stevietheshrimper
First XI
Last weekend, a few of us went over to Lille for a night out and to catch a game.
I wasn't too sure what to expect really; Lille and their opponents were both mid-table teams and the only household name in either squad was Pat Kluivert who was a sub for Lille. A bit like watching the equivalent of Middlebrough versus Aston Villa we said before the game.
We got to the ground early for a good look around.
Their stadium is a temporary home while they engage in a huge battle with local and national government for planning permission for a new stadium. So at the moment they play at the Stade Metropole in the suburbs of the town.
The stadium, I guess holds about 18-20K. The stands at either side of the pitch are roofed, but either end behind the goal is open to the elements.
From about 30 minutes before kick off the noise starts. And it doesn't stop. The noise is electric. Bearing in mind this is a mid-table clash against a team a good two hundred miles away, I thought this was very impressive.
The fans take huge flags and banners along with them and the flag waving is continuous up until kick-off. There's a very enthusiatic lady on the tannoy who whoops everyone up with her excitement and comments that lead to interaction with the audience.
Once the game kicks off the volume rockets. The noise is started behind the goals and quickly spreads around the stands. There are plenty of chants between each stand and also plenty where they sing in unison. Interestingly most of the noise comes from the open ends; no complaints here of bad acoustics.
Also of interest was the way the game was played and how the fans reacted to it.
French footballers (and they were mostly French, the odd African, Belgian or Dutch) play football on the deck. The goalies rarely kick the ball out. Instead it is rolled to a defender who plays it along the deck to a team mate - repeat until a shooting opportunity arises. At times it resembled a training match with every player limited to two touches, which was generally one touch more than required. And the fans loved it. If a player misplaced a pass, they said nothing. No criticism, no barracking, no groaning, nothing.
But if the player dwelt on the ball or simply played it aimlessly, the crowd went mental. Passez! Passez! Or something like that. The players are encouraged to play football at all costs. Winning is obviously important, but playing football is more important. And no diving. If players were fouled, they just got up, safe in the knowledge they'd get a free kick, but in most cases there was an advantage as the fouled player had already managed to off-load the ball to a team mate.
And we wonder why Arsene Wenger does all his shopping in France.
The French really do have a lot to teach us about our own game. The players, the coaches, and the fans are all vastly superior to ours. And until that changes, we will never be anywhere close to them internationally. Club wise we can buy all their players and win the Champions League, but when it comes to our own, we are light years behind.
I wasn't too sure what to expect really; Lille and their opponents were both mid-table teams and the only household name in either squad was Pat Kluivert who was a sub for Lille. A bit like watching the equivalent of Middlebrough versus Aston Villa we said before the game.
We got to the ground early for a good look around.
Their stadium is a temporary home while they engage in a huge battle with local and national government for planning permission for a new stadium. So at the moment they play at the Stade Metropole in the suburbs of the town.
The stadium, I guess holds about 18-20K. The stands at either side of the pitch are roofed, but either end behind the goal is open to the elements.
From about 30 minutes before kick off the noise starts. And it doesn't stop. The noise is electric. Bearing in mind this is a mid-table clash against a team a good two hundred miles away, I thought this was very impressive.
The fans take huge flags and banners along with them and the flag waving is continuous up until kick-off. There's a very enthusiatic lady on the tannoy who whoops everyone up with her excitement and comments that lead to interaction with the audience.
Once the game kicks off the volume rockets. The noise is started behind the goals and quickly spreads around the stands. There are plenty of chants between each stand and also plenty where they sing in unison. Interestingly most of the noise comes from the open ends; no complaints here of bad acoustics.
Also of interest was the way the game was played and how the fans reacted to it.
French footballers (and they were mostly French, the odd African, Belgian or Dutch) play football on the deck. The goalies rarely kick the ball out. Instead it is rolled to a defender who plays it along the deck to a team mate - repeat until a shooting opportunity arises. At times it resembled a training match with every player limited to two touches, which was generally one touch more than required. And the fans loved it. If a player misplaced a pass, they said nothing. No criticism, no barracking, no groaning, nothing.
But if the player dwelt on the ball or simply played it aimlessly, the crowd went mental. Passez! Passez! Or something like that. The players are encouraged to play football at all costs. Winning is obviously important, but playing football is more important. And no diving. If players were fouled, they just got up, safe in the knowledge they'd get a free kick, but in most cases there was an advantage as the fouled player had already managed to off-load the ball to a team mate.
And we wonder why Arsene Wenger does all his shopping in France.
The French really do have a lot to teach us about our own game. The players, the coaches, and the fans are all vastly superior to ours. And until that changes, we will never be anywhere close to them internationally. Club wise we can buy all their players and win the Champions League, but when it comes to our own, we are light years behind.
