Stade Toulousian — CA Brive-Correze (28-05-2023)

We arrive in Toulouse about an hour before the game, check into our hotel, and directly start the 20-minute walk to the stadium, to avoid getting caught in the rain. As we walk, there is thunder and lightening, and some light rain, but in the end all is well. We are not wet and the game is not postponed.

It is the last game of the regular season of the Top-14, rugby’s highest division in France. The game has been sold out for a while but fortunately TM got tickets through his rugby connections. They are just EUR 25, for seats behind the goal, next to the drum section of Toulouse. The Stade Ernest Wallon is a concrete monstrosity that holds 19.500, who are also here tonight. As always with rugby (union), the audience is mostly older and upper middle class — very white but quite a lot of women (including groups of women).

Toulouse is number one, but needs a win to finish first, while Brive is last and was relegated two weeks ago. After Brive goes up 0-3 through a penalty goal, it is an absolutely savage butchery. The first half is defined by penalties, injuries, and Toulouse tries. At half time, the score is 35-3.

In the second half, almost nothing happens. Toulouse scores a few more times but the supporters are preoccupied with doing the Mexican wave and watching the mascot be lifted up and down the stand.

The only noteworthy moment is at the end of the game, when Brive scores a try, just for the honor. It is quite impressive how a team that is already relegated, and has been destroyed, can still find the energy to keep fighting on. Well done Brive! Final score: 54-10!

I have to say that this is the first rugby game that was a disappointment. Stade Toulousain is one of the big clubs in French, and European, rugby and I was not very impressed by the atmosphere. Maybe it was the specific game, but I doubt it. The audience was too posh and too spoiled, I guess.

AS Fabregues — Olympique Nimes 2 (28-05-2023)

On our way to Toulouse, to see a rugby game, we visit a game in the Regional 1 Occitanie (Sixth Division) between AS Fabreques and the second team of Olympique Nimes, whose first team plays in the Ligue 2 (Second Division).

We arrive about an hour before kick-off in the small town of Fabregues and kill some time by looking for an ATM. It is gorgeous weather: 26 C, sunny, with a nice breeze. Even pleasant in the sun. We park the car in the shade and enter the stadium about half an hour early. There are only a handful of people yet.

The Stade Jacques Claramunt has only one small concrete stand with space for a few hundred people. Despite the fact that entrance is free, there are only 65 people at this game, including roughly 20 away supporters.

In the 5th minute, the Nimes goalie shoots a poor pass back against the Fabregues striker, who turns around and half-volleys the ball into the goal: 1-0. Quite the start. In the 15th minute a home defender shoots from his own half on goal and hits the post as the goalie is too far from his goal (think it was a pass though).

In the 38th minute, out of nowhere, an incredible through ball finds a Nimes striker who shoots before the goalie can get there: 1-1. This is also the half time score.

In the first 5 minutes of the second half, Fabregues misses two big chances in front of the goal. Although the game is quite decent, there are few chances, in part because the architect at the Nimes midfield is too slow on his final pass and the Fabregues left striker is a drama.

The last fifteen minutes are a bit better. In the 75th minute the home goalie makes two good saves after another. Two minutes later, a Fabregues striker gets the ball totally free in the box, turns, and passes the goalie from close to the goal: 2-1. Deserved as the home team works harder. However, again two minutes later, a quick Nimes attack is poorly defended in the back and easily finished: 2-2.

After that, it gets weirdly rowdy. In the 85th minute, a rough foul leads to a second yellow card and therefore red for a Fabregues player. Against 10 men, Nimes gets stronger. In the second minute of extra time, a long pass from the back leads to a hard shot at the goalie, who drops it, but the consequent goal is offside. Chance after chance follows, but no goal. In the 10th minute of extra time, a long Nimes pass forces a Fabregues defender to foul the striker with a tackle, which leads to a second red card for the home team. Still, with 9 men Fabregues secures a 2-2 draw.

The Regional 1 division is far removed from the Championnat National (even CN 2) but it is still a nice “filler” if you have another game in the neighborhood in the evening. Particularly if the weather is nice and the game free.

ASM Belfort — Colmar SR (27-05-2023)

We arrive in Belfort about 10 minutes before kick-off, at 18.00, park next to the stadium, and join a few people in front of the oddly shaped ticket office. We buy a general ticket for €8 and enter the stadium.

The Stade Roger Serzian is a classic athletics stadium with a huge (blue) track lane, one old brick stand on the long side, and a few uncovered seats on the other long side. We sit there because it is in the sun.

There are about 300 people, including some two dozen away fans (Colmar is just 71 km away), and a small group of kids with some homemade flags and a drum for the ultras atmosphere. The audience is mostly local and older but quite racially mixed.

The game is in the Championnat National 2 (Fourth Division), Group B. ASM Belfort is still fighting against relegation, while Colmar is mid-table. Unsurprisingly, Belfort works harder but Colmar is the better team.

In the 26th minute, a weird free kick leads to close-up safe by the goalie and a series of corners for Belfort. A few minutes later, a Colmar corner almost goes in, but the goalkeeper is able to deflect the ball.

In the 33rd minute, a cross is deflected and is picked up by a striker who tips it over the sliding goalie: lucky but well finished: 0-1. Eight minutes later, out of nowhere, a great cross puts a Colmar player totally free in front of the goal, but the shot is too weak and the goalie saves. The corner also leads to a safe by the goalie, so the half time score is 0-1.

Very little happens in the second half. Colmar doesn’t try and Belfort gets more and more physical, kicking at everything that moves. In the last 20 minutes, the Belfort goalie shoots everything into the Colmar half. There is no build-up from the back anymore.

This opportunistic play does lead to a series of chances and half-chances for the home team. In the 83rd minute a free kick is headed in and saved on the line. Belfort players claim hand ball but the referee says no. In the 88th minute a cross is headed in from the box but well wide. The next minute a corner is hit out by the goalkeeper and a player picks it up, turns around and hits it just over.

Even in the 9 minutes of extra time Belfort gets chances, including a free header from 5 meter that is straight at the goalie and a hard cross that is half-volleyed in the box but bounces over the goal. Final score: 0-1.

Although the distraught reaction of Belfort is understandable, they relegate (check), the happiness of Colmar and its fans is more difficult to understand, as they didn’t play for anything anymore. Still, a pretty nice groundhop.

FC Chambly-Oise - FC Villefranche Boujelais (18-02-2022)

 

The first game of my groundhopweekend with TM takes us to Chambly, a small town just north of Paris. The local FC Chambly-Oise plays in the Championnat National, the Third Division of French football and the lowest national and professional league. Although we left the Netherlands in time, despite me getting lost for a while, we get stuck in a long traffic jam around Lille and start to worry whether we will make kick-off at 19.00. Half an hour later we worry whether we will even make the second half. In the end, we arrive 5 minutes late.

 

We are surprised how many cars there are, but later conclude that, because the ground is in the middle of nowhere, and there is no public transports, everyone is come in their own car. After a COVID vaccination check, and confusion about my unprofessional US vaccination card, we buy tickets for the main stand (at €15 each).

 

The Stade des Marais looks like work in progress, with one stand behind the goal and one on just half of the long side. Both seem semi-permanent structures, one truly covered and the other covered by a weird, temporary tent structure.

 

There are some 400-500 people in the stadium. The audience is very male, mostly older (40+), and somewhat mixed ethnically (much less than the town, undoubtedly). Remarkable how few women and children are around. There don’t seem to be any away fans – Villefranche-sur-Saône is almost 500 km away from Chambly, so that wasn’t too surprising. FC Chambly-Oise is 14^th in the league, FC Villefranche-Boujelais 7^th.

 

We are internally divided whether the pitch is natural grass (T) or some modern type of AstroTurf (me). In any case, it looks good and smooth. Still, the home team struggles, while the guests have several half chances, before they finally score 0-1 in the 39^th minute, after a cross from the left is finished with a half volley. This is also the half time score, which flatters Chambly.

 

In the 55^th minute, a bit out of nowhere, the guests score with a dry, low shot from top of the box, which the goalie sees too late: 0-2.

 

The guests are much better, even if Chambly has more possession. They create at least five clear chances through excellent play — but also because the hosts are so poor. Fortunately for the hosts, the Villefranche strikers are off target.

 

Although the game ends 0-2, and was never a real contest, it was entertaining, mostly because of the guests. The atmosphere was decent. A small crowd of people used to seeing their team loose and a few who occasionally sing. Definitely in the margins of French professional football.

 

Wasquehal Football -- US Maubeuge (26-05-2018)

Groundhopping in Europe at the end of May is not easy. Not at all. Given that I had to give a lecture in the morning, I had only 4-5 hours to drive from the middle of the Netherlands. This is how I ended up in the Championnat National 3, technically the Fifth Division in France.

Wasquehal is a small town just across the Belgian border (close to Mouscroun). Technically, Wasquehal Football is a new club, founded in 2017, as a merger of two local teams, dating back to 1924! They play at the Complexe sportif Lucien Montagne, which looks relatively empty when I arrive.

At the complex is the Stade Léo Lagrange, with one stand, and a capacity of 500. However, today, they play on a pitch behind that "stadium." Given that it is the last game of the season, the game is free, which unfortunately also means that I don't get a ticket as a souvenir (although I doubt they have tickets during regular games).

There are between 50 and 100 supporters, all but a few from the home team. To be fair, Maubeuge is almost 100 km away. There are even a few fans with flags and there is a drum.

I don't remember much of the game, except that it ebbed and flowed pretty decently, but the quality of play was quite atrocious. The fans were calm and sometime involved on this very pleasant Summer evening.

As Championnat National 3 used to be called Championnat de France Amateur 2, it is not surprising that everything reminds me of my Dutch amateur team of my youth. People hanging over the advertisement boards, in small groups of friends, talking about the past week and sometimes shouting at the game.

I caught the goal of the home team, scored by penalty, which, I think, equalized the game.  Enthusiasm remains within borders. :-)

As I again still had some driving to do, and had been without any food or drink because there was no concession stand anywhere to be found, I left 20 minutes early at a 1-1 score.

Let's just say that Wasquehal Football does not need to be (high) on your groundhopping bucket list.

L’Entente SSG – USL Dunkerque (13-10-2017)

 

I am in Paris for work, so I have decided to start my groundhop-weekend with my brother in the northwestern suburb of Sannois, where the local L’Entente Sannois Saint-Gratien plays in the Championnat National (Third Division). Unfortunately, the “competent” personnel of the Paris public transport put me on the wrong train, to the southwest of the city, which means that I arrive ten minutes too late at the train station and my brother and I arrive 30 minutes late at the Place des Sports Michel Hidalgo.

 

The stadium, named after the famous former coach of the French national team – why, I don’t know, as he seem to have no personal tie to the team or town – holds 8,000 and is quite cozy. We get a ticket for a very reasonable €10 and take our place on the covered stand.

 

There are about 350 people on this rainy, but not too cold, Friday evening. The audience is remarkably mixed in terms of age and ethnicity, but there are few women. In fact, There are some 50 away supporters, who have made the ca. 300 km trek from Dunkirk.

 

When we enter the stadium, roughly 30 minutes late, the score is 0-1. There are some chances on both side, but the general level of play is low, and the game is quite slow. In the 44^th minute the hosts attack, poor defense, the rebound is lobbed over the goalie, but headed out by a defender. Half time score: 0-1.

 

In the first minute of the second half the visitors have a long pass, the striker goes at it, the goalie is too late, and the striker finishes cool: 0-2. The home fans take it pretty easily, seemingly used to home losses. In fact, both clubs are mid-table teams this season.

 
There are some good chances on both sides. ESSG defends too far forward, which leaves big spaces behind them. This leads to some useful counters by USL. N the 18^th minute the hosts have a corner, which leads to a shot that goes just wide. Two minutes later they have another attack but the hard shot is met with a good safe by the goalkeeper
 

 

Not too much happens afterwards. It is clear that USL is not going to give away their lead and the game is getting too slow to surprise anyone. The fans remain calm and reasonably satisfied. Most people are here to support their local club and meet friends. Final score: 0-2.

I know that football fans want to go to see Paris Saint-Germain when they are in Paris, but when you are a groundhopper, make your way to Sannois and experience the real old-school football atmosphere of the neighborhood team.

Stade Français – ASM Clermont Auvergne (03-09-2016)

 

What, Stade Français? Never heard of that football team! You are right, because it is not a football team but a rugby team. Yes, I went to a rugby game on my groundhop weekend for three reasons: (1) it was WC 2020 Qualifiers weekend, so there were few football games; (2) I like rugby; and (3) my brother loves rugby. And thus we drove from Sedan to Paris, where we arrived almost 45 minutes before kick-off.

 

Somewhat confusingly Stade Français does not (or better: no longer) play its home games in the Stade de France (outside of the city center) but in the Stade Jean-Bouin in the 16^th arrondissement, pretty much in the center – they play big games in the Stade de France though. Although Stade Français was founded in 1883, it exists in its current form – as Stade Français CASG – only since its merger with Club Athlétique des Sports Généraux in 1995.

 

As we arrive in front of the Stade Jean-Bouin, which is directly next to the Parc des Princes (home base of Paris Saint-Germain), I am stunned by the futuristic architecture of the outside of the stadium and by the crowds in front of it. Hundreds of yellow-blue fans have made the 400 km trip north from Clermont-Ferrand – and are joined by many fellow fans who live in Paris.

 

Stade Français is known for its distinct merchandise, which turns out to be a mega business. There is a fan shop in a huge truck in front of the stadium, which is doing great business. We cannot resist the pink merchandise either, even though this season the jerseys are not as striking as in previous years. After we also get some kick-ass fries, from de Roy des Frites (King of Fries) stand, we enter the stadium with out pre-ordered tickets.

The inside of the Stade Jean-Bouin is simply stunning. One of the most beautiful sports stadiums I have ever visited. The basic structure dates back to 1925 and is not remarkable. However, in 2010-2013 the stadium was expanded from 12 to 20 thousand and an absolutely amazing roof was added. I could not stop admiring the stadium during the game!

 

 

The audience is remarkable affluent and white, which is particularly striking in such a diverse city as Paris. While rugby is a very popular sport in France, and the Top 14 is the best-paid league in the world (according to my brother), it is mainly popular in the southern half of the country. Paris is by far the most northern town where a Top 14 team plays – actually, two, as Racing 92 is also in the capitol.

 

The game starts great with a good attack by Clermont in the 2^nd minute. The next minute Stade attacks and scores a try (5-0), but misses the conversion. Just three minutes later they score a second try, but after minutes of video consultation, the try is not just canceled, but Clermont gets a free kick close to the posts and kicks a field goal: 5-3. An exhilarating start!

And the pace stays really high, keeping the enthusiastic supporters of both sides on the tip of their seats. A few minutes later Stade attacks again, the guy kicks it beyond the defense and scores a try. This time they do make the (easy) conversion: 12-3. In the 19^th minute both teams have scored a field goal (15-6) and six minutes later a fantastic attacks is finished by the very fast left winger: 20-3 after the conversion is yet again missed.

It looks like Stade is cruising. But Clermont makes a great break and is about to score a try when the fast left winger makes a heroic tackle just before the goal line. Unfortunately, he gets injured and has to be substituted. Even worse, Clermont scores with a “running maul” after the line-out: 20-13, as they do score the conversion.

 

 

Minutes later they seem to equalize after a fantastic attack with several breaks, but after video consultation it turns out they threw the ball forward, so it is disallowed. The next attack again seems to end in a try, but leads to a kick instead: 20-16 is also the half time score. A spectacular first half!

After suffering through the Americanized half-time program with cheerleaders and a kiss-a-cam I am relieved that the second half starts. Clermont directly pushes for a try but after two minutes settles for a kick: 20-19. You can see that the teams are getting tired. Consequently, they are more and more going for kicks over tries. In fact, Clermont kicks virtually anything that is in the Stade half, even from the center of the pitch: 20-22, their first lead.

 

Fortunately, they miss their next far kick, in the 56^th minute, but now Stade starts to kick from the center of the pitch too: 23-22. As we have an evening game in Belgium, we leave in the 70^th minute. Just as we are about to leave Clermont scores a try but misses the conversion: 23-27. In the car we hear that the game ends 30-30. What a match!

Anyone who loves rugby, or is just curious, should go and see Stade Français play in the Stade Jean-Bouin. It is a truly beautiful experience in an amazing setting. Not only is the game itself exhilarating but the atmosphere is very energetic and positive – many rugby fans even applaud the scores of their opponent! I’ll definitely come back one day.