Ruthénois and Nîmois, who face each other on Friday (9 p.m., 17th day of Ligue 2) at Paul-Lignon, mostly believe that their match is not a derby.
“It’s an Occitanie derby, or we don’t have the same cards! “For the president of Rodez, the question is quite simply irrelevant. But Pierre-Olivier Murat, a player trained in Nîmes and who thus retains a particular affection for the Crocs, is clearly a judge who left in the matter. elsewhere that he said to himself in 2019, during the rise in Ligue 2 of his Raf, supporter of the NO, even inspired by “the state of mind that reigns in this club (at the time) “A very close bond then, even if it earned him, at that time,”a little explanation with Laurent (laughs) “Understand Nicollin, the boss of the archenemy of the Gard, the MHSC.”But all is well, I reassure you, continues Murat. With Laurent, we see each other every week, we are friends.“
Not sure that the president of the red and white Rani Assaf maintains this kind of relationship with his Montpellier counterpart. Paradoxically, she is perhaps even less cordial with the fans of her club, as Cyril Roure, leader of the Nemausus 2013 supporters group, denounces: “Clément Depres in Rodez is the example of everything we have lost: our identity with the departure of almost all the players from our training center. These warriors with a Nîmes grinta like Lucas Buadès, who were not given a chance, that’s what we lack.“And all that they bring, with the other former Croco Adilson Malanda, in the Aveyron since their arrival, this summer. Enough to give birth to a rivalry with the Raf?”It gives a little spice, smiles the ultra. We especially hope that our exes will not put us in misery because they are capable of it!“
2.5 hours drive and 230 kilometers between the two cities
However, he does not see this match as a derby. “Even when we faced Arles-Avignon, it was not, so Rodez … With us, the only derby is against Montpellier. ” “I had the chance to live two during the 2008-2009 season of Ligue 2, remembers the former defender of Nîmes and Ruthenian Jérémie Roumégous. It doesn’t have the same dimension. The previous year, I had played a Nîmes – Rodez in National under the Crocos jersey and we had not prepared it like a match between rival neighbors. There is no photo between a derby and that.“Same story for journalists who have followed the NO for many years:”Already, there is a 2.5 hour drive and 230 kilometers between the two cities compared to 50 from Nîmes to Montpellier. Then no opposition was noticeable.“
The last in official competition dates from November 19 … 2010, when the blood and gold evolved in National, for a 1-0 victory for Nîmes (L2) on the occasion of a 7th round of the Coupe de France. Tomorrow, at 9 p.m., it will be the first in the elite’s anteroom. And it could well have been done without Gard supporters. “We chose not to come because the Raf asked that we give the name of each of our travelers when we had not even launched the registrations.“, breathes Cyril Roure. The stadium manager of the Ruthenian club, Thomas Escourbiac, reassures:”It was to identify the perpetrator (s) in the event of an incident, but we did not go to the end of the procedure.. “So that the Gladiators, the main group of supporters of Nîmes, can”fill the 84 parking spaces for visitors“.
“It will be friendly, predicts the treasurer of the Ruthenian kop, Gilles Galopin. This is not a derby, just a match to win to continue dreaming of the barrage of access to Ligue 1. Occitan supremacy? The most important for us is that of the former Midi-Pyrénées region. So the derby will be in Toulouse on December 13.“
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