They should be a little less than 3,000, this Sunday, to populate the two stands of the Gaston-Simounet stadium in Bergerac. Two weeks after having pushed Bergerac players to beat a Ligue 1 club for the first time, FC Metz (0-0, 5-4 tab), Perigord supporters dream of another victory, this time against an opponent of an inferior pedigree, US Créteil, a National club, only one division above Bergerac. What to hope to relive the same emotions as two weeks ago. The youngest supporters had offered the image of the afternoon, taken up on many television channels, and social networks. A party in the middle of the field, where the young footballers from Bergerac joined the players to sing the victory.
The young Liam, 11, and midfielder with the U12 Bergerac, still has stars in his eyes. “We went down, we started to sing with them”, he recounts. “And then there is a player, Hicham [M’Laab], which tells us to go into the field “. A moment shared with his 8-year-old brother Nil, who found that there was “a lot of atmosphere, we were in the stands a lot”.
We are not a Ligue 1 club, but we try to make them feel that they are supported
Their father Stéphane was with them, and confirms it. “It’s screaming, we’re in the kop, we set the mood, we try to push them to the maximum. We are not a Ligue 1 club, but we try to make them feel that they are shouldered, that they are supported. And there, the last match, they heard it of course “, says the one who takes care of a few club players with his vacuum therapy activity. “There is also this human side in Bergerac which means that the players are still quite close to the children. There are certain matches where they invite them into the locker room”. And this Sunday, the young dismissed will have reinforcement, with Sylvie and Didier, the historical supporters.
The couple, who live in Gardonne, has supported the BPFC for 30 years and has even made all the trips for four seasons. “We spend our holidays like that. Every two weeks we go to the right, to the left, we support them. It makes us travel a lot. We live like that “, explains Didier. It was he who took Sylvie to soccer for the first time, but now they recognize that she is “more fierce” than him. “Bergerac is my city, I was born there, it’s all my life. It was a second family” explains Sylvie, scarf and club jersey on her back.
Sunday, they will change stands “to try to have more vocal power. In the main stand, people are a bit reluctant, we had the impression with the drum and the vocals to bother them more than anything else. So we will try to really set it on fire even more than last time “.
On the other hand, the couple do not agree on their wish for the rest of the competition, in case of qualification. Didier would like a match against Marseille, where Sylvie would prefer “a small team. For a great first, go to the quarterfinals. It would be my biggest dream “. It is still necessary to eliminate Créteil, a match that Liam sees ending on a “1-0 or to the penalties”. But what is certain, Stéphane warns, is that “can warn the guys from Créteil. That they come with a team because there will be a lot of us. It will scream, it will make a lot of noise “. A last breath too, before the implementation of more restrictive measures for football fans, this Monday, January 3, with gauges to 5,000 people maximum, and the ban on refreshments in the stadiums.