The Canet RFC holds its breath before regaining its momentum. The Catalan club has experienced two rises in the last five years until reaching the national 2 in 2020. After seasons of playing leading roles, the situation is now different. In the offices of the Saint-Michel stadium, we only talk about maintenance!
“It’s going to be very complicated explains coach Farid Fouzari, we are in a very strong group, I know our opponents well because I trained Martigues and we will face ambitious teams who are uphill like Fréjus, Grasse, Hyères, Toulon. In this group, it’s easier to name teams that don’t play the climb than to name teams that play the climb.”
The last two years, Canet faced teams from the south-west. This year, the CRFC has switched to the group composed mainly of teams from the south-east (with in addition Lyon, Auxerre, Louhans-Cuiseaux among others). In Saint-Michel, it’s going to make for beautiful derbies but sportingly it’s clearly tougher and tougher : “This change of hen was not planned, explains general manager Jordi Delclos, we were very surprised. We’re excited because it’s going to make great posters but we’re also worried because it’s a very tough hen. We have ambition, if we can go for the top of the table we will do it but in all humility, the key word is maintenance!“.
Ligue 3 objective a little later
Humility is necessarily required because the amateur championships are undergoing a major overhaul. The season will be tough and contested, five teams out of sixteen will go down to the lower level at the end of the season! Canet of course wants to avoid that. On the horizon 20204 – 2025, a league 3 will see the light of day and it is necessarily this slightly more distant objective that the club is aiming for.
If this group of national 2 is raised sportingly, it is also financially. Humility is also dictated by the ranking of budgets. Many clubs display twice Canet’s budget, which remains around one million euros for this 2022-2023 financial year: “We realize that getting sponsorship is more and more complicated. The club continues to move forward and structure itself with the arrival of a general manager (Editor’s note: Frédéric Pel). We have medium-term objectives, this year we are aiming for maintenance but in a few years we hope for the rise with the support of the town hall of Canet and our partners, but it is true that the post-COVID period is complicated for us and for everyone.”
And then, over the seasons, Canet has established itself in the Catalan sporting landscape but knows that it remains fragile: “it’s always complicated, adds Jordi Delclos, we know that there is a high expectation but it’s also hard to bring people to the stadium, they are very demanding. We also have the two rugby behemoths, next door. But we are working to put on a great show at home, we are working to improve our reception and to bring people back to the stadium..”
Canet – Toulon opening at Saint-Michel
To seduce the public, we must not miss his start against Toulon, this Saturday (at 6 p.m.)for the Canétois and their playmaker Toufik Ouadoudi: “We have to take this as a chance to start the season at home, in front of our home crowd, we have to go for the victory“.
Canet will start his season with clear goals in the league but also with the Coupe de France in the back of his mind. After the 2021 quarter-final, there is still this frustration of having achieved a fantastic journey behind closed doors: “the cut is a bonus, adds Toufik Ouadoudi, but the coach is close to his heart and to us too, but we must already ensure the maintenance and if we can we will give everything in the French Cup.”
On the workforce side, the face of the CRFC was changed in the off-season. There have been notable departures such as those of the emblematic players Maxime Ferry and Jérémy Posteraro in the direction of Argelès. The club retains historic players like Toufik Ouadoudi, Pascal Vié, Chris Lybohy,…
Arrivals and departures in the off-season
- Arrivals : Boronad (assistant coach, FC Albères Argelès), Bofunda (striker, Béziers), Elhani (right winger, Saint-Louis Neuweg), Abkary (attacking midfielder, Sannois/Saint-Gratien), Gau (defender, Béziers), Atcham Atcham (attacker, FC Albères Argelès), Llort (left side, AS Saint-Etienne), Charrat (left side, FU Narbonne), Rouquier (defender, FC Albères Argelès, Akakpo (right midfielder, U17 CRFC), Di Capua (midfielder, ESTAC Troyes), Mukendi (left winger, Belfort).
- Departures : Lamour (assistant coach, free), Moreira, El Khabchi (free), Khechmar, Hérelle, Diaby (Alès), Guirassy (Stade Briochin), Atlan (stop), Ferry, Ba, J. Posteraro (defensive midfielder, FC Albères Argelès), Goteni (end of loan), Decker (FC Dudelange 91).