Fans of US Thionville Lusitanos host Olympique de Marseille, this Sunday January 7, 2024, in the round of 32 of the French Football Cup. The match, broadcast from 2:30 p.m. on France 3, will be played in front of 28,000 spectators at the Saint-Symphorien stadium. The Mosellans, who are experiencing a magical season, dream of achieving a new feat.
This will undoubtedly be the match of their lives. This Sunday, January 7, 2024, fans of US Thionville Lusitanos (N3) face the stars of Olympique de Marseille (L1) in the 32nd final of the French Football Cup. The match, which will be broadcast from 2:30 p.m. on France 3 Lorraine and on france.tv, will be played in Metz in a sold-out Saint-Symphorien stadium. All the places sold out within a few hours.
“There was a lot of excitement at the time of the draw, but since then we have had time to digest it all and we are fully focused on the matchassures Thibaut Jacquel, the Thionville striker. Playing against OM, in front of 30,000 people, it’s certainly impressive. We will have to manage the emotional aspect of this meeting, but with the adrenaline and our values, we will try to create the feat.”
This meeting against OM, the most popular club in France, crowns a dream start to the season for the Thionvillois. Promoted this year to National 3 (fifth division), the USTL is undefeated and leader of its group in the championship (6 wins, 3 draws). In the Coupe de France, the Mosellans are also living a fairy tale.
In the 7th round, they were treated to a week in the sun in New Caledonia, with a quiet qualification against Henghène Sport (4-0). In the next round, in front of more than 3,000 spectators, they managed to overthrow the professionals from Annecy (L2), while they were trailing 1-0 at the break (2-1 victory in the end).
We want to have a great party. And for me, a great celebration is when we win…
Julien François, coach of US Thionville Lusitanos
“We have the impression that all the planets have been aligned for us since the start of the season, but at each meeting, we have been able to respond on the pitch, recalls Julien François, the USTL coach. We proved against Annecy that we were capable of great things. Facing Marseille, what matters is that we have no regrets, that we have a great celebration. And for me, a great celebration is when we win…”
For this meeting, OM, currently sixth in Ligue 1, will be deprived of seven players selected for the African Cup of Nations. However, with four divisions between the two teams, the challenge promises to be immense for Thionville.
The Mosellans, most of whom have jobs alongside their amateur football careers, resumed training on December 26. Everyone is over-motivated, but there is no question of changing the recipe that has made them successful so far. “We are preparing for this match like a championship match. We have not changed our habits and we hope that it will pay off and that we will win”hopes Samir Bouzar, one of the USTL defenders, who is over the moon at the idea of facing Marseille, his favorite club.
There should be many OM fans like him on Sunday in the stands of the Saint-Symphorien stadium. Much more than the 900 official supporters who will be supervised and installed in the visitor’s park of the East stand. To avoid possible scuffles before the match, the prefect of Moselle also published a decree on Thursday prohibiting anyone wearing the colors of Marseille from entering the stadium.
Despite this, the people of Thionville expect a magical atmosphere. “If we don’t get the hang of it quickly, we’ll have the crowd behind us from the start to the end of the match and it’s going to be phenomenal!” prophesies Tino Da Rocha, the honorary president of US Thionville Lusitanos.
Whatever the result this Sunday, this match will forever enter the history of the Moselle club, born three years ago from the merger of FC Thionville and the Portuguese Thionville.
2024-01-05 22:54:51
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