Brest faces its leap “into the unknown”

4 mins

“ Somewhere, we are going a little into the unknown and when we go into the unknown, we are always eager to discover, but at the same time a little worried. “, summarized coach Eric Roy at his first press conference of the season, for the resumption of training. Driven by an exemplary state of mind, a well-oiled game and a kind of carefree attitude, the Finistériens climbed to 3rd place in the French championship last year. In the process, they pocketed direct access to the new format Champions League, to which they obviously do not belong on many levels, starting with experience.

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The reception of the Austrians will be nothing less than the very first European meeting in the history of the club. With a total of 181 matches in European competition played by its players, Brest is a small country. Even compared to Graz (335) or Prague (535), the two other teams in pot 4 of the draw that they will face. A calendar that will be completed by meetings with Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, ​​Leverkusen, PSV Eindhoven, Shakhtar Donetsk and Salzburg.

It’s also about enjoying

But now that he is at the foot of what he also called a “mountain”, Roy can well admit it in Ouest-France, Wednesday: ” After having achieved what we did last year, if we don’t start from the principle of enjoying it, of living it to the fullest, it’s a bit stupid. » However, in order to take advantage of and fully experience this experience, the Ty-Zef will have to accept that the C1 will disrupt, if not the club’s lifestyle, at least the group’s rhythm of life.

” The job we did last season playing once a week is a very different job than playing every three days. “, Roy had warned at the restart. I’ve told the players enough times, they must think I’m senile. “, he had even slipped before the first match of the season, against Marseille (5-1 defeat at home), but the success of the Brest season will rest on things that he will not control, ” what is called invisible training » : food, sleep, recovery, or « don’t spend nights playing on the PlayStation “.

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” As much as there are things, when you are young like them, that you can catch up on when you have six or seven days between two matches, there are things that you can no longer afford to do when you play every three days. (if you want to have) this ability to be good on Sunday and be good again on Wednesday, and again on Saturday perhaps “, the technician summed up.

Already a psychological turning point

The difficult start to the season for his team, which has only one win for three losses in the league, even though it has played OM or Paris SG, increases the stakes of Thursday’s match which could be a first psychological turning point. A win could really launch the Reds’ season, while a defeat would probably already dampen the enthusiasm around the C1. Starting with the most affordable match on paper is not necessarily a gift from this point of view, knowing that the late recruitment of the Bretons risks not really bearing fruit for a few weeks.

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Finally, they will have to digest the forced exile in Guingamp, more than an hour’s drive from a Stade Francis-Le-Blé incompatible with UEFA’s drastic standards, even if this will obviously not prevent strong popular support. More than 10,000 “packs” of four tickets for the Champions League, with the matches against Leverkusen, PSV Eindhoven and Real Madrid in the final climax, have been sold to season ticket holders. And 48 hours before the match against Graz, there were only 800 seats left on sale, out of the 16,000 that the Roudourou can accommodate, which replaces the Stade Francis Le Blé which does not meet European standards, in Champions League configuration.