- The city of Calais was to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the epic of its football club, the first amateur team in the 4th division, to reach the final of a Coupe de France.
- A match between the former players, scheduled for June 6, had to be postponed until next year.
The celebration will await the end of the Covid-19 epidemic. The city of Calais was to start celebrating, this Thursday, the 20th anniversary of the epic of its football club, first (and only until then) amateur team of 4th division, to reach the final of a Coupe de France. Thus, on May 7, 2000, Calais ended up giving up its arms against FC Nantes, defeated 2-1 at the last minute, on a penalty subject to controversy.
Revenge was scheduled for June 6 at the Epic of Calais stadium. But the coronavirus forced the organizers to postpone the event until next year.
We are replaying the match
“Mickaël Landreau [captain of FC Nantes at the time] asked me to redo the match with all the former players. Within the Calais 2000 association, we had of course accepted. It's a shame because we had succeeded in mobilizing everyone, ”underlines Réginald Becque, former captain of Calais, now an employee of the French Football Federation.
The exhibition planned at the town hall is also suspended. “It was oriented towards the Calais spirit of the Cup with documents, letters and testimonies from the time I had in my possession. Next year, we will celebrate the rebound of the 20th anniversary, "says Ladislas Lozano, emblematic coach of Calais between 1995 and 2001.
The man is back on the land of his past exploits for the past few months. He has just been elected city councilor after a career which leaves him very bitter. “This final and the whole Cup race are fantastic memories. But personally, it did me a lot of good and a lot of trouble at the same time, ”regrets Ladislas Lozano.
"Blacklisted" of French football
And, despite good results obtained abroad, he claims to have been "blacklisted" in French football. "My naive and inexperienced speaking at the time, forged me a bad reputation as a lesson giver that I did not deserve," he slips bitterly. When I needed to find a club in 2015, I contacted 250 with only a dozen responses. "
“There is no denying that it is thanks to him that we have succeeded in this journey, admits Réginald Becque. He is a great professional who always enjoys meeting us. We experienced something incredible together. We still wonder how it was possible. "
Because beyond the exceptional adventure that the Calaisians lived, it is especially the epilogue that remains etched in our memories. “We were in a downward phase both physically and mentally. The pressure had been too strong, recalls Ladislas Lozano. At halftime, when we were leading 1-0, I felt we were inside, especially in the midfield. I tried to shake the players. "
"There was a penalty"
And fate wanted the referee to whistle a penalty for Nantes just before the end of the match for an unclear error on striker Alain Caveglia. "Considering the body attitude, the way of falling of Alain, it is understandable, people retained only that, but I was close to the action and at the start, Alain is well hooked in the surface. The referee took a long time to whistle, but there was a penalty, ”says Antoine Sibierski in La Voix du Nord .
Ironically, it is this “ch'ti”, trained in Lille, who became the executioner of the Calaisiens by scoring the two Nantes goals. "We were not robbed," says Réginald Becque. It is a fact of play as it exists in all matches. It was up to us to tell the difference earlier. "
A few years later, Ladislas Lozano crossed paths with Claude Colombo, the referee of the game. “For him, there is a penalty. He does not budge even if Caveglia admitted that he had dived a little, "smiles the ex-trainer from Calais.
One thing is certain, it is not Mr. Colombo who will arbitrate the meeting next year. “If asked, I think he would say yes, says Réginald Becque. The Calais players never wanted him to, but some Calais supporters have still not digested his decision for twenty years. There is no point in wagging the knife in the wound. "
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