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The Guardian
01-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
AS Cannes: the fourth-tier club dreaming of a Coupe de France final
'The spotlight is on us,' says Cannes CEO Félicien Laborde on a radiant day on the Côte d'Azur as he reflects on the club's latest giant-killing win in the Coupe de France. And 'giant-killing' is the word for a 3-1 win against Guingamp in the quarter-finals; Guingamp are flying high in the second tier and, despite their once-great past, Cannes are down in the fourth tier. Their spectacular run to the semi-finals, where they will face Reims, has put the historic club back on the footballing map. The quarter-final was a reminder of past glories. It was also a night that bore unmistakable scars of the club's tumultuous recent history. There were 9,000 fans packed into the Stade Pierre de Coubertin, but that's 8,000 short of the stadium's record attendance, which was set back in 1993 before the north and south stands were dismantled – a decline that coincided with the club's fall from grace and out of the professional game altogether. 'If we still had those two stands for the quarter-final, they would have been full,' says Laborde, whose task is to awaken the sleeping giant that is famous for producing two of the greats of the French game, Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira. After qualifying for the Uefa Cup twice in the 1990s, it was a vertiginous drop for Cannes. They reached their nadir in the 2014-15 season after a DNCG ruling saw them excluded from the national leagues and banished to the seventh tier. It was a big step down for a club that had been a founding member of the French top flight in the 1930s. 'The job is to help the club be proud again because what the club has gone through for the past 20 years hasn't been easy,' says Laborde, who occupied backroom roles down the coast at Monaco before joining Les Dragons in January 2024. Naturally, the recovery has been incremental, an arduous climb back up the ladder. But, since the Friedkin Group bought Cannes in June 2023, optimism and ambition have permeated a club that was languishing. 'The club's objective is a long-term one and it comes through promotions to the higher divisions,' says Laborde. The club now have the financial means to reach those objectives, although the CEO insists their budget is 'not a lot bigger' than their National 2 rivals. But means in football are no guarantee of success. Sébastien Pérez, who played for Blackburn Rovers and Marseille, arrived as sporting director a year ago and 'audited' the squad. 'There were good players but, for me, the cycle had more or less come to an end, so we had to regenerate the squad by adding quality,' he says. The club brought in 16 players and a new manager in Fabien Pujo. 'It isn't easy to change 16 players and have an osmosis and a connection between the players,' says the sporting director. And that showed in the opening weeks of the season. More change was needed. The warning signs were already evident in the pre-season training camp. 'We put everyone together and we observed for six weeks and saw what was working and what wasn't working,' says Laborde. 'What didn't work was the manager's management. Unfortunately, the leadership wasn't working; there wasn't enough of it. In terms of the goalkeeper, we didn't have that assurance we needed.' The club changed course: Damien Ott replaced Pujo as manager in October, and they signed the former Birmingham City and Senegal midfielder Cheikh N'Doye – 'the missing piece' in Pérez's words – and the goalkeeper Jérémy Aymes. Ott's impact has been revolutionary. His predecessor won just one of his seven games in charge; Ott has won nine of his 16 games in the National 2, putting Cannes in contention for promotion, and led them to the semi-finals of the Coupe de France. If they are promoted, there will not be a repeat of last summer's mass recruitment. 'It isn't about 16 changes every year,' says Pérez. 'We are trying to construct a team that has a strong core that will allow us to make steps forward.' Laborde agrees, adding: 'If one day we go up to National 1, the team is already there. We have made a team that is capable of going up and having a lasting impact. Will we have the means to compete and play at an even higher level? Yes. We will.' The club believe their squad and manager coalesce with a wider Friedkin-instigated philosophy of all-out attack, seen as the key to climbing back up the ladder. 'We did a study to find out what kind of clubs make the jump from National 2 to National 1. What came out of it is that we needed to score more goals. Over the last 10 years, clubs that have gone from National 2 to National 1 have scored a lot of goals,' says Laborde. 'When you look at the squad, there are more attackers than defenders,' notes the CEO. 'The owners say that we play to win. Sometimes we concede goals but the risk is accepted by everyone and, first and foremost, by the owners who tell us not to play for a draw.' It is no coincidence that their striker Julien Domingues tops the goalscoring charts in the Coupe de France with 11 goals, becoming the first player since Jean-Pierre Papin to hit double figures in the competition. When Cannes began their Coupe de France campaign in the preliminary stages in August, the plan was to use the competition as a 'laboratory' to 'test things' and 'create chemistry' between the squad. Having beaten Ligue 2 sides Grenoble, Lorient and Guingamp, they believe their ultra-attacking style will translate to the higher divisions. And while promotion remains the big objective this season, Cannes are allowing themselves to dream in the cup. 'We won't be playing with 11 behind the ball against Reims,' says Laborde. 'Now we are here, we want to win it and to go to the Stade de France, but it has never been an objective.' The objective, as Laborde emphasises throughout, is to secure a promotion that will take Cannes closer to their former identity. 'We want to once again have professional status – to be able to reopen an academy, to start bringing through our own players again. That is Cannes' DNA. We brought through Vieira and Zidane. The goal is to do that again,' says Laborde. Promotion would provide more opportunities to work with the other clubs in the Friedkin Group. 'To be able to collaborate with Roma and Everton, we have to go a bit higher first,' says Laborde. 'When we close this big gap, we can think about collaborating together.' Closing that gap will take place out of the spotlight that is currently shining on the club. 'We have the light on us but it will go away again,' Laborde acknowledges. But in a town famed for its film festival, it is fitting that a film producer, in Friedkin, is at the heart of a project to bring AS Cannes back to the big screen for good. This is an article by Get French Football News
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Yes, oui, Cannes! Glamour name eyes place in French Cup final
Cannes players celebrate after beating Guingamp in the French Cup quarter-finals in February. They host Reims of Ligue 1 in the last four on Wednesday (Frederic DIDES) The French Cup is a tournament with a reputation for producing upsets and Cannes are the latest name dreaming of a shock result when the fourth-tier club play host to top-flight Reims in the semi-finals on Wednesday. Advertisement Paris Saint-Germain have unsurprisingly dominated the competition in recent years and are favourites to retain the trophy as they prepare to take on Dunkerque of Ligue 2 in the first semi-final on Tuesday. However, Cannes are following the example set by numerous other clubs from the lower leagues in recent years. Les Herbiers and Quevilly, both from the third division, each got to the final in the last decade, losing narrowly to PSG and Lyon respectively. More recently, fourth-tier clubs Versailles and Rumilly-Vallieres have made the semi-finals in the last four seasons. The ultimate example, however, is Calais, who in 2000 emerged from the fourth tier to get to the final, where they were unlucky to lose to Nantes. Advertisement Nevertheless, the Channel port of Calais does not have quite the same glamour as Cannes, the Cote d'Azur resort better known for its annual film festival than its football team. - Zidane's first club - And yet AS Cannes are a historic name in the French game. They won the French Cup in 1932 and were a fixture in the top flight for a time in the 1980s and 1990s, even making it to the UEFA Cup. Zinedine Zidane began his career in the Cannes youth academy and was handed his debut aged 16 in 1989, while a few years later Patrick Vieira was given his senior bow in a Cannes shirt. But the club slipped out of the professional leagues and disappeared practically into oblivion, being expelled to the depths of the seventh tier in 2014 due to financial problems. Advertisement They have slowly been working their way back up the divisions, and in 2023 were taken over by the US-based Friedkin Group which is involved in the film industry but also owns Roma and recently bought Everton. A world away from Serie A and the Premier League, Cannes have an operating budget of five million euros ($5.4m), and a total wage bill of one million euros, the club's general manager Felicien Laborde told AFP in February. - Friedkin takeover - Of the Friedkins, Laborde told sports daily L'Equipe that "they delegate completely, just like they do at Roma and Everton, with whom there is no collaboration". Advertisement "The difference in level is too great and they respect the different characteristics of each club," he said. He was speaking ahead of the quarter-final against Guingamp, who became the third Ligue 2 club eliminated by Cannes in this season's Cup, after Grenoble and Lorient. The stars in this Cannes team are the 39-year-old former Senegal midfielder Cheikh N'Doye, once of Birmingham City, and the prolific forward Julien Domingues. Cannes currently find themselves in the National 2, France's fourth tier which is split into three regionalised divisions, each comprising 16 teams. Advertisement The side finishing top of each group wins promotion, although Cannes are third in Group A, eight points behind leaders Le Puy with seven games left. "The Cup has give us a taste of the top level, as well as the desire to get back there," admitted Laborde, who insisted promotion was the priority over the Cup. However, after going five months unbeaten, Cannes have lost their last two matches, and it looks like that is going to prove costly in terms of promotion. Now Reims stand in their way in a Cup tie which Cannes will host at their Stade Pierre de Coubertin, a few kilometres west of the Croisette. Advertisement Two-time European Cup finalists in the 1950s, Reims are themselves hoping to reach the French Cup final for the first time since 1977 amid a difficult season in Ligue 1. "They are a Ligue 1 club, so if they want to take us they will take us. It all depends on them," admitted Cannes coach Damien Ott, subtly nudging the pressure onto the opposition. bur-as/pi
The Guardian
27-03-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Cup outsiders dream big around Europe in year of surprises
If you're looking for cup magic, nowhere can match the Coupe de France in recent years. In the past three decades, Guingamp, in 2009, may be the only second-tier winners but 10 teams from outside Ligue 1 have reached the final since 2006, and five of those were from the third tier or lower. There could be another this year, with Cannes, who play in France's regionalised fourth tier, making it to the final four. They have played eight matches to get this far without facing a top-flight side, but have dispatched three Ligue 2 teams – Grenoble, Lorient and Guingamp – at home. Cannes became this year's petit poucet ('little thumb', the title given to the Coupe's lowest-ranked team) after fourth-tier Stade Briochin were eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain. Two fifth-tier sides, Bourgoin-Jallieu and Dives-Cabourg, reached the last 16, the latter beaten 5-3 by Cannes. It hasn't been a typical cup run, and Cannes are not typical minnows. Winners in 1932, the team also shone in the late 80s and early 90s, with Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira among their former stars. Having suffered financial meltdown in 2014, the club have been bought by The Friedkin Group, who also control Everton and Roma, and are planning to lead Cannes back up the pyramid. Les Dragons will stay on the Riviera for their semi-final with Stade de Reims, thanks to a format that offers home advantage to lower-league upstarts. Reims, now struggling in Ligue 1, were once among France's biggest clubs, reaching the inaugural European Cup final in 1956 before a league and cup double in 1958. In between those highs, Stade were beaten by Algerian side El Biar in one of the Coupe de France's most stunning upsets. Could another be on the cards? 'It's like a casino – we put everything on the table,' said the Cannes coach, Damien Ott. 'We bet a lot, and at the moment it's working.' The other semi-final features PSG – winners of seven out of the last 10 league titles – against Dunkerque, a second-tier side chasing a first-ever Ligue 1 berth. Like Cannes, they have been boosted by new investment, with minority owner Demba Ba steering the ship. Having scraped by sixth-tier Stade Béthunois on penalties in their first game, Les Maritimes have beaten Auxerre and Brest away from home on a run to a glamour tie in Lille that will test the Coupe's magical powers to the limit. Coupe de France semi-finals: Dunkerque v PSG (1 Apr), Cannes v Reims (2 Apr) Third-tier Arminia Bielefeld began their DFB Pokal campaign in August with a home win over second division side Hannover, and could make it all the way to the final without leaving their home town, a place that urban legend claims does not really exist. If that wasn't magical enough, this traditional yo-yo club have seen off Bundesliga sides Union Berlin, Freiburg and Werder Bremen to set up a home semi-final against the defending champions, Bayer Leverkusen. Arminia – who were in the top flight only three seasons ago – have already matched their best DFB-Pokal run in 2015, which ended with a 4-0 defeat by eventual winners Wolfsburg. If they go one better, it could cause a fixture pile-up with Arminia chasing a promotion playoff spot and also being in the Westfalen Cup final. 'It would be a herculean task, but one we would gladly take on,' said club director Christoph Wortmann. Leverkusen eliminated Bayern Munich in the last 16 and are expected to deny Arminia's dream and then face RB Leipzig (winners in 2022 and 2023) in the final. Leipzig's semi-final opponents are mid-table Stuttgart, who are hoping to finish a disappointing campaign with a historic flourish, and their first Pokal since 1997. DFB Pokal semis: Arminia Bielefeld v Leverkusen (1 Apr), Stuttgart v RB Leipzig (2 Apr) Porto were the defending Taça de Portugal champions but were dumped out by Moreirense in the fourth round, ending a three-and-a-half-year winning run in the competition. In the next round, O Elvas stunned top-flight Vitória de Guimarães – and then got a home draw against another fourth-tier side, Tirsense. O Elvas did not flourish as favourites, losing 2-0 at home as Tirsense became the lowest-ranked side ever to reach the cup semi-finals. Their captain, João Pedro, is sanguine about the team's historic achievement. 'The visibility is good for our young players, who can reach higher levels in the future,' he said before the quarter-final. 'Our secret is hard work and also some luck in the draw.' That luck has run out, with a daunting two-leg battle against Benfica to come as Sporting face Rio Ave in the other semi-final. If a Lisbon derby final feels inevitable, Tirsense could take inspiration from their former neighbours in Santo Tirso, north of Porto. Back in 2018, Desportivo das Aves reached their first Taça final and shocked Sporting to win the trophy, before financial chaos set in. The club were dissolved in late 2020 and their trophy was auctioned online; now Tirsense have an unexpected chance to bring the Taça back to the region. Taça de Portugal semis: Tirsense v Benfica (9 & 23 Apr), Sporting v Rio Ave (3 & 23 Apr) Sign up to Soccer with Jonathan Wilson Jonathan Wilson brings expert analysis on the biggest stories from European soccer after newsletter promotion While the French format benefits lower-ranked teams, the opposite is true in Italy, where Serie A's top sides enter the Coppa Italia later and benefit from home ties. All of which means a distinct lack of magic – the last second-tier team to reach the final were Ancona in 1994, and they lost 6-1 on aggregate to Sampdoria. This year's semi-finalists are again all from the top flight, but Empoli have upset the established order through the great leveller of penalty shootouts. Despite winning only four league games all season, the Tuscan side have eliminated neighbours Fiorentina and Juventus on spot-kicks to reach the Coppa semi-finals for the first time in their history. 'The lads wrote a page in the history books for this club,' said manager Roberto D'Aversa after the shock win over Juve. 'I won't lie, I wasn't expecting this.' Empoli's win was also another nail in the coffin for Thiago Motta, who was sacked a few weeks after a defeat he labelled 'shameful'. Empoli's next opponents will be Motta's former club, Bologna, who last reached the cup final back in 1974, when they beat Palermo on penalties. Vincenzo Italiano's side are yet to concede in the competition, having beaten Monza 4-0 in the last 16 before upsetting Atalanta. The semi-final draw was kind to the outsiders – and neutrals – by pairing them together while Inter and Milan face off in the other game. Coppa Italia semis: Empoli v Bologna (1 & 24 Apr), Milan v Inter (2 & 23 Apr) The Netherlands' major cup competition has historically been dominated by the 'big three', with Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV winning 45 KNVB Cups between them. This season, AZ Alkmaar dumped Ajax out in the last 16, while PSV defeated Feyenoord 2-0 in the quarter-finals. The last eight also featured two third-tier teams, Quick Boys and Noordwijk, beaten by AZ and Go Ahead Eagles respectively. PSV were expected to ease past Go Ahead in the semi-finals, but a classic one-two punch of a header and quick counterattack took Paul Simonis' outsiders to their first cup final since 1965. Heracles Almelo, another side who have never won the cup, missed a potential winning penalty in their semi-final shootout, allowing AZ to squeak through instead. Now, the teams currently sixth and seventh in the Eredivisie will meet in Rotterdam for a different kind of final. KNVB Cup final: AZ v Go Ahead Eagles (21 Apr)
Associated Press
25-02-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
4th-tier Cannes reaches French Cup semifinals after another upset win
CANNES, France (AP) — The French Cup semifinals will contain a team from the country's fourth tier after Cannes produced another shock by beating second-tier Guingamp 3-1 on Tuesday. Cannes became the sixth team from the fourth division — National 2 — to reach the last four since 2000, according to French daily L'Equipe. Only one of them made the final, with Calais losing to Nantes in 2000. Reims beat Angers 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 1988. The other two quarterfinal matches take place on Wednesday, including French champion Paris Saint-Germain playing Stade Briochin — also of the fourth tier, like Cannes. ___
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
🎥 Pitch for PSG's clash with Brest looks more Sunday league than UCL 😳
Paris Saint Germain face Brest in the Champions League play-off round as they bid for a place in the round of 16, but the pitch prepared for them looks less than ideal. Due to UEFA regulations, Brest cannot play home games in their own stadium, meaning that their "home" ground is actually at second tier side Guingamp's Stade de Roudourou, 114km away from Brest. And though Guingamp have not played there since February 1st, the pitch is far from the carpet expected by modern footballers. L'état de la pelouse pour Brest/PSG à Guingamp 😱 @CanalplusFoot @ChampionsLeague — Olivier Tallaron (@OLIVETALLARON) February 10, 2025 Will PSG be able to overcome that to take an advantage back to the Parc des Princes? 📸 FRED TANNEAU - AFP or licensors
