At OL Park,
If we had told Maxence Caqueret, after his brilliant Final 8 of the Champions League, in August 2020 in Lisbon, that his greatest emotion as a footballer would take place during a success against a team incapable of winning more than two matches in its Ligue 2 season, he would have had a good laugh. However, it was very (very) emotional that the 24-year-old Lyon midfielder appeared in front of the press on Tuesday evening, as a future finalist of this 2024 Coupe de France.
“I had never seen the stadium melting like that,” marvels the native of Vénissieux, a pure product of the OL training center. It’s an evening that will be forever etched in my mind. We’re super proud to celebrate with our audience, it’s just magical. » Yes yes, “magical” to beat Valenciennes, bottom of Ligue 2, despite a largely sluggish first period (0-0 at the break, 3-0 in the end).
“Our supporters deserve moments like this”
Because if for the Northerners, this semi-final of the Coupe de France mainly comes down to the contentious refereeing decisions of Stéphanie Frappart, it offers the Lyonnais an evening/night as festive as it is unexpected. “I didn’t see this invasion of the pitch coming, it was crazy,” laughs Irish defender Jake O’Brien. Above all, it’s nice to see all these smiles on the faces of the supporters. They deserve moments like this. »
We must in fact rewind the film of the four-month Lyon season, on the evening of a tartasse (3-0) at the Vélodrome, to understand how this victory (couldn’t be more predictable) against VA was able to generate such enthusiasm collective and a much more joyful invasion of the pitch than the only previous one in this OL Park, in April 2017 against Besiktas. Last in Ligue 1, six points behind the non-relegation leader, after 14 days, this OL who had just bet on the inexperienced Pierre Sage were inevitably heading into Ligue 2, this December 6, 2023.
That was before the insane rise of the band at Stone Wise, who has already validated his retention (10th), who is eyeing 7th place potentially synonymous with the Europa Conference League (OM is only four points), and who will therefore play in the final of the Coupe de France in Lille, on May 28 (against PSG or Rennes).
“We’ve come a long way”
“Shows we shouldn’t bury ourselves too early,” notes Alexandre Lacazette, again decisive on Tuesday with his double at the start of the second half. I often said to Coco [Tolisso] : “Don’t worry, we’ll get through this.” But it’s even more beautiful than I imagined. » The emotion of the former Arsenal captain was clearly not feigned or overplayed, like his rage displayed on his liberating penalty scored against VA (1-0, 51st), while taking off his jersey .
“ We have come a long way. It was beautiful, a communion with the public. I am happy and moved for the people of Lyon this evening. These supporters have been waiting for this for a while, you can feel it. I had a lot of regrets compared to last year’s Cup semi-final in Nantes (1-0). I really believed in it and we had a non-match. I took it a bit for myself because I hadn’t been able to lead the team. Today is another destiny. After all the frustration felt in recent years, the supporters are making the most of it tonight. »
A large part of the 56,719 spectators present on Tuesday at Parc OL remained during all these very special celebrations, from the “Ahou” relaunched like never before to a crowd bath by John Textor himselfuntil totally crazy song shared by Saël Kumbedi with the north turn. Yes yes, Saël Kumbedi, yet not even retained by Pierre Sage on the scoresheet against Valenciennes (hello Kylian).
In search of a title since the 2012 Coupe de France, in search of European qualification since 2021, OL begins to dream of (finally) reconnecting with its former glory. “This atmosphere reminds me of when I was little, that I came to see the pros play and that the stadium was invaded,” remembered Corentin Tolisso, another symbol of the Lyon team, on beIN Sports. Living it is something extraordinary. » But one question comes up again and again: how could the cliché “everything goes very quickly in football” find such a striking illustration as this Textorian Lyon?
“A vengeful spirit” to get back on track
“It shows that we knew how to stay united in the group, even when we were at the bottom,” simply believes Jake O’Brien. “In December, everyone said that OL was going to go down and that it was over for us,” recalls Maxence Caqueret. It’s certain that with everything we heard about us, there was a vindictive spirit, and we knew how to show that we were still there. It’s up to us to go for this title which can make the season exceptional. » From “worst season in club history” to “exceptional season” very quickly ?
OUR FILE ON OL
Fortunately, in this contagious euphoria in Lyon, he remains a Sage, straight in his boots, barely disturbed by having been carried in triumph by his players and given a standing ovation by the entire stadium. “Tonight, we didn’t win anything, we just won the right to play one more football match,” summarizes the OL coach. The idea is not to go to Lille for sightseeing. » We clearly understood that this was not the style of the house, Pierre.