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4 days ago
Roussillon is simply a mini municipality nestled successful nan Rhône valley, astir 40 minutes southbound of Lyon by car, and a reminder that nan astir bonzer stories tin hide successful nan astir mean of places. One subordinate says “the municipality doesn’t ‘live’ for [its] club”, but arsenic you caput done nan municipality centre and towards Salaise Rhodia’s stadium, you statesman to uncertainty whether nan municipality lives astatine all; invited to a Sunday successful agrarian France.
Around 30 minutes earlier nan commencement of nan game, nan azygous guidelines originates to fill. Everyone seems to cognize each different successful immoderate way. Entry is free for what is simply a apical of nan array brushwood successful nan Régional 2, nan seventh tier of French football, against Craponne AS.
Behind nan extremity are a smattering of ultras. Their duties dwell chiefly of taunting nan guidance goalkeeper, intimidating nan referee and teasing their prima player, Titouan Richard. “I’m their small favourite,” he says pinch a smile.
Richard besides happens to beryllium two games distant from playing successful the World Cup. His communicative is not dissimilar to respective others hidden wrong inconspicuous lower-tier grounds dotted astir the French mainland.
New Caledonia, 150th successful nan Fifa rankings, caput to Guadalajara this week hoping to book their spot at nan World Cup. To do so, they must flooded Jamaica and past hit DR Congo.
It would beryllium a first for nan French territory, whose opportunity to suffice tin beryllium attributed to nan expanded World Cup format, which granted Oceania an automatic qualification spot for nan first time, filled by New Zealand, arsenic expected. They had to flooded a stubborn New Caledonia past March, winning 3-0, to declare it.
“When we play against New Zealand, they are each professionals,” Richard says. “It’s a different environment.”
While New Zealand’s Chris Wood is playing successful nan Premier League, Richard has been balancing training and matches pinch activity and studies, astatine slightest until recently. Having worked astatine Intermarché, a French supermarket chain, while taking studies successful connection he is now unemployed, but nan profession is connected hold.
“It’s a bully point I don’t person a occupation astatine nan moment,” he says, joking. He has antecedently had to return unpaid time off to correspond nan nationalist team.
“Sometimes [the trips] are a pain, but you person to do it,” says nan New Caledonia captain, César Zeoula, 1 of nan fewer contracted players successful nan team. He plays successful nan 5th tier pinch US Chauvigny.
Players stitchery successful Paris earlier being flown complete by nan federation for a 20,000km travel east, but it was making nan other travel that utilized to beryllium much difficult. “Back successful nan day, it was very difficult to travel to nan Métropole because being acold from family, pinch nan formation prices, it wasn’t a given. Now it is simply a batch easier,” Zeoula says.
The federation has encouraged its players to move to nan mainland successful caller years. The New Caledonia manager, Johann Sidaner, says: “One of nan objectives I was group erstwhile I joined successful August 2022 was to create connections pinch L’Héxagone, to guarantee nan boys were playing astatine a definite level.”
The strategy has taken connected greater value successful caller times. “There are events that person weakened shot successful New Caledonia,” Sidaner says, referencing island‑wide protests successful consequence to a projected voting betterment that forced nan suspension of nan shot convention successful May 2024. The convention resumed normal moving this month. “It is existent shot has faced a setback,” he says.
One of nan galore challenges Sidaner faces is search his players, fixed nan geographical region and nan difficulties successful pursuing amateur football. “We brought successful an app, Suivi Sport, which we saw arsenic perfectly fundamental. It allows america to travel nan boys passim nan year.” Players log their “sporting activity”, arsenic good arsenic their “daily manner and wellbeing”.
“We travel 45 connected a regular ground and nan thought is that each 1 has to beryllium ‘in nan green’ successful bid to beryllium selected,” says Sidaner, who, earlier his assignment by New Caledonia, spent 11 years moving pinch Nantes’s prestigious academy.
With nan qualifiers approaching, nary 1 wants to beryllium successful nan red. Richard says: “The person it gets, nan much it runs done your mind. You show yourself that, successful each session, you person to activity a spot much to beryllium ready. It has ne'er happened that a Régional 2 subordinate is 2 matches distant from nan World Cup.”
Zeoula, who is 36 years old, says: “These are 2 elite-level matches that possibly we will ne'er play successful our lives again.”
With galore of New Caledonia’s players reaching nan extremity of their playing careers, Zeoula says it will beryllium an “emotional moment” arsenic they travel together and effort to achieve history.
Simply coming together has a galvanising effect. “It’s existent that it’s difficult to beryllium each alone, acold from your family, uprooted,” Sidaner says. “They can’t needfully springiness their afloat potential, but erstwhile they’re together they person a civilization present of being much than families. They are clans and full tribes that are utilized to moving together and erstwhile they are together they move mountains.”
Richard says: “We’re telling ourselves that successful shot thing tin happen.” He besides talks astir needing a spot of luck.
That deserted his broadside arsenic they slipped to a 3-2 conclusion against Craponne, contempt a extremity and an assistance from nan New Caledonia international.
Given wherever they play location is possibly a inclination to gaffe towards condescension, but that would beryllium a mistake. New Caledonia vanished apical of their qualifying group, aft all. “If we’re there, it’s because we merit to be. We’ve already pulled disconnected exploits,” Richard says.
Achieving different would let New Caledonia to participate a world acold removed from nan Stade de La Terre Rouge successful Roussillon, 1 where, though nan rules of nan crippled are nan same, nan stakes are stratospherically different.
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