Lionel Vaillant, coach of the FC Espaly team (National 3, 5th French division), who is also a physical education and sports teacher at a secondary school, spoke to France 3 about the special match against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday evening in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France.
Lionel Vaillant: “It will be an honor”.
“Shaking hands with Luis Enrique will be an honour. We’ll be up against the best in the French league and even on the European stage. The idea is to compare our game plan with the best at the top, and to see if we’re capable of pulling off sequences that compare with this great PSG.”
And that’s the magic of the Coupe de France: to enable teams from lower divisions to come up against professional teams, sometimes the best on the national scene. For these player-coaches, some of them amateurs, meeting this type of team is a unique experience that will remain engraved in their memories. Vaillant will also have the opportunity to meet Luis Enrique and possibly exchange ideas.
Of course, there’s the desire to achieve a feat and qualify. But it’s a great evening to savour, even if there is a defeat. Also, Paris Saint-Germain is often in the habit of leaving the proceeds from the match to amateur clubs, so it’s both a daydream and a major boost for clubs with fewer and fewer resources.
