Villefranche, tiger balm

There are stations where, contrary to legend, the train can pass twice. It will be the case of Villefranche, who missed the Ligue 2 car for a quarter of an hour, just a year ago. Remember: through a crazy second part of the season, Caladois Tigres had the luxury of playing a play-off against Niortais Chamois, lost at a disadvantage due to the away goal rule, after having cracked in the last quarter of an hour of the second leg (3-1 in Villefranche, 0-2 in Niort). But life offers revenge to the other Rhône club: once again third, Hervé Della Maggiore and his company will face Quevilly-Rouen Métropole this time.

Record season, but still out

They were right in thinking that the locomotive might come back. And for good reason: Villefranche had his best season in 21^Y century, and despite a total of ten points more than the previous year, the FCVB finished in third place. 65 points, moreover, is a total that would have allowed any third division team to experience the joys of direct entry, since Nacional’s transition to 18 clubs – except for the 2014-2015 season. “I would say that it is a continuation of the results compared to last season.trusts Caladois’ coach, Hervé Della Maggiore. At the beginning of the season, many did not see us in this place because of the disappointment we experienced at the end of last season. But we quickly remobilized during the holidays and made the necessary changes to bring some freshness and compensate for the outings we may have had. »

And among those touches, there was Simon Elisor and his 17 goals. The striker, who arrived on loan from AC Ajaccio to compensate for the departures of Arnold Garita (at Bourg-Péronnas) and Serge Désiré Azankpo (at Dunkerque), even stood up twelve times during his last twelve appearances. There was also the mid-winter loan of Malcom Bokele, from Bordeaux, and Florent Da Silva, from Lyon, author of seven assists in the second half of the season alone. But the Caladois coach refuses to advance one name or another. “I believe that what makes a season successful is the strength of a group. It is the result of the individual and collective quality of a group, but above all of an impeccable state of mind that means that in the difficult moments that we have been able to experience, such as in January (four losses in a row, editor’s note)we were able to remobilize ourselves to be able to start again with a positive dynamicanalyzes Della Maggiore. Today I would say that the strong men of the group are above all… the group! »

insurmountable barriers

This Tuesday, Hervé Della Maggiore faces a fate that has eluded him three times. A double-locked door in front of him. The one of the prisoners, of which he cannot find the key to break the lock. On his key ring, however, was the key to Bourg-en-Bresse, then to Gazélec and then to Villefranche. None opened the wonderful door. In 2018, the FBBP 01 did not resist in Grenoble (1-2, 0-0) and went down to Nacional; a year later, his Gazélec fell apart against Le Mans (2-1, 0-2) in an incredible comeback in added time and in turn suffered relegation. Last year, therefore, he failed against Niort with FCVB (3-1, 0-2). But Hervé Della Maggiore does not solve this curse at all. “Each match was different.remember hdm. I lived through two roadblocks so as not to descend. It is difficult to live, because in this situation, there is much to lose. And above all with Villefranche, it is reaching the Grail with a club and a group that are not necessarily destined for it at the base. This isn’t necessarily the priority goal at the start, though as the season progresses we start to believe in it. »

To believe it, at this stage, is to fall short. The game will be worth it anyway. “It would be a pride to mark the history of the club. A pride that I already knew with Bourg-en-Bresse, and that the club experienced in the 1980s (only one season in D2, in 1983-1984, Ed). And through it all, it will remain a phenomenal achievement. Because it is true that in terms of resources, infrastructure and many other things, we are not calibrated to go up in Ligue 2.” , concedes Hervé Della Maggiore. The question of the stadium will remain, if necessary: ​​FC Villefranche-Beaujolais will not be able to open its Armand-Chouffet stadium in Ligue 2, because it is not homologated. On the table are proposals for the Groupama Stadium (too big, too expensive!) and the Jean-Laville de Gueugnon Stadium (too far away!). The subject is worthy of a puzzle, but precisely, the Tigers of Caladois would love to brainstorm.