Twenty years later, more than 2,000 came to Turin to taste the sweet scent of the great European evenings, Nantes fans will have experienced a contrasting evening.
It was initially nightmarish for a good part of them, more precisely for the members of the Brigade Loire, the main association of supporters of FC Nantes. The latter were part of the large Nantes contingent having crossed France to experience this first European knockout match played by their favorite club since February 22, 2021 (an 8th final of C3 lost against FC Porto).
But hardly had they set foot near the Juventus Stadium than the announced big party quickly turned into immense disillusion. As they quietly advanced to enter the stadium, the Italian police suddenly decided to refuse them entry, on the pretext that the seats they had in their possession were not “nominative”, as told by L’Orient-Le Jour Alex*, a member of this ultra group who made the trip.
“It’s absolutely outrageous”
“We drive 15 hours, we spend hundreds of euros to live what can be the match of a lifetime for a Nantes supporter and we get rejected just because our names are not registered on our seats? This is absolutely outrageous! says this lover of the Canaries in his thirties indignantly.
“We didn’t do anything wrong though,” he says. “When they confiscated our flags without explanation, when they talked to us like dirty people or asked us to take off our shoes to search them, no one flinched. Everyone stayed calm,” he said.
Blocked for several hours at the entrance to the gates, the majority of the members of the Brigade Loire, including Alex, then decided to leave the place to be content to follow the meeting as best they could on their smartphones while trying to pick up radio broadcasts. or video.
And even if some of them were finally able to access the parking lot in dribs and drabs, a few seconds before kick-off, “the damage was done”, for Alex and his family, who could not decently accept such treatment. and remain silent in the face of such a failing organization. “In any case, it shows that it is not only in France that the authorities are wary of supporters as if they were dealing with criminals, concludes Alex. It is a much more global problem: many countries still do not know how to regulate the travel of supporters, and this must stop. »
A draw brought back… the Italian way
The frustration was obviously immense for fans who were about to savor this prestigious poster against Juventus like a kind of Proust madeleine. The last confrontation between FC Nantes and the Old Lady dates back almost twenty-seven years, and the issue was quite different, since it was then a semi-final of the Champions League. A stage of the competition that Nantes have never reached since this epic staged during the 1996-1997 season.
The Bianconeri then won 2-0 in the first leg and, despite the defeat in the return to La Beaujoire (3-2), had won the right to go to the final and win their last continental trophy. dated.
At the time, the Nantes people had held out for half before giving in, when they had been reduced to ten throughout the second act. This time, the defense, where Nicolas Pallois was returning after a month’s absence (knee), gave way in the first quarter of an hour against a raging Juve during the start of the match, like a Angel Di Maria multiplying the arabesques.
The Argentinian asked for the first time Alban Lafont (3rd), before delivering, ten minutes later, a luminous opening in the race of Federico Chiesa, who then served Vlahovic with a header alone in front of the goal. Cruel for the young French goalkeeper, trapped by his two ex-partners from Fiorentina (1-0, 13th).
After this crushing blow from the start, the Canaries had the merit of not demobilizing and remaining faithful to the game plan put in place by their coach. Preparing to suffer the bianconeri waves throughout the game, Antoine Kombouaré had concocted a tactical plan placed under the sign of “locking”, like an Italian formation adept at “catenaccio”.
Placed at the forefront of a team made up of 5 defenders and 3 midfielders, also with a defensive vocation, Ludovic Blas and the Egyptian Mostafa Mohammad had the heavy task of animating the Nantes attack during the rare counter balls they would have at their disposal.
Thanks, poles
After letting the storm pass, the Nantes people gradually approached the edge of the Italian surface, taking advantage of Juve who sometimes seemed to be content with this short advantage.
Lafont, impeccable several times in front of Di Maria (28th, 49th), has long allowed his people to stay in the game. But he was perfectly relayed by the other strong man of the Canaries this season Blas, who did not miss the first opportunity that presented itself in front of him.
On the hour mark, the number 10 concluded, in force, with a clear shot from the left foot, a counter-flash triggered by Fabien Centonze, perfectly relayed by the blind pass from Mostafa Mohammad surprising the entire rearguard of Turin. .
Trapped by Antoine Kombouaré, Massimiliano Allegri’s men finally woke up in the last half hour, but Nantes competed in heroism and success to withstand the shock.
They can also thank their lucky stars, especially on this shot from Chiesa (62nd) which hit the bar of Lafont, before bouncing on his line and then finishing his race on his post. They still had a few cold sweats, like on a dangerous corner from Di Maria (66th), or after the clumsiness of Danilo on a final hot situation (90 + 1st).
Finally, they still trembled for long minutes when referee João Pinheiro was called by the VAR to rule on a possible penalty which would penalize an involuntary hand from Centonze in the 90 + 5th. But the Portuguese finally absolved the Nantes defender to sanction a Turin foul on the contrary.
Nantes parking during the 16th final of the Europa League at Juventus stadium in Turin. Marco Bertorello / AFP
“They are not ready”
Enough to seal the fate of the meeting and bring back an unexpected draw from Piedmont (1-1) which made the Nantes technician happy: “A big congratulations to my players, who were heroic, solid. We knew we were going to suffer, but we stood up, we united, greeted Antoine Kombouaré. There is a lot of pride. We knew that if we wanted to hope for a feat, we have to play two big games (there and back, editor’s note). The hardest part will be finishing the job. I expect a rebound Juve, they are upset. We expect to suffer like tonight. »
For the Italians, who have won only one of their seven European matches this season after a disastrous run in C1, the task looks much more complex than expected. Far from being a competition disputed lightly, this Europa League on the contrary represents their only hope of competing in the Champions League next year.
A final victory in C3 indeed seems much more likely than a rise in the classification in Serie A, from which they have tumbled to 9th place, 12 points from the European places, after the withdrawal of 15 points decided by the Italian League following the condemnation of the Piedmontese club, pinned by justice after multiple fraudulent transfers.
But that will have to go through a victory at La Beaujoire where the Yellow and Green supporters will this time be much more than 2,000: “They are not ready for the racket that we are going to put on next week”, promises Alex, who intends to externalize all the frustration accumulated in Turin by pushing the Canaries towards a feat which, if it happens, would be a milestone in the history of French football.
The Nantes squad thanking their supporters at the end of the match. Marco Bertorello / AFP
Monaco surprises Bayer, Rennes jostled by Donetsk
At the same time, two other French clubs were involved in these knockout stages of the Europa League. At the end of a crazy match, Monaco won on the lawn of the BayArena in Leverkusen (2-3) thanks to goals from Hradecky (against his camp), Krépin Diatta and Axel Disasi. What allow the club of the principality to take a serious option on the qualification and to continue its beautiful dynamic started since the end of the truce of the World Cup.
For its part, Rennes was hit, but not sunk on the lawn of Legia Warsaw, which has hosted the matches of the Shakhtar Donetsk team since the start of the war in Ukraine.
“Glory to Ukraine, glory to Ukraine”, chanted the 12,000 or so spectators who came to support the Ukrainian team alongside a thousand Breton fans.
To their cheers, Dmytro Kryskiv (11th) and Artem Bondarenko (45th+1 from the penalty spot) gave Shakhtar the lead, while Karl Toko Ekambi closed the gap in the second half (59th) by signing his first goal in Red and Black. After this short 2-1 defeat, there is still hope for the Bretons who will host the Ukrainians in a week at Rhoazon Park.
* The first name has been changed at the request of the interviewee.
Twenty years later, more than 2,000 came to Turin to taste the sweet scent of the great European evenings, Nantes fans will have experienced a contrasting evening. It was initially nightmarish for a good part of them, more precisely for the members of the Brigade Loire, the main association of supporters of FC Nantes. These were part of the big…
