If he resumed training on Wednesday, world champion Lionel Messi will not play Friday evening (9 p.m.) in Châteauroux, in the 32nd finals of the Coupe de France. No more than Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, Achraf Hakimi or Gianluigi Donnarumma (replaced by Keylor Navas), spared or on leave for this match at the current 14th in the National (third division).
“Obviously I would have wanted to meet the greatest, reacted this Thursday at a press conference Maxence Flachez, the coach of Berrichone. I’m a little disappointed that not everyone is there, for the fans who also come to see this great team. »
“But I don’t think about that,” he added. I was a player. Sometimes experienced and talented players, when moving to a smaller player, tend to slack off and take the game a bit lightly. “It will not be the case for the players lined up on the pitch. They will not come to do extras. Young players are hungry and want to show off,” predicted the former defender, who took the reins of the Berrichonne at the end of Novemberafter the dismissal of Mathieu Chabert.
Châteauroux struggles despite Saudi money
“I hope that we will experience beautiful emotions. I will tell my players to break free. We have more to gain than to lose in a match like this. This is the time for my players to show their quality,” he added.
“This match can be a trigger,” hoped the coach. Châteauroux is currently sailing far from its ambitions to rise in Ligue 2 despite its acquisition in March 2021 by the ambitious United World Group of Saudi Prince Abdallah ben Moussaed.
On the player side, captain Peter Ouaneh also expressed his disappointment at facing a PSG without its main stars. “We would of course have liked to confront these top level players to gauge ourselves a little, to show what we are capable of individually and collectively. They’re not there, too bad. There will be other players on the pitch who are also very good. We will do the work against them, ”promised the central defender, all the same “impatient” and “excited”.