Angers (AFP)

It is a century-old club and more dashing than ever: SCO Angers is second in Ligue 1, just behind the stars of Paris SG, thanks to a fire attack, the best in the country.

Thirteen goals, it's one more than PSG and Lyon (12 goals), whose payrolls are out of proportion with that of Angers.

Thirteen goals, including four Sunday against Saint-Etienne (4-1) at Raymond-Kopa Stadium, where 10,000 privileged were able to attend the recital of attackers Angevins, including the tripled in eleven minutes of the replacement Casimir Ninga.

"It feels good, I'm working hard to find my place because I'm having a little injury from Caen, I was very focused on my match because I was not in. I'm glad I brought happiness tonight. I will continue to work to score goals, "said Chadian, a newcomer this summer in Anjou.

- Smart Recruitment -

Ninga perfectly symbolizes the intelligent recruitment of Angers this summer, especially in the attacking department. What better compensation for the departure of Jeff Queen-Adelaide, the rising star of the SCO, for Lyon against 25 million euros (plus EUR 2.5 million bonus and 15% for resale in case of capital gain) , just after the first success of the season against Bordeaux (3-1).

There is Ninga, but also Mathias Pereira-Lage, the Franco-Portuguese arrived from Clermont (L2) and already author of three assists, including two Sunday. Another find that allows the SCO to play at the top of the table, also thanks to a favorable schedule.

There have been four home games, all won so far, and only two away, against French representatives in the Champions League: a 2-1 defeat in Lille and especially a deranged 6-0 in Lyon, in a break-in period whose Sco finally came out from above.

Nothing worries Stéphane Moulin, the Angevin coach. He has seen others and he is building for the future. Like the workers at the Stade Raymond-Kopa where there are only three stands, because a new, 5,200 seats, is under construction for the modest sum of 20 million euros.

"I think we have abilities, we see it and we feel it's quite diverse, it's a bit new but it's what we're trying to do," Moulin said Sunday evening. , about his players, after a historic victory: the first on the ASSE since 1976.

- Chabane, Pickeu, Moulin, a sustainable trio -

The history of the Western Sporting Club (SCO) began on October 10, 1919, when the club was created by the Fortin brothers, directors of the bank Crédit de l'Ouest.

One hundred years later, it is an industrialist, Saïd Chabane, who discreetly chairs the SCO, while managing the production of rillettes in the Sarthe department next door.

To effectively lead the centennial club, which celebrated in early August against Arsenal, President Chabane delegates to two former players: Olivier Pickeu, sports director since 2006, and therefore Stéphane Moulin, coach since 2011, who had prepared the recovery of 2015 in L1.

The SCO's best historical ranking, in the elite, was 3rd in 1967, with two league titles in L2 (1969, 1976) and a long desert crossing.

More recently, Angers arrived in the final of the 2017 Coupe de France, beaten by PSG. It was a few weeks after the death, in Angers, of the great Raymond Kopa, who made his debut at the SCO (1949-51) before joining Reims and Real Madrid. This same Kopa who seems to inspire the young attackers Angevins since the beginning of the season.

© 2019 AFP