
Once again, you will start your second goalkeeper Eddy Ehlinger who is a bit of a specialist in this event (Editor’s note: he was in the quarter-finals in 2020 with Belfort). He plays little. What speech will you have for him before this match?
“We prepared him for this match, it’s true. When I signed with us this summer, we explained to him that we would give him these rounds of the Coupe de France. It’s a way of resuming the The emotional aspect of a competitive match is important for him even if sometimes he is little called upon in these matches! He remains a specialist in the Coupe de France. He knows how to prepare. There was no need to add more. Things are well defined. Sullivan (Péan) knows that he would not play these matches, in advance. The two goalkeepers get along very well. From experience, you should not overdo it on these situations between two goalkeepers.”
“In Villefranche, I feel that the Coupe de France is a competition that pleases everyone…”
You trained in Andrézieux, Cholet, Dunkirk, among others. How was the Coupe de France perceived in these clubs, compared to what you experience in Villefranche today?
“At Villefranche, we attach more importance to it. Where I coached, it was the opportunity to play matches knowing that you will not win the Cup. There was no more pressure than that! It’s more me who told me that until Christmas we have to go through rounds to avoid gaps in the calendar. Comparing ourselves to a Ligue 2, in a season, in the Cup, it still remains great matches to experience. In Villefranche, I feel that it’s a competition that everyone likes even if, and you know it, it’s a club that is close to my heart, it can be a little excessive. I say, of course, that we must not be taken out by an R2 but we must find the right balance. Let’s not forget that in National, we have six descents. For the moment, we have to play tricks and to Conversely, remaining vigilant when we arrive in March, where playing more matches during the week, could prove complicated. Let’s be careful about that. But I know that here, there is a special story with the Coupe de France . They had some great matches.”
And in your personal journey, what are your greatest experiences in the Coupe de France?
“As an assistant, there were some great things experienced with Saint-Etienne. As a player, at Le Puy, I remember a great match against Valence which was in Ligue 2. I loved this event. We was, at the time in N2, you kept the RTL jerseys… As an assistant, I regret a lost semi-final with Saint-Etienne against PSG (4-1, 2012-2013 season) . In amateur clubs, there was this journey with Andrézieux in 2017-2018 where we lost against Auxerre (1-2, ap) in the 8th round. Last year, I played against Auxerre with Dunkerque (32nd , 2-2, 4-5 tab). It was still great emotions to experience.”
This is the type of match where there is no need to motivate your players…
“There are only the first six rounds where you have nothing to gain. There, in Mozac, we have everything to lose. You have to do the job, qualify. It’s also a way to see the strength mentality of my players, in another context.”
Comments collected by Ralph NEPLAZ
Local press correspondent.
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