We are almost there. The match that Dijon supporters ticked first when they left the Ligue 2 calendar. The Burgundy derby: DFCO – Auxerre, for the 16th day of Ligue 2, at the Stade Gaston Gérard on Monday November 22, 2021 (coup d ‘ dispatch 8:45 p.m.). The DFCO, relegated from L1, ranks 16th when it comes to facing the Auxerrois, 2nd in the standings – who have been playing in Ligue 2 since 2012. Match within the match, four former AJA players are now in the Dijon ranks.
Fred Sammaritano: “May the best win, as long as it is Dijon”
The attacking midfielder Fred Sammaritano is the “oldest” of the ex-Auxerre today in Dijon. Passed by AJA in 2010-2011 then, after a detour to Ajaccio, between 2013 and 2015, he played 89 games, for 16 goals and 11 assists. At the DFCO since 2015, locker room boss and launcher of the cries of victory, captain in the Coupe de France against Saint-Apollinaire, little used in the league (8 games, one start), Sammaritano expressed his expectations about this meeting facing Auxerre.
“For me, it’s an important match. To play again against Auxerre, I had done it twice after my departure (from Auxerre), there it’s been six years since I played against them. always a pleasure to play against AJ Auxerre, I also know the little rivalry that there is between Dijon and Auxerre, he explains. It’s a derby, we know it’s going to be something committed, with a lot of enthusiasm for the supporters, for the city. We will respond present and we can not wait to play this match “.
Is this a “real” derby? Is there a real rivalry on the pitch? “It’s a little bit of a hairpin. It’s also between the supporters that there is this rivalry, I did not feel a huge animosity between Dijon and Auxerre either, confesses the player. I think both deserve to have a nice place. May the best win, as long as it is Dijon “. However, we remember his first return to the Yonne, stormy when he arrived at the stadium. “After I left, it was quite cool, they had kept that in mind, they were quite bitter, Sammaritano shade. In the end, I made the right choice since we had climbed to Ligue 1 with Dijon at the end of the season. You have to stay calm, it’s football “.
Romain Philippoteaux: “It’s still important for the supporters, for the city’s little war”
Revealed at the DFCO in 2013, the attacking midfielder Romain Philippoteaux passed through the Yonne between 2017 and 2019. Guest on the 100% DFCO show, he gave us his vision of this somewhat special match: “A real derby … in terms of hatching, it’s not a Classico, or even when I was in Nîmes, Nîmes-Montpellier where it really goes very far. But it’s still a regional derby. I know that when I was in Auxerre, they could not support Dijon, and in Dijon it is the same thing. It remains important for the supporters, for the small war in the city “.
Injured in the ankle, and even if he was able to resume training, he will not be in the game on Monday evening: “It’s a game apart and it’s frustrating not being able to play it”.
Valentin Jacob: “It’s not a match like any other”
“It’s not a match like any other because it’s a derby, but I’m not going to kill them more than anything else because I went through Auxerre or whatever”. Attacking midfielder Valentin Jacob, in good shape after his first goal scored with the DFCO – against Saint-Apollinaire in the Coupe de France – will not have left an indelible mark on the side of the AJA. He arrived in Yonne at the age of 19, in 2013, evolves with the reserve and makes no appearances with the first team. Following this first Burgundian experience, he left for the amateur world and Annecy (N2), before finally discovering Ligue 2 with Niort then the DFCO.
In this context, does he have a feeling of revenge? “No, that’s blah, he laughs, good player. And then me it’s been a while now “. Does he expect a more tense match than the others? “There may be a few more hits, but hey Auxerre is not necessarily a team that hits it either, so we’ll see.”
Mickaël Le Bihan, missed meeting
“There is a better club that came to get me”. When the DFCO resumed training, the Dijon striker, who went from Yonne to Côte-d’Or this summer, had lit the fuse. His performance would be scrutinized, dissected, expected. The people of Dijon hoped to see him score at least one goal and rejoice. Unfortunately, released against Ajaccio, injured in the thigh, Mickaël Le Bihan, author of 19 goals with AJA last season, will not participate in the derby.
And on the Auxerrois side?
In the workforce of AJ Auxerre, we find the former dijonnais Quentin Bernard, Dijon player in 2015-2016, and Auxerre since 2019. The left side has participated in 15 meetings of his team this season, for two assists.