the day FC Nantes beat Monaco in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France

It’s one of those matches that are part of the great history of FC Nantes. Historical. Triple winner of the Coupe de France. In the bays of a Beaujoire stadium which will be packed or in front of their television, this Wednesday evening, memories will resurface. Facing AS Monaco in the semi-final of the “Old lady“, on April 18, 2000, the formation trained by Raynald Denoueix had gone “defy the odds“, remembers defender Nicolas Gillet. She had obtained the right to go back to Paris, for the second year in a row. “This victory had done us good for the morale for the championship where we were not very well“, evokes Jean-Marc Chanelet, who left at the end of this season for Lyon. It had allowed the Canaries to revive and save their skins thanks to a controlled end to the season. “That year, we managed to form a group, a teamwhat is the hardest thing in football“, underlines the successor of Jean-Claude Suaudeau on the bench of the Yellows. Memories.

The tactics of Denoueix, the science of the goal of Da Rocha

Fabien Barthez, Willy Sagnol, Martin Djetou, Ludovic Giuly, Sabri Lamouchi, Marco Simone or David Trezeguet to name but a few. On paper, there was no picture. “They were arch-favorites“, readily recognizes Nicolas Gillet. Best attack, second best defense, the club of the rock had flown over the championship of France, that season. “They saw themselves being doubled”, rewinds the 45-year-old ex-defender. And everything was in place for them to qualify for the final, between the place of the meeting, at Louis II, and the poor form of the opponent who was battling at the bottom of the table. “Before the match, we said to ourselves: it makes or breaks“, explains Jean-Marc Chanelet. A puzzle for Raynald Denoueix who spent two hours dissecting the game developed by Claude Puel’s team by chaining the K7s at his disposal.

It was crazy stuff. He must have spent a crazy time preparing for the matches!

“They were used, in the preparation of their actions, to completely take the opposing defense to one sidedevelops a Raynald Denoueix in memory of an elephant. We had therefore managed to ensure that our defense did not have to be overwhelmed on the sides and that our central defenders could stay in the axis. We had forced them to play in the axis so as not to have a team that opens after three passes“The plan of the future Real Sociedad coach had been sorely tested. Nantes had suffered. Nantes had suffered. But he had held on.”And we had scored, exactly as coach Denoueix had predictedsmiles again Mickaël Landreau. When Fred’ [Da Rocha] Mark, we say to ourselves: ‘Fuck, maybe we’ll do it’, that’s the worstthat’s crazy.” “We believed so hard as iron in what he told usstill admires Nicolas Gilet. Also in Sedan [deux rencontres après], it had happened exactly as he had told us. On an action, we score and that’s enough to win 1-0 and play the maintenance on the last day. It was crazy stuff. He must have spent a crazy time preparing for the matches!“

“The fervor was crazy, we do this job to share these emotions”

At the final whistle, the players embrace, smiles from ear to ear. They make the most of the moment, with the Nantes supporters who have come to fill the stands of the princely stadium. “The fervor was crazyremembers the emblematic captain of the club today figurehead of the Nantes Collective. We do this job to share these emotions and a journey like this cannot leave anyone indifferent.“At Nantes airport, there are dozens of them celebrating the return of the band to Éric Carrière. “It was total excitement“, cowardly, nostalgic, the former French international goalkeeper.”It’s not given to everyone to chain two finals in a rowhighlights Jean-Marc Chanelet. In addition it was the first at the Stade de France after the victory of the Blues in the World Cup.” “This Coupe de France did us a lot of goodengages his colleague in defense. It brought us a little positive and it helped us a lot for the future because we said to ourselves that if we were able to qualify, we could also save ourselves..”

The weeks that followed confirmed this. “Maintaining was essential but winning the Cup was just as importantexplains Raynald Denoueix. It meant that the team was always competitive. It was really special because we were on two operations where we should not crack” They were a total success. The foundations of the title of champion of France, the following season, were laid. The last trophy of FC Nantes. “That’s why today, when I meet supporters, I tell them to enjoy, to live fully, assures Mickaël Landreau. In addition, it will be at La Beaujoire. People know that it’s possible to win and that’s extraordinary. The group, the players feel that there is all this atmosphere, this atmosphere which allows you to believe that it is possible, because Nantes is a club apart. “It’s 50/50“, judge for his part Nicolas Gillet. A percentage whatever happens higher than in 2000. And at the time, the Canaries had done it!