Without an audience (or almost), what does football in the world look like after?

The health context is such that we will quickly change discs, we promise, but for the first official match in France since the end of the championship last March, we could not help but tell you what a match looks like. football in the next world. Even if you already know the answer: almost nothing.

Usually, arriving on the forecourt of the Stade de France one evening of the Coupe de France final is an opportunity to have a good laugh and get in the mood. Between the semi-drunk meat that howls at the top of his lungs, the parades of supporters made up like stolen cars and the usual small rooms between the two camps, the pre-match ride is often a guilty pleasure on which we do not spit never. Friday night, none of that.

Western atmosphere on the forecourt of the Stade de France

On the forecourt, not a pelos, not a noise, except that of the traffic of the A1 motorway below. A real western, less straw bales and Ennio Morricone's music. Horrible. In the stadium, both corners have been closed and only a few thousand seats are occupied by supporters and partners. According to figures from the federation, they were 2,805 supporters at the Stade de France on Friday evening. Already this stage is not very exciting when it is full (with a few rare exceptions), imagine the picture if in addition we hear the flies flying ...

It's finish ! In pain, Paris won its 13th Coupe de France, but lost Mbappe to injury. Weird atmosphere, weird match, long live the football of the next world. #PSGASSE @ Europe1 # Europe1 pic.twitter.com/9mDNiqNr84

Last Tuesday at the Parc des Princes, during the friendly match against Celtic, the presence of some 600 ultras had almost managed to forget the context and the absence of the public. Problem, Friday they weren't there. Whether they are from Saint-Etienne or Paris, for that matter. The ultras groups of the two clubs had chosen not to make the trip to the Stade de France for this final. And their absence was sorely felt, proof if needed of the importance of the place of the supporters in the spectacle of football. 

The only "positive" point in all of this, if one had to be found, is that the silence in the stands allowed the spectators to listen to what was being said on the lawn. of the match, the FFF had planned to keep it simple. The guard of honor to the Stéphanois and the presentation of the trophy to PSG were sent neither seen nor known, to the greatest nobheur of everyone we will not lie to each other. 

Presnel Kimpembe prepares his shot 🍾 pic.twitter.com/GLqoXhEC7v

Fortunately there is Presko

In the end, the only time we felt like we were witnessing something vaguely approaching a cup final was when Presnel Kimpembe burst into the auditorium in the middle of the press of Thomas Tuchel to sprinkle it with champagne. The tradition is safe, even if the heart is not there. So much for the festivities ... The current situation is already not new to anyone, of course, and we have all integrated the fact that we would have to be patient before finding crowded stadiums and atmospheres of fire, but Friday reality has caught up with us and it tingles a bit. 

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• French Cup
• ASSE
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• PSG