The Coupe de France has had its share of great stories and remarkable journeys from clubs that are not used to playing in the big leagues. Opponents in the quarter-finals, Bergerac and Versailles, both residents of National 2 (the equivalent of the fourth division), have the opportunity on Wednesday February 9 to leave a mark in the competition.
They have the opportunity to imitate Rumilly Vallières who reached the semi-finals last year and why not do even better, as the Herbiers club did in 2018. Under the orders of Stéphane Masala, the Vendée team had won the right to play in the final at the Stade de France despite their status as a third division team. The coach, who has not left the bench of the VHF, today in National 2, delivers to Franceinfo: sport part of the recipe which guided his team four years ago and which could inspire Bergerac and Versailles.
Franceinfo: sport: You have already been in the position of these two teams and even managed to climb two additional steps. What advice would you give to Bergerac and Versailles to follow in the footsteps of the Herbaria?
Stephane Masala : I don’t have any advice to give them, strictly speaking. The situation is different for each team. But, of course, their journey makes me want to put myself in their shoes. We, in our time, the objective with the staff had been to succeed in removing the fear of losing. When we are Versailles and when we are Bergerac, inevitably, we are afraid of being eliminated by a team of the same level when we are one step away from a semi-final and we have managed to get out of the teams of a higher level so far. For me, the main job has to be there. You have to connect the team to the qualification objective and win it.
If there are pitfalls to avoid at the gates of the last four, what are they?
Like I said, don’t be afraid to lose. This leads to underplaying. But don’t overdo it either. The more the towers advance, the more the media attention is present. It is also what makes the spice of the Coupe de France, even more now that Paris is out. Each team tells itself that it can go very, very far this year. I would say that above all you have to keep your game plan, follow what you have planned to do.
How does one become a little thumb like no other like the Herbaria?
Between the quarters and the semi-finals, we had time and we found ourselves playing a match against Red Star (in the league, in National). We took the opportunity to take the guys to the Stade de France. We had clearly explained to them that if they wanted to enter, they had to buy a ticket, but that if we beat Chambly in the semi-finals, it was through the front door and on the red carpet that we would do our Entrance.
In fact, we weren’t even talking about our opponent anymore. We only talked about playing at the Stade de France. It was the only objective and it was positive. Since Chambly was a team of the same level (in the same division as Les Herbiers at the time), we could have unconsciously led the team to say to itself: “we must not lose”.
At the time of the draw for the quarters, the cameras of France Télévisions and the French Football Federation were immersed with the Versailles players. There was an almost general wave of disappointment at the announcement of the trip to Bergerac. The players would have liked to play against a big Ligue 1 player…
If so, the Versailles staff may have work to do. I have not seen the video, but it is absolutely necessary to succeed in removing this feeling. We cannot approach this kind of match with frustration and disappointment. To say to yourself that you must not be eliminated like that. You have to succeed in orienting the approach to the match differently to be on a positive dynamic.
You have no doubt followed the matches at Versailles and Bergerac carefully. Bergerac has also particularly impressed with his ability to padlock matches, even against elite clubs…
I obviously followed Bergerac. In addition, they are leaders of our group [en National 2]. We faced them in the last match of the first leg. We lost 1-0 and frankly it was very difficult to create chances against them. They have this ability to resist and push back which is admirable. They don’t create many chances either. I remember telling the Bergerac players that things could go very quickly that day and they are only one step away from a semi-final. I had felt that they did not imagine being where they are today.
The proof, they went 0-0 several times after the penalty shootouts. I saw Versailles too and it’s different. They play football with more punch, more open and attacking football. I found them interesting. I’m really curious about the balance of power because they are two very different styles.