Unfancied Evian Thonon Gaillard will be looking to cap their meteoric rise to the top of French soccer with a first major trophy when they face Girondins de Bordeaux, traditionally one of the country’s most successful clubs, in today’s Coupe de France final.
This will be a first-ever Coupe final for the club from the shores of Lake Geneva and the biggest moment yet in their brief, but successful, history.
Evian have just completed their second season in Ligue 1, avoiding relegation only on the last day, and so go into the game at the Stade de France as heavy underdogs.
When Bordeaux last won the Ligue 1 title in 2009, Evian were playing in the amateur fourth tier, but the backing of food processing multinational Danone has helped the club emerge from the shadow of some of France’s tallest mountains to the top flight since then.
Now Evian — who play their games in Annecy, 80km away from their hometown of Thonon-les-Bains because they lack a stadium of their own — stand just one win away from European qualification.
“Playing in Europe was not an objective when I arrived at the club, but the most important thing is that we win the final. Winning some silverware would be great for a club as young as us,” said veteran captain Olivier Sorlin, who signed for Evian in 2010 when they were in Ligue 2.
Evian have enjoyed a remarkable Coupe run, beating Paris Saint-Germain on penalties in the quarter-finals before hammering Lorient 4-0 in the semi-finals.
Their squad arrived in Paris on Wednesday, with Tunisian international forward Saber Khlifa their biggest threat.
Shortly before joining Evian, Khlifa found himself on loan at Libyan club al-Ahly Benghazi when revolution broke out in the country in 2011.
Khlifa was trapped in a hotel in the Libyan city for several days before finding a car that took him across the border into Egypt and on to safety.
He then joined les Croix de Savoie, but has only fully emerged this season, scoring 13 Ligue 1 goals including a recent remarkable strike from inside his own half against OGC Nice.
In contrast to Evian, Bordeaux have a long and proud history, and have won the Coupe de France three times, although the last of those triumphs came in 1987.
Les Girondins finished seventh in an underwhelming league campaign, so winning the cup and qualifying for next season’s Europa League is essential.
“We have an experienced team and some have already played at the Stade de France,” Bordeaux manager Francis Gillot said. “We just need to make sure we produce our best on the pitch... We absolutely have to win this final.”
Bordeaux have struggled for goals this season, but will look to Cheick Diabate for inspiration, with the Malian having netted eight times in his past eight games.
He scored both goals when Bordeaux beat Evian 2-1 at home on the final day of the league season on Sunday last week.
Today’s evening kickoff time for the final means there is unlikely to be a full house at the 80,000-capacity Stade de France.
The game is usually staged on a Saturday, but had to be moved to avoid a clash with the final of French rugby’s Top 14 season between Toulon and Castres.
“Playing on a Friday is rubbish. It’s an aberration. People work on a Friday,” unhappy Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud said.
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