The Girondins de Bordeaux started the Ligue 2 championship, 2022-2023 edition, against Valenciennes, after coming close to judicial liquidation, this Saturday July 30.
The match is sold out, or almost, the stadium is limited to 22,000 seats this season for “maximizing the atmosphere as close as possible to the players and reducing operating costs”. Many places were offered to thank the support of the supporters, in particular during the big “survival march”, but even in these conditions, visually, the stadium gives an impression of emptiness.
“It feels good to find the Matmut”
whatever “It’s good to find the Matmut” exclaims Valerie. La Bordelaise has supported the club for more than 20 years. She is happy to find the stadium and the players, just like Arnaud, who came with his son, who dropped his “little tear” watching the players enter the field. All three hope “a less terrible season” than the previous one. A wish shared by all the supporters, who want to see Bordeaux go back to Ligue 1 as soon as possible.
For this first league 2 match, the group of Ultras Marines supporters, repositioned in the upper part of the north bend, after the exceptional closure of the south bend, hangs a huge banner: “we came close to death, it made us stronger.”
Throughout the match, the supporters gave voice. They chanted all the songs of the club, and booed the opponent at all costs. But this vigor in the stands will not have been enough, the Marine et Blancs are unable to win against Valenciennes.
Ayden, 10, keeps smiling “we didn’t lose, we gave it our all, I’m proud of us”. A fan of the club from an early age, Ayden traveled from Châteauroux to attend this first match. “We may go to Rhodez next week” breathes the young boy leaving the Matmut.