October 22, 1965: the day AS Saint-Étienne challenged the USSR at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium

“The arrival of our team is a modest contribution to the cause of peace”, declared the president of the Russian football federation as a prelude to match AS-Saint Etienne – USSR, scheduled on October 22, 1965 at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium. A historic clash in many ways, in which nothing went as planned, especially for the Greens.

In 1965, the Cold War polarized international relations, but relations between the USSR and the United States were then relatively peaceful. In their jargon, historians speak of a period of “detente” for international relations. But as the 1966 soccer world cup, the world of the round ball, for its part, remains in turmoil.

To prepare for this world meeting, the Russian national team participates in various friendly matches in 1965, especially in France. October 22 is at AS Saint-Etienne’s turn to welcome the Soviets.

A grand opening

Beyond the sporting event, October 22, 1965 is an important match in the history of Saint-Étienne. “The ancestor of the Professional Football League had asked clubs to equip themselves with lighting to be able to play night matches”, explains Philippe Gastal, curator of Greens museum and club historian.

The installation of spotlights near the grounds would have cost too much for the Saint-Etienne club, which preferred sell the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium to the city to let him take care of the work.

October 22, everything is ready for the inauguration of this new equipment, on the occasion of this first duel in a cauldron that has become municipal equipment. It’s cold and The night begins to fall. The match has not yet started, but “there are already quite a few people in the stands,” recalls Alex Mahinc, then a young supporter of the Greens who came to attend this very first night encounter in Saint-Étienne.

The promise of a beautiful evening

Jean Slender, the Stéphanois trainer at the time, discusses the meeting between the Green Star and the Red Star with the ambition to delight the supporters. In the press, he promises an “open game” to “promote the best game in the USSR”. Despite the absence of Pierre Bernard to protect the Stéphanois goals, replaced at the last minute because of the sudden death of his mother, the show promises to be grandiose.

On the Soviet side, it is Lev Yachine, which invests the cages. “The only goalkeeper in history to have received the ballon d’or, he was at the time the biggest goal in the world“, Details Philippe Gastal. In the front row from the south stand, Alex Mahinc, 24 at the time, remembers a striking detail: “His hands! I remember huge hands de Yachine! »

In addition to being immense, the Russian keeper’s hands have a unfortunate tendency to interrupt the Stéphane strikes. In the midst of the offensive, “Robert Herbin lit it in the skylight, 7 or 8 meters away, but Yachine went to look for it! », Transcribed Philippe Gastel.

The vapors of the cauldron

The Russians took the advantage in the first half, scoring 2 goals to 0, under the new spotlight of Geoffroy-Guichard. ” Irony“, This spectacle, painful for Stéphanois was interrupted by a“ fog to cut with a knife« , s’amuse Philippe Gastal.

The ground was invaded by a puree of peas thick enough to make invisible the match, even for the supporters closest to the pitch. Alex Mahinc laughs again: “There was a lot of atmosphere, until we couldn’t see anything. For the inauguration of the lighting, it was stupid! »

The haze didn’t stop the Soviets from scoring three more goals in an even more ruthless second half than the first.

During the half-time, Robert Herbin would have seen “ vodka bottles hang out in the Russian locker rooms, ”says Philippe Gastal.

Maybe Yachine didn’t wait until the end of the match to celebrate his 36th birthday that night. In any case, no steam will have been enough to overcome the legendary goalkeeper from the USSR. Score final : 5-0

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