Saturday’s French Cup final will be a veritable David versus Goliath affair as third-tier minnows Quevilly take on Ligue 1 giants Olympique Lyonnais at the Stade de France.
France’s national knockout competition is no stranger to giant-killing, with Calais famously going all the way to the final in 2000 before losing to Nantes.
Quevilly — who hail from a suburb of the Normandy city of Rouen — have a proud history in the competition too, having lost to Olympique de Marseille in the 1927 final and also reached the last four in 2010, where they lost to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.
Photo: AFP
This year’s run has been nothing short of remarkable, with Quevilly beating Marseille 3-2 after extra time in the quarter-finals and then eliminating another top-flight side in the last four in the shape of Stade Rennais.
Now Lyon — a club with an annual budget of 130 million euros (US$171.8 million) — stand in the way of Quevilly — budget 1.9 million euros — and a remarkable final triumph.
After being promoted from the fourth tier of the French game last season, Quevilly currently sit 13th in the Championnat National, the semi-professional third division.
With five games of the campaign remaining, they are not yet certain of avoiding relegation.
There might be more than a whiff of cup romance about Quevilly’s achievements in going as far as they have, but this is not some rogue selection of bakers, postmen and milkmen.
Of Quevilly’s 26-man squad, 17 are paid to play the game, including 14 who are on full-time federal contracts.
Goalkeeper Yassine El Kharrou-bi is on loan from second-division club — and 2009 Cup winners — Guingamp, while captain Gregory Beaugrard and Kevin Giboyau have contracts as youth coaches.
Coach Regis Brouard, a former Montpellier player who has become one of France’s most coveted young managers, oversees daily training sessions and makes sure the day-to-day running of the club is just like that of a top-tier outfit.
“In terms of the work we do, we are no different to any professional club. We work hard! But we don’t have the budget nor the infrastructure of a professional club, we just have to take things day by day,” Brouard says.
Journeys to away games are undertaken by bus and the players must pay for physiotherapy themselves.
While the majority of Quevilly’s players are technically professional, the best-paid of those takes home 3,200 euros a month.
Meanwhile, Lyon’s biggest earner, Yoann Gourcuff, pockets a cool 450,000 euros a month.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jack Hinshelwood on Monday sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory against Liverpool to leave the English Premier League champions without a win since clinching the title. Arne Slot’s side took the lead through Harvey Elliott’s early opener before Yasin Ayari equalized at the American Express Stadium. Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s advantage just before halftime, but Brighton staged a late fightback as Kaoru Mitoma leveled before Hinshelwood came off the bench to net with his first touch. Liverpool have taken just one point from their three matches following the title-clinching rout of Tottenham Hotspur on April 27. The Reds have lost at
Logan O’Hoppe, Taylor Ward and Matthew Lugo homered, and the Los Angeles Angels spoiled Clayton Kershaw’s season debut, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-9 on Saturday night to take the first two games of the three-game series. Kershaw allowed three runs and threw 38 pitches in the first inning. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner lasted four innings, giving up five runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Shoulder, toe and knee injuries limited Kershaw to seven games last season, and his 2025 debut was delayed as he recovered from multiple offseason surgeries. O’Hoppe had two hits with
RSS