Bayonne (AFP)

From Ovalie to the ball. For the weekend of the Coupe de France, we're going to talk about football in Bayonne: the Aviron Bayonnais Football Club (National 3) celebrates Saturday the arrival of Nantes ... and that of a regional stage more skillful with his feet than with his hands, Didier Deschamps.

In the early afternoon (1:00 p.m.), the Jean-Dauger stadium, "Temple of rugby", will put up its high poles and install cages and nets for this 32nd gala final. And in the gallery, we will notice less the presence of the former glories of the Rowing, rugby section, than that of the current figure of French football.

Although native of the banks of the Nive, the coach of the France team is rare in the Basque Country, but the opposition of the day, between the club from its beginnings and the one that launched it in the professional world, could hardly remind her of more memories.

If his parents still live in the area, in Anglet, Didier Deschamps did not keep any particular link with Rowing (ABFC). The only trace of its passage? The usual stadium for Bayonne amateurs is named after the old defensive midfielder.

If it is not uncommon to meet Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Stéphane Ruffier, Bayonnais trained in Rowing, Deschamps' last presence in Deschamps dates back to its inauguration in 2000.

- "We live behind, without jealousy" -

"Some elders who knew him have tried to build a relationship. It didn't take. It's a shame," regrets Lausséni Sangaré, president of the ABFC.

The current 5th in his pool A of N3 (equivalent to the 5th division) would need the influence of a figure like Didier Deschamps to get out of the relative anonymity that gives him his geographic position: the club with a budget of 580,000 euros lives in the shadow of its professional rugby neighbor, who relies on 17 million euros in resources.

"It is not always easy to exist, recognizes the president. From time to time, we stick our heads out of the water to say + Hi, we're here +, like during the match of the Varieties Club de France, organized in Jean-Dauger on October 16, or with this 32nd finals - the 5th in the history of sky and white. Otherwise, we live behind, without any jealousy. "

And for good reason, the Basque Country may well be identified as a land of rugby, the reality of the figures nuances the image. Rowing, the second club in the area in number of licensees behind the Genêts d'Anglet, has more footballers (656) than rugby players (450).

- "Create gateways" -

His coach Erwan Lannuzel, a 31-year-old Biarrot, does not suffer from this competition, on the contrary. "The hierarchy is like this. They are the + bosses. We don't have the same pressure, the same means. Everyone stays in their place but if we can create bridges, it will necessarily be a plus for us".

For the moment, only Doctor Benjamin Laffourcade officiates for the two camps. For Saturday, rugby has made available its stadium and its administrative employees to facilitate the task of the football club which has only two employees.

Lannuzel, admiring the work carried out over the past year and a half by his counterpart Yannick Bru, who has rebuilt rugby in the Top 14, would like to go further. "It is a model to follow. We must be inspired by it. I would like our clubs to be closer, to draw ideas everywhere, especially on management".

"Tomorrow, if they build their performance center, maybe we can occasionally take advantage of it," he hopes, ambitious for the future.

Bayonne, which has never progressed higher than the National (3rd division of French football), will it one day be able to achieve the professionalization of rugby in a city of barely 50,000 inhabitants?

"If it weren't for rugby, maybe there would be a Ligue 2 club in the Basque Country," says Lannuzel. Chambly (L2 Oise club) is doing well. history is like that. You shouldn't fight but get the most out of it. "

© 2020 AFP